Renato Schmidt (Full Presentation)

Eric Buck Author

08/01/2024 Added

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Strategies For Silage Pile Management: Safety, Density and Nutrient Preservation

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[00:00:00.000]So yeah, good morning.
[00:00:06.760]I'm very excited to be here.
[00:00:09.000]It's a very special event that we've been collaborating,
[00:00:12.720]taking part over the years,
[00:00:14.440]and it looks like I guess the funny topic of the day,
[00:00:19.520]it's age and old and everything,
[00:00:24.720]and of course, I couldn't help remembering,
[00:00:30.220]you look at the abstract books and there's
[00:00:33.180]a little picture in the bio of each speaker,
[00:00:36.280]and for this event, I guess it was last year,
[00:00:38.580]they asked for, "Oh, can you send a picture,
[00:00:40.260]so we can put on the bio and everything?"
[00:00:41.940]I sent a picture, and then somebody,
[00:00:44.160]some of my colleagues sent an e-mail back,
[00:00:46.040]"You know, that's not very realistic."
[00:00:48.020]I was like, "Ouch." Realistic was the word.
[00:00:51.340]I was like, "Okay." So,
[00:00:54.340]the topic today is strategies for silage pile management.
[00:00:58.840]A lot of these concepts have been already discussed in the previous talks.
[00:01:04.920]This has been approached also in the past,
[00:01:07.280]but it's always important just to refresh,
[00:01:10.220]remember some of these concepts.
[00:01:12.320]So, what I have planned for today,
[00:01:14.700]it's first things first,
[00:01:16.660]just to discuss some important points of the siling process,
[00:01:20.540]just that repetition builds retention thing.
[00:01:23.960]So, some points that Dr. Erickson, Dr. Diaz mentioned.
[00:01:28.960]Then I'll spend a little more time on the packing density
[00:01:32.760]and this concept of porosity,
[00:01:34.800]that I think it's still something not familiar to everybody.
[00:01:38.840]And there will be like a direct connection
[00:01:41.540]between the presence of air in the forage,
[00:01:45.380]that air is the worst enemy of in siling,
[00:01:48.060]with the potential of the dry matter in nutrient recovery.
[00:01:52.560]So,
[00:01:53.580]to me, the in siling process is pretty much like a game.
[00:01:56.760]Okay, what's the least that we're able to lose
[00:02:01.760]in terms of the original dry matter
[00:02:04.660]and nutrients of the plant?
[00:02:07.300]And throughout this talk,
[00:02:09.520]I also gonna be having some, you know,
[00:02:11.780]points and tips and concerns regarding silage safety.
[00:02:15.240]And of course, by the way,
[00:02:17.500]biocidal management.
[00:02:18.660]So this is just some start, just some concepts.
[00:02:23.200]In silage process, it's an aerobic process
[00:02:25.980]for preservation of forest crops
[00:02:29.240]with adequate moisture content.
[00:02:31.240]So moisture content was already a topic of the first talk.
[00:02:35.360]And we have that ideal range, you know,
[00:02:38.960]just on some general numbers.
[00:02:41.200]I like that mid 30s, mid to high 30s, like an overall.
[00:02:45.360]I think 32, 38 corn, everything else such as legumes,
[00:02:50.360]cereal crops, grasses, 35, 40.
[00:02:52.820]So it's around that area or that range.
[00:02:57.300]Now, if we go a little too wet on this material,
[00:03:01.480]what type of concerns or issues we're gonna have?
[00:03:04.560]First is that the possible production of effluents,
[00:03:09.560]so some runoff, issues with odor, contamination.
[00:03:13.660]Also one point that's important
[00:03:16.860]is that excessive fermentation.
[00:03:19.760]So if you look at, even at that,
[00:03:22.440]a study that Dr. Erickson showed,
[00:03:25.700]the 37 and 43% dry matter.
[00:03:28.440]When you look at the fermentation profile,
[00:03:30.140]the lactic, acidic, some of the acids,
[00:03:32.800]the one that was a little wetter, the 37%,
[00:03:36.140]you see that the proportion of acids,
[00:03:38.000]it's a little different, it's a little,
[00:03:40.440]sometimes a little messy with all these different compounds.
[00:03:43.980]So we always think about, we want lactic acids,
[00:03:46.760]a lactic acid fermentation.
