Conservation and utilization of grass from natural pastures. The advantages of wrapped round bales as compared to silage and hay

Abstract

The conservation of wilted and heavy wilted grass pressed into round bales which are then wrapped has developed rapidly in France and Northern Europe since the recent development of quality stretchable plastic films and of machines which automatically wrap the bales : The feeding value of this type of forage for one year old dairy heifers was compared during two successive winters to that of the corresponding direct precision-chopped silage, with or without the addition of additives, and that of the corresponding hay. The fermentation quality of this wrapped silage increases with dry matter content and becomes excellant when this content is greater than 50-55%. Under these conditions the feeding value intake, consumption index is the equivalent of that of silage with formic acid and is slightly greater than that of hay harvested in good conditions and much greater thant that of silage without additive. These experiments have demonstrated the interest of grass from natural pasture, of an early harvest (early earing) of a additive based on lactic bacteria and cellulolytic enzymes, associated with a small quantity of molasses, and of the distribution of a small amount of nitrogen which is almost undegradable to animals given silage prepared without additive.

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