| 23/12/07
Trouw Nutrition has developed a new silage corrector product
to help livestock producers counter some of the rumen problems
associated with this season’s poor quality forages.
The company reports that silages on many farms this winter
have a “fruity” character, with chemical analyses
showing lower energy levels and high concentrations of
acetic acid and/or lactic acid.
“Units with poorer quality silage are responding
as usual by feeding additional concentrates, often in combination
with a rumen buffer to counter rumen acidosis problems,” reports
Trouw Nutrition technical manager John Twigge.
“However, this winter the buffer response time often
seems to be greatly extended. Normally, we’d expect
a response within seven days, but on some farms there has
been little sign of improvement until 15-20 days post buffer
introduction.
“This suggests the problem lies less in the simple
neutralisation of excess rumen acid, but more to do with
the colonisation of the rumen with a particularly aggressive
bacterial population that is producing large amounts of
acid. It appears the rumen really is a bacterial battleground
this winter.”
“What seems to be happening this year is that the
rumen micro-organisms which produce lactate (such as Streptococcus
bovis) are gaining the upper hand over the lactate users
(such as S.ruminantium and M. elsdennii.) But where this
is happening, the introduction of the new Maxcare Silage
Corrector product will be a useful tool to help producers
right the balance,” John Twigge says.
Maxcare Silage Corrector is fed at 150g/cow/day, this product
is a combination of live yeast – to increase lactate
utilisation and regulate the rate of substrate fermentation – and
rumen buffer to neutralise excess rumen acid.
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