[00:03:48.520]But when you have a lot of water, a lot of moisture,
[00:03:52.060]you have a lot more fermentation.
[00:03:53.400]You need more acids produced to pickle the forage.
[00:03:57.760]And by then, you have more microbe activity.
[00:04:01.080]And also, there was a question about nitrates.
[00:04:03.880]And I would think if it's wetter and you
[00:04:05.680]have more microbe activity, you might have a better impact
[00:04:11.260]on the nitrates or conversion to other compounds.
[00:04:14.460]Another problem is that you might
[00:04:15.840]convert a little more of it to the silo gas.
[00:04:18.640]But anyway, let's get back here.
[00:04:21.680]In green, it's something a little more particular
[00:04:23.720]to legumes, to alfalfa haylages, maybe some cereal crops
[00:04:30.080]or grass silages.
[00:04:32.000]You have a lot of water.
[00:04:33.560]There is a much higher risk of a Clostridium fermentation,
[00:04:36.380]because Clostridium loves water activity, high water activity.
[00:04:41.040]This normally leads to protein degradation.
[00:04:43.160]But even just the wet conditions,
[00:04:44.960]not only Clostridium fermentation,
[00:04:46.340]but the wet conditions and that extensive fermentation
[00:04:49.580]will result in a higher amount of salt.
[00:04:51.300]The amount of soluble crude protein and ammonia nitrogen
[00:04:54.840]and all those smaller protein fractions.
[00:04:57.900]And a little more specific on corn,
[00:05:01.100]you harvest a little more--
[00:05:03.480]a little wetter, then it's more immature.
[00:05:06.280]And then you're going to be losing a little on that
[00:05:08.460]start deposition.
[00:05:09.360]So the energy value of that silage will be different.
[00:05:13.440]Now, on the other hand, if it's too dry--
[00:05:16.200]and those are just some general numbers that I placed--
[00:05:19.140]then the physical characteristics
[00:05:20.920]of the plant particles will pose some challenge
[00:05:23.860]to the packing.
[00:05:24.800]So you're going to end up with poor packing, higher porosity.
[00:05:28.100]So porosity, you think of pores.
[00:05:29.680]It's just the amount of space that's filled with gas.
[00:05:35.700]We're talking about anaerobic fermentation.
[00:05:37.480]So we need to get rid of air.
[00:05:40.240]And the presence of air will just
[00:05:41.780]delay the actual desirable fermentation.
[00:05:45.420]What happens when you have air and what we're doing right now,
[00:05:48.020]we're just respiring.
[00:05:50.540]We're burning sugars, and we're producing water.
[00:05:54.520]Then another point on Dr. Erickson's talk,
[00:05:56.480]that you have a little more moisture
[00:05:58.220]in the end of fermentation just because there
[00:06:00.680]is production of water, CO2, and heat.
[00:06:04.160]So that heat might lead to some heat-damaged proteins,
[00:06:07.860]especially in crops like legume or alfalfa type of crops.
[00:06:13.060]All this-- the presence of air also will stimulate molding.
[00:06:19.360]Dr. just went through.
[00:06:20.160]You know, how important air is for the molds.
[00:06:24.400]More microbial activity, more heating.
[00:06:26.660]There is also plant respiration.
[00:06:28.460]And again, specifically on corn silage,
[00:06:31.180]you know, you start accumulating more.
[00:06:33.040]And this is probably a little influence on the dairy
[00:06:36.340]that have been working more.
[00:06:38.020]But then, you start accumulating more starch.
[00:06:40.340]But at the same time, you also accumulate
[00:06:43.480]or you have more of that protein matrix of the prolamines
[00:06:46.460]that just make kind of like a cement
[00:06:49.780]around the starch granules
[00:06:51.620]and make it harder for the digestion.
[00:06:53.780]So the way, you know, we just heard that it's different
[00:06:56.460]the way the, you know, the dairy animal or the beef,
[00:06:59.600]they digest the starch.
[00:07:01.560]But it's another thing just to keep in mind.
[00:07:04.220]And then, you know, going too extreme on either side
[00:07:07.040]might lead to some dry matter and energy losses
[00:07:09.700]as well as reduced performance.
[00:07:12.000]And losses, they will always happen.
