Forage Quality Silage Inoculants

AccelEnsile forage inoculants contain multiple strains of acid-producing bacteria which act as an aid in the fermentation process of forages. Our patented process of stabilization and packaging ensures that all AccelEnsile inoculants contain live and viable bacteria specifically selected for the crop being ensiled.

AccelEnsile F Series Ideal for alfalfa/grass silage
30470 2XFD (dry applied treats 100 tons) 50 lbs.
30481 FW-50 (wet applied treats 50 tons) 50 grams.
30483 FW-250 (wet applied treats 250 tons) 250 grams.

AccelEnsile C Series Ideal for corn/small grain silage
30469 2XCD (dry applied treats 100 tons) 50 lbs.
30480 CW-50 (wet applied treats 50 tons) 50 gram.
30482 CW-250 (wet applied treats 250 tons) 250 gram.
30474 Wet Applied Inoculant Applicator.

AccelEnsile Benefits

Less dry matter loss.
Less heat damage and longer bunk life.
Improved reservation of feed value.
Increased dry mater intakes.
Improved milk production and components.
Greater weight gains.
Easier (unloading and feed-out).
Non-toxic to humans and animals.
Non-corrosive to equipment.
Available in both dry and wet applied formulas.
Effective in all types of applicators.

Safety Around Silage

Many producers, employees and family members become complacent with regards toward safety when working with silage in bunkers, trenches and drive-over piles.

Follow these precautionary measures during packing and feed removal to protect your family, employees and yourself around silage.

Don't Overfill Silage

To prevent accidents, don't pile forage any higher than what your unloading equipment can safely reach. Typically, an unloader can reach a height of 12 to 16 feet. Thus is the walls of your bunker stand 16 feet high, don't try to pack 40 feet of forage into the structure. If you have excess forage to store, consider using plastic silage bags or several small, covered silage piles to store the excess forage.

Take Precautions During Silage Packing

Tractor rollover is one of the main concerns during silage packing. To prevent a tractor turnover, or to protect yourself if one occurs, here are some guidelines:

Always use a packing tractor that has a rollover protective structure (ROPS).
Wear your seatbelt at all times.
Allow only experienced operators to drive the packing tractor.
Set the tractor's wheels as wide apart as possible, or use dual wheels to increase the tractor's stability.
Use a four-wheel drive or front-wheel assist tractor for better control.
Pack the forage at a maximum slope of 3:1 - pack 3 feet of silage horizontally for each foot that you pack vertically - to prevent the slope from becoming too steep.
When packing on steep slopes, back the tractor up the slope of the forage instead of driving forward up the slope or parallel with the slope.
During packing, slope the forage away from the walls.
In a trench silo, pack forage evenly in both directions so that you can drive off the wall onto the ground.
When two tractors pack one bunker, establish a driving procedure that prevents the tractors from colliding.

In addition, keep people from walking around the bunker, trench or pile during filling and packing, as the equipment operators may not be aware of them and they could get run over.

Cover Silage with Care

When you cover the bunker, trench or pile, it's easy to slip to slip on the plastic and tumble off the edge of the bunker - especially during wet weather. To prevent this, face the walls of the bunker. Then, work your way from the edge toward the center of the bunker as you cover the silage. Furthermore, use an unloader bucket to carry tire up the slope of the silage instead of tossing them over the wall onto the silage.

Avert Avalanches

Do your employees or family members refuse to remove silage from an overfilled bunker or silage pile? If so, they have good reason if the silage pile is at an unsafe height. In fact, those employees had good reason to avoid a feed-out face that could easily 'avalanche' and bury them beneath tons of silage. Following are some ways to avoid a silage avalanche:

Don't undercut. Undercutting occurs when you dig the unloader bucket into the bottom of the silage instead of shaving it down the face of the bunker - a situation that is quite common when the unloader bucket can't reach the top of an overfilled bunker or pile. Undercutting creates an overhang of silage that can quickly loosen and tumble to the floor of the bunker.

Use these additional precautions when you feed-out silage from a bunker, trench or silage pile:

Use caution when removing the tires and plastic prior to feed-out, especially during wet conditions that can cause the plastic to become slippery.
Don't stand on top of a silage overhang. Your weight can cause it to collapse.
To prevent a rollover, don't carry silage in an elevated bucket. Instead, push silage in front of the unloader blade or bucket.

Stay away from the face. The face of a bunker silo should not be a gathering place for tours of your dairy or a place where your nutritionist takes a feed sample. To discourage these situations, fence off the area and post a sign which reads 'Danger: Do Not Enter! Authorized Personnel Only' at the entrance of the bunker, trench or silage pile. If you need to take a feed sample, take it from the unloader bucket after the silage is removed from the face of the bunker or pile.

Use these precautions to prevent injury or death when working with silage in bunkers, trenches or drive-over silage piles.

Avoiding Problems with Bagged Silage

Keith K. Bolsen, Professor Emeritus, Kansas State University; Ruthie Bolsen, Managing Director, Keith Bolsen & Associates
The bag silo has become a popular storage system on many farms. While bagged silage requires specialized equipment, bagging machines can be rented or silage contractors may provide them. Bags are also used to store extra silage when forage yields exceed the capacity of existing silos. But bagged silage is not trouble-free. Following are some tips for managing bagged silage:
Bags should be located on a well-drained, firm surface and preferably on concrete or asphalt.

Keep bags out of the mud.
Provide feeders easy access to all bags.
Low silage DM densities are a problem in bags. A skilled bagging machine operator is essential to ensure a consistent, uniform fill and achieve an acceptable density.
Apply AccelEnsile inoculant to every load of bagged forage or high moisture grain.
Do not bag alfalfa 'too wet'. The DM target should always be 35 to 45 percent.
Record the DM content of all forage going into a bag, especially field-wilted, hay-crop silage, and mark the location of potentially 'problematic silage' (i.e., too wet, too dry, too mature).
Mark (paint) bags with a number, date, crop, farm/field, and which cattle get fed the silage.
Check all bags at least 3 times per week and mend/patch holes and punctures.
The silage removal rate at feed-out must be sufficient to prevent the exposed silage from heating and spoiling, especially if multiple bags are open at same time.

Caution: The first bags used in the 1970s had diameters of 8-9 feet. Today, some large, self-propelled bagging machines use 12-14 feet diameter bags.

Remove only enough plastic for silage needed daily.
Monitor the DM content of all silages and make appropriate changes in the ration when DM content changes more than two percentage units.