What is corn silage?

Corn silage or corn silage is a type of animal feed that is rich in nutrients, very suitable for grass-fed animals, especially cows. Currently, corn silage is extremely popular on cattle farms in countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc.

Corn silage or corn silage is made from corn stalks, leaves, corn husks, corn cobs and fermented in compost bags or compost pits. This type of animal feed is easy to make, just needs to be fermented for about 40 to 50 days before it can be used immediately and the storage time can be from 6 months to 1 year.

Especially in winter, with low temperature, dry weather and less plant growth than normal, the yield will be much lower than usual. Therefore, the food source of livestock is seriously reduced. If we do not provide enough food, it will lead to the risk of reducing the health quality and productivity of the livestock herd. Therefore, preserving and storing green food and utilizing agricultural by-products is very necessary.

Silage is a biological method that uses the principle of decomposing soluble sugars available in green raw materials (by existing or added microorganisms) into organic acids under anaerobic conditions. This acid content often increases rapidly, mainly lactic acid, which has the effect of reducing environmental pH and inhibiting the growth of rot-causing bacteria, so corn or corn silage will be preserved for quite a long time naturally without using any other chemicals. What preservatives?

Advantages of using corn silage:

• Green raw materials retain their nutritional content.
• Thanks to the sugar-degrading microorganism, nutrients are diversified.
• Cattle are easier to digest
• Does not produce toxins, does not rot or mold during product preservation.
• Preserve and reserve food for times when forage is limited due to crop season.
• Easy to implement and apply in all types of livestock models.

Not only that, corn silage or corn silage also has a delicious taste and stimulates the digestion of cattle. Cattle, goats, sheep, etc. will reduce the time it takes to break down food in the rumen. Food is soft and easy to digest. Ingredients of basic corn silage include:

• Corn stalks or corn after harvesting green corn (milk-ripened corn) 93–94%.
• Ready-made flour, rice bran or cornstarch 2 – 5%
• Molasses 1 – 3%
• Table salt 0.5 – 1%
• Microbial products (if any) 0.1 – 0.2%