[00:07:19.400]Have all these different steps, you know,
[00:07:21.180]the respiration for the plant, the plant's still alive,
[00:07:24.200]the microbes, the fermentation,
[00:07:26.800]depending on the level of the management,
[00:07:29.680]effluent losses and storage or feed-out losses.
[00:07:33.060]So, you know, they'll always happen.
[00:07:35.020]They always occur, especially when we talk, you know,
[00:07:37.720]dry matter losses versus, you know, shrink.
[00:07:39.940]So it was a nice explanation from Dr. Erickson.
[00:07:43.800]But on my experience, if I see something
[00:07:46.440]and we really see that it's like single digits,
[00:07:49.020]it's like it's hard to find.
[00:07:51.960]It's very hard to achieve.
[00:07:53.760]It's not impossible, but it's not easy.
[00:07:56.040]I think my experience is more around like the 15% in general
[00:07:59.840]that I've seen in the field.
[00:08:01.540]But then, you know, you look at this table
[00:08:03.840]and see how much of impact the management has.
[00:08:07.240]So you can have something that is wonderful, nutritious,
[00:08:11.280]great hygiene characteristics, but also something
[00:08:15.600]that it should be like a compost.
[00:08:18.640]Sugar is already mentioned a little.
[00:08:21.460]That's that conversion of sugars to ideally lactic acid.
[00:08:25.400]So it's the most efficient conversion
[00:08:27.700]and the most efficient acid to pickle everything.
[00:08:30.620]Other fermentation products will be produced.
[00:08:35.160]And it's important to have that amount of sugars.
[00:08:37.780]It's almost like you have this great sports
[00:08:42.320]card and zero, like no gas in the tank.
[00:08:45.020]So you can have the best conditions in the plant,
[00:08:48.260]best inoculant.
[00:08:49.760]And oh, yeah, it got rained on, or I'm
[00:08:52.280]pretty sure the sugars are really low.
[00:08:53.840]Should I double the inoculant?
[00:08:55.600]No.
[00:08:56.680]You have more and more bacteria, and still no food for them.
[00:09:02.160]This is a little study that I did when I was in grad school.
[00:09:05.860]And it just shows--
[00:09:07.040]we went just to induce Clostridia fermentation.
[00:09:11.300]This was 27% ryegrass silage.
[00:09:15.020]You can see here that one was immediate field, and
[00:09:17.880]the other one we delayed 10 hours.
[00:09:20.020]So it was just a loose pile before we
[00:09:21.720]did the lab-scale silos.
[00:09:23.820]At day zero, the amount of water-soluble carbohydrate,
[00:09:27.260]sugars, on the delayed field was less than half
[00:09:30.480]of the one that was immediately packed.
[00:09:33.320]And after 90 days, we see the lactic to acidic acid ratio.
[00:09:38.100]Acidic acid can be produced by Clostridia and other microbes.
[00:09:42.420]And you see there is a big inverted ratio
[00:09:44.960]compared to the one that was immediately filled.
[00:09:47.500]There is butyric acid.
[00:09:49.000]There is more protein breakdown, more ammonia nitrogen.
[00:09:52.300]And you look at the difference on the pH,
[00:09:54.580]right, from 4.5 to 5.8.
[00:09:57.620]So we need the sugars for efficient fermentation.
[00:10:02.800]Also, another point that's important
[00:10:04.340]is that even though we go to the field, we chop, we pack,
[00:10:08.260]cover, hopefully, and it turns silage some way, somehow.
[00:10:13.340]But it's important to have the proper or the efficient
[00:10:17.120]population of lactic acid bacteria just to dominate
[00:10:21.240]the process and drive to the desired fermentation.
[00:10:25.740]This is one example on the initial steps
[00:10:28.740]of the fermentation, the initial days.
[00:10:31.000]This was a pretty wet grass silage, 22% dry matter.
[00:10:34.240]This was done at the University of Florida.
[00:10:36.620]And on the left side, we just see the rate of the pH drop,
[00:10:40.420]especially during this first week right here.
[00:10:43.000]So there's a huge difference when the pH will start to drop.
[00:10:46.740]pH will start to inhibit the plant enzymes,
[00:10:50.220]will inhibit the desirable microbes.
[00:10:52.680]And this final-- oops-- opening on day 60,
[00:10:57.360]when they did more of a nutrient-fermentative profile
[00:11:00.780]analysis, the negative control, the one that was not treated,
[00:11:05.920]had 2.3% of butyric acid.
[00:11:08.020]So it went clostridia big time.
[00:11:11.220]And the one that was treated, this
[00:11:12.600]is a strain of homolytic bacteria.
[00:11:15.900]It had zero.
[00:11:16.360]It had zero butyric acid.
[00:11:20.160]And this is something that was already discussed.
[00:11:22.420]It's, oh, OK, so this will be the solution of everything.
[00:11:25.380]This is a tool in the box.
[00:11:27.440]In this case, luckily, it was something
[00:11:29.840]that made a difference.
[00:11:31.680]But all these steps of management,
[00:11:34.540]they are equally and very important.
[00:11:36.980]Now, this is more like on the feed-out stability.
[00:11:40.860]This was a farm-scale study done, again,
[00:11:43.780]at the University of Florida.
[00:11:45.320]Corn silage.
[00:11:45.980]There were like four egg bags per treatment, untreated
[00:11:50.780]and treated with the Buchnerite product that
[00:11:53.160]was mentioned for the feed-out stability.
[00:11:56.920]And they were removing and sorting
[00:11:59.260]the goods from the bad silage.
[00:12:01.260]So we see the dry matter losses.
[00:12:03.420]There was a good response of inoculation.
[00:12:05.980]And this is a pretty nice study.
[00:12:07.300]It's pretty neat because it also measured
[00:12:09.060]some of the nutrient losses.
[00:12:10.380]So there's a good four-fold difference
[00:12:13.140]between the losses of good protein
[00:12:15.600]and gross energy, untreated versus treated.
[00:12:20.380]And on the bottom here, we just see on the top off,
[00:12:24.240]you have less forage with a lower quality.
[00:12:27.860]And you're feeding about 100 times more yeast,
[00:12:32.240]spoilage yeast, to your animals.
[00:12:33.940]And it's something that if you spoil silage, late Dr. Bolson,
[00:12:38.740]he showed the detrimental effects
[00:12:40.500]on animal intake, performance, fiber digestibility, et cetera.
[00:12:45.220]So again, this was-- it made a pretty nice difference.
[00:12:48.440]I would get back to this is one step.
[00:12:51.660]I actually had a call one day from a producer.
[00:12:55.220]And we were discussing strategies.
[00:12:56.860]And I said, oh, you have feed-out stability issues.
[00:13:00.700]This would be a good product because of how it works
[00:13:03.580]and produce a little acetic acid that works like propacid,
[00:13:06.420]et cetera, et cetera.
[00:13:08.280]And then he asked me, oh, OK, so I use your product.
[00:13:11.120]I don't need to pack the silage.
[00:13:14.500]It's not what I said.
[00:13:14.840]It's not like that.
[00:13:19.300]And then finally, on these four legs of this chair,
[00:13:22.700]let's say, presence of air.
[00:13:25.500]Again, air is the worst enemy of ensiling
[00:13:28.580]and is the primary factor that negatively affects the process.
[00:13:33.020]So some of these losses, this is already pre-harvest.
[00:13:39.740]There is a plant microbial respiration
[00:13:42.140]that I mentioned, nutrients, energy that will be converted
[00:13:44.460]to water CO2, heat, ammonia.
[00:13:47.700]And it's interesting that each 18 Fahrenheit increase
[00:13:50.560]in temperature correlates to 1.7% of dry matter losses.
[00:13:54.540]This was some alfalfa they were bringing
[00:13:56.900]in front of a bunker silo.
[00:13:58.140]I took this picture.
[00:13:59.340]Nobody was pushing or packing.
[00:14:00.840]This was, you know, 2009, it's been a while.
[00:14:03.820]But when I took the infrared picture with a thermal camera,
[00:14:08.080]you see the difference between the ambient temperature
[00:14:10.120]on the outside, that's 78, 79, to 118, 119.
[00:14:14.080]So it's a 40-degree difference
[00:14:15.920]on plant respiration microbe activity.
[00:14:18.320]That's a good, what, 3.5% of losses,
[00:14:20.880]right there in the beginning of the whole process.
[00:14:24.360]And you reach, like, 104 or higher,
[00:14:27.420]that you see more protein damage, that, you know,
[00:14:30.100]the caramelization or the Maillard reaction,
[00:14:33.000]and lower digestibility.
[00:14:36.200]This is just another way to, you know, to show this.
[00:14:38.740]It's an older study on my, you know, the lab that I worked,
[00:14:42.500]not in '99, that was before my time.
[00:14:43.700]But it just showed this delay on packing or filling the silo.
[00:14:49.500]So they wait 6, 12, and 24 hours, loose pile,
[00:14:55.780]and after, you know, all these different period of times,
[00:15:01.460]the level of soluble sugars,
[00:15:03.160]the water soluble carbohydrates, it goes down.
[00:15:06.160]So we need that for fermentation.
[00:15:09.400]And the dry matter losses, you know, it goes up
[00:15:13.320]and kind of like skyrockets after the 12-hour period.
[00:15:17.320]So I actually-- I came across a couple of publications,
[00:15:21.060]and in terms of oxygen and covering or sealing,
[00:15:25.760]how, you know, how long does it take?
[00:15:27.740]And I'll approach that a little later.
[00:15:29.400]But both of them gave you, like, about nine hours.
[00:15:33.300]You know, you're still good.
[00:15:34.700]You're still in the game.
[00:15:36.480]There's not a whole bunch of difference.
[00:15:39.340]It's a little-- the process is still a little forgiving.
[00:15:41.840]But once you're past
[00:15:42.940]that nine-hour, 12-hour, you know, lag of sealing
[00:15:46.840]or covering or just adding more layers,
[00:15:49.320]that's when you start seeing more
[00:15:50.520]of these detrimental effects of air during silage.
[00:15:55.160]This is also, like, a classic older data.
[00:15:57.680]This is actually-- it was done in alfalfa silage.
[00:16:00.660]It was also a mathematical model that was developed.
[00:16:04.400]And some of these numbers-- and I say this
[00:16:05.940]because some of these numbers, sometimes you think
[00:16:07.940]that's too much-- I personally think
[00:16:09.700]that the loss are a little too high, but this was,
[00:16:12.560]you know, done back then, and it's pretty much one publication.
[00:16:16.140]But still, the take-home message of this slide
[00:16:20.140]is that you pack a little tighter,
[00:16:23.600]you get rid of the air, the dry matter losses will go down.
[00:16:28.280]So you make it more efficient.
[00:16:29.540]So this is what it's all about and what is so important
[00:16:33.480]to get rid of air.
[00:16:35.620]Now, let's start getting a little more
[00:16:37.360]on the pile management, the pile silos.
[00:16:42.180]Depending on the management, can be great option for storage
[00:16:47.180]or maybe it could be like also a disaster.
[00:16:50.580]So management, again, is very important.
[00:16:54.400]Depending on the size, on the cross section
[00:16:58.160]will be something like a trapezoid
[00:16:59.960]or it could be something a little more like a triangle
[00:17:02.600]as well.
[00:17:04.540]As Dr. Diaz mentioned, the face design
[00:17:07.400]should be based on the feed out rate.
[00:17:10.440]And I'll just go a little more on the next slide.
[00:17:11.800]Next slide about this.
[00:17:13.260]And the feeding period should dictate the pile dimensioning
[00:17:15.880]or the pile length.
[00:17:16.740]For example, you do like a foot every day
[00:17:19.340]and you're thinking about 300 days of feeding,
[00:17:23.220]so 300 foot long.
[00:17:25.640]But I remember in the past when I was in grad school,
[00:17:28.420]and we would refer to drive over piles
[00:17:32.320]because you should be able to drive over all directions.
[00:17:36.120]But then sometimes the push up piles and those
[00:17:38.920]that you cannot drive over, so I think it got a little
[00:17:41.800]forgotten, we just say pile silos.
[00:17:45.820]This was like a really poor attempt,
[00:17:47.540]and I'm glad I don't do any, I don't know, graphic design
[00:17:49.960]or anything like that.
[00:17:51.620]Probably my young daughter could do better.
[00:17:54.980]But what I try to do here, it's this green face
[00:17:59.580]would be like the face of the silo of the pile.
[00:18:03.700]And I'm just trying to show this slice that's removed daily,
[00:18:08.020]just to start calculating the dimensions
[00:18:11.760]of the silo.
[00:18:13.340]So in this case, just here on the face,
[00:18:16.420]there's the average height, there's the average width.
[00:18:20.020]And this times the removal rate will
[00:18:23.440]give you that daily volume.
[00:18:25.780]So you have an idea, OK, I need this many tons every day.
[00:18:30.340]And I want to have a removal rate of, like I said,
[00:18:33.240]just to make life easier, a foot every day.
[00:18:36.520]So in this case, you have read one variable here.
[00:18:38.940]That's the removal rate.
[00:18:39.960]You know the volume you need.
[00:18:41.720]And then it's more a matter of, OK, how high my equipment,
[00:18:46.040]for feed out, they can reach, my rake,
[00:18:48.140]or anything that's being used.
[00:18:50.280]And also a matter of the space that's
[00:18:52.400]available for the width of this pile.
[00:18:58.400]There are several calculators available online.
[00:19:01.040]I'm a big fan of the University of Wisconsin Extension website.
[00:19:04.520]So you have all types of information, spreadsheets,
[00:19:07.400]calculators, storage systems, all phases, different crops,
[00:19:11.680]it's really nice.
[00:19:13.420]But on this pile size and calculation,
[00:19:17.320]you have to input a lot of numbers here.
[00:19:20.500]And some of the outputs, like a pile bottom width,
[00:19:26.140]you get these calculated.
[00:19:27.960]And sometimes it gets to a point that it's just way too wide
[00:19:31.240]or not realistic for the specific characteristics
[00:19:35.500]of a property.
[00:19:37.120]So we have one that's available with Lalleman that's
[00:19:40.880]a little more--
[00:19:41.640]simple.
[00:19:42.540]And you can input some of those values
[00:19:46.560]and do a little more tail solution for your own needs.
[00:19:50.560]Now, some of the advantages of these drive-over piles,
[00:19:56.580]they are fairly inexpensive when you think of, oh,
[00:20:00.340]I don't need walls, or it's not like a building
[00:20:02.880]anything in specific.
[00:20:06.260]They're insensitive to size.
[00:20:08.620]So you can-- oh, I need something more for--
[00:20:11.600]for a few years.
[00:20:12.580]So you can always plan on expanding a little location
[00:20:16.280]as well.
[00:20:17.400]So you can really, if you need to move or do some change,
[00:20:20.660]it's not going to be a major change in the whole operation.
[00:20:27.380]It's really good for the short or long-term storage.
[00:20:29.960]Sometimes you need to do a satellite pile.
[00:20:32.480]You've got more forage that you're expecting.
[00:20:35.280]You had a great season.
[00:20:37.220]And you can have pretty reasonable diameter losses
[00:20:39.780]with good management.
[00:20:41.560]When you look at the numbers in different silos,
[00:20:43.460]because it has such an area that is, let's say,
[00:20:47.840]even if it's sealed and covered, exposed
[00:20:53.460]is not the right word.
[00:20:54.480]But it's not that it's contained by walls or anything.
[00:20:57.580]But in general, when you compare to bags or towers or bunker
[00:21:02.800]silos, you might have a little higher losses.
[00:21:05.660]But then you have all the other positives,
[00:21:09.000]being inexpensive and moving, et cetera, et cetera.
[00:21:11.520]It also allows segregation of forage.
[00:21:14.280]So you have, oh, I had this place
[00:21:16.180]that had some issues with the nitrates or hail damage.
[00:21:21.720]Or this one was a little drier.
[00:21:23.500]So you can always segregate and have different piles
[00:21:25.960]based on the characteristics and quality of the forage.
[00:21:32.620]There is a possibility of more small silos
[00:21:35.820]than a few large ones, like Dr. Diaz said.
[00:21:38.440]And I'm also a big fan of that.
[00:21:41.480]So it's easier just to pack, to seal.
[00:21:46.880]You have a smaller, better manageable feeding phase,
[00:21:49.980]less options or opportunity for oxygen to penetrate.
[00:21:55.480]And the disadvantage is you still
[00:21:57.160]need a nice, large, well-drained, stable area.
[00:22:03.340]The location is important.
[00:22:06.820]Distance from the feeding area, this could be an issue.
[00:22:10.780]And sometimes--
[00:22:11.440]sometimes you just think of these pile silos.
[00:22:14.700]And you're just like, oh, we just have this space.
[00:22:17.520]I'm just going to start dumping the forage and packing.
[00:22:20.300]So you need to do some nice work on the pad, for sure.
[00:22:25.040]And again, as I've shown on that picture,
[00:22:27.320]the potential of high dry matter losses--
[00:22:29.760]the potential are pretty high of these dry matter
[00:22:31.840]losses without proper management,
[00:22:33.380]just because you already have such
[00:22:35.260]of exposure of all this area here on the top.
[00:22:41.400]Preparing the pad of the area.
[00:22:42.600]So it's important to have an area that allows access
[00:22:51.880]throughout the year, place that you got hit with the snow,
[00:22:56.840]and not enough maneuvering space between the piles,
[00:22:59.920]or even other types of silos, like back silos.
[00:23:02.100]You need to have that space, otherwise it
[00:23:03.760]starts damaging the neighbor's silo.
[00:23:08.440]1% slope to allow rainfall.
[00:23:11.360]Drainage-- it's snow as well, so it's indicated.
[00:23:16.240]Concrete would be the best option.
[00:23:18.540]It still gets a little corroded with the silage acids,
[00:23:21.880]but it would be the best.
[00:23:23.120]I mean, asphalt--
[00:23:24.760]I've been getting a pretty good feedback.
[00:23:26.900]You still need to do some seal coating every, I don't know,
[00:23:29.480]five years or so.
[00:23:31.260]This I saw in literature.
[00:23:32.480]I'm not sure how many people--
[00:23:34.300]I haven't seen around it much.
[00:23:36.300]Like, it's just the crushed rocks or gravel,
[00:23:38.940]the macadam, that could be something
[00:23:41.320]that's not particularly well done.
[00:23:42.760]But there's still a good possibility
[00:23:47.080]to get some gravel, some piece of rocks in the feed.
[00:23:51.560]And doing it on the bare ground, you're
[00:23:54.680]starting getting a little more chance
[00:23:56.320]to get some contaminants, because then you're
[00:23:59.140]dependent on some conditions, on the skill
[00:24:02.860]level of the operator.
[00:24:03.920]So then you start just having a little bit more
[00:24:06.640]of challenge or just opportunity for something
[00:24:11.280]not to go the right way.
[00:24:14.940]Also, the location is something important.
[00:24:17.040]Just here in North America, when you see where the sun goes,
[00:24:21.720]if you're facing south, you're getting all the sun.
[00:24:24.160]And especially if you're south or southwest,
[00:24:26.420]the afternoon sun, if you're in an area that
[00:24:28.680]is already pretty hot.
[00:24:30.640]Maybe the wind direction is something important, too,
[00:24:33.240]because we see a lot of this contamination with dust.
[00:24:37.200]And you have all the trucks or tractors or machinery going
[00:24:41.240]around and blowing the dust on the face of the silo.
[00:24:44.060]So it might be something to consider, as well.
[00:24:49.940]This is a topic, also, it's interesting.
[00:24:55.700]But like everything, you've got the plus and the cons.
[00:25:00.380]This was a harvester this year in Texas.
[00:25:03.840]And they were bringing some 3D kale.
[00:25:05.560]And you can see just the dust going up on the air.
[00:25:09.840]And it's like, well--
[00:25:11.200]we hear about the green pad or the carpet.
[00:25:14.120]It could be a good solution.
[00:25:15.600]Of course, I will always say, hey,
[00:25:20.780]can you do something a little more stable, more solid,
[00:25:24.180]the concrete or the asphalt?
[00:25:28.100]I mean, you're still going to have some losses.
[00:25:30.220]If you're putting the feed already
[00:25:31.640]as a kind of like a buffer from the sand or from the dirt,
[00:25:36.440]you're still going to end up with some losses.
[00:25:38.480]This was actually in Mexico.
[00:25:39.900]And they were leaving like--
[00:25:41.160]I felt they were leaving like a lot.
[00:25:42.540]They were leaving sometimes like this much on the ground.
[00:25:45.460]So it can help quite a bit with this contamination.
[00:25:49.840]But then you have also to remember,
[00:25:51.300]yeah, it's coming at some cost.
[00:25:54.440]I actually have a colleague in the PNW.
[00:25:56.520]And she was with the producer.
[00:25:58.140]They were working nutritionists.
[00:25:59.420]And they were having issues with soil contamination.
[00:26:02.640]The haylage had like 30% of ash.
[00:26:06.900]Oh, OK, I thought I had a question.
[00:26:09.000]So 80% is the ash natural.
[00:26:11.120]So you know, internal content.
[00:26:13.040]And there was like 30%, 22% of contamination.
[00:26:18.120]So that's a lot.
[00:26:19.880]And then they put up some asphalt.
[00:26:22.500]And we decided, OK, let's see what the ash content is
[00:26:25.620]on the standing plants.
[00:26:26.800]You know, it got the wind a lot, and this and that.
[00:26:28.940]Or during wilting, bringing to the silo, and after packed.
[00:26:33.080]And it went down to 15%.
[00:26:35.760]So you know, it is expensive, and you
[00:26:39.800]have to consider many things.
[00:26:41.080]But when you think of a more stable, more permanent bed,
[00:26:45.320]sometimes it's advisable.
[00:26:46.780]Or it's always advisable.
[00:26:48.460]See if it's possible.
[00:26:50.960]Then going a little more on the density,
[00:26:55.420]getting rid of that air.
[00:26:57.580]Wisconsin, they had a study that they said
[00:27:00.440]that density is mostly affected by the packing weight, silage
[00:27:03.480]height, dry matter content, packing time, layer thickness,
[00:27:08.620]especially.
[00:27:09.340]But then we also have to consider
[00:27:11.040]OK, what's the number of tractors?
[00:27:13.080]You've got a packing weight, but it could be two heavy tractors
[00:27:16.420]and three that are not as heavy, but the same total packing
[00:27:19.920]weight.
[00:27:21.020]Also, the tire width and tire pressure,
[00:27:25.440]the angles or the slopes or the ramps,
[00:27:27.940]the more you're getting on that slope and widening the angle,
[00:27:32.060]you change the center of gravity of the packing tractor.
[00:27:35.580]So you have less of that packing ability.
[00:27:38.760]And of course, personal.
[00:27:41.000]So I think this is something we have to really,
[00:27:43.920]really pay attention to.
[00:27:46.600]And it's really important to have people that they are comfortable,
[00:27:51.120]they know the place of the equipment and they know the game plan.
[00:27:55.100]So they have experience, they're well-trained.
[00:27:57.960]They're not some unprepared like friends,
[00:28:00.580]youth, family member, "Oh,
[00:28:02.180]grandpa used to pack and we need somebody else, neighbors."
[00:28:07.180]So this situation was probably like overload the truck and they're
[00:28:10.960]dumping and the truck is going up in the air.
[00:28:13.200]Probably the driver is saying like, "You who?"
[00:28:16.320]But you have to think safety too.
[00:28:20.200]On the top of this, if you have
[00:28:22.600]experience and you know what you're doing,
[00:28:25.860]you're still doing long hours.
[00:28:28.040]At some point, you're tired,
[00:28:30.000]you might lose a little,
[00:28:32.480]the focus, you'll be a little distracted.
[00:28:35.100]You got those things that it's really hard sometimes to control.
[00:28:39.960]The good old,
[00:28:40.920]it's the complacency.
[00:28:42.240]So it's,
[00:28:43.080]oh, I've been doing this all my life.
[00:28:46.140]I got it.
[00:28:47.060]I got it mentality.
[00:28:49.420]Yeah, this one here is also like,
[00:28:51.300]I don't know, unprepared or did not pay attention.
[00:28:53.690]There are like two wagons in this,
[00:28:56.010]harvesting and going like behind the wagon, so.
[00:28:59.570]Some densities, you know, just some really,
[00:29:04.410]you know, you probably heard about this concept.
[00:29:06.890]Pactite continuously, you see the packing weight,
[00:29:11.010]the heavy tractors, add weights if necessary.
[00:29:13.350]This is a little, you know, pretty simple,
[00:29:16.810]little cowboy math, Kurt Ruppel, 1993.
[00:29:21.190]It's the 800 rule, you multiply it by the harvest rate.
[00:29:24.950]In this case, for example, I don't know,
[00:29:26.410]just to make it easier, 200 tons an hour.
[00:29:28.930]So in pounds, this should be your packing weight,
[00:29:31.190]160,000 pounds.
[00:29:32.750]End of the day, general number for corn,
[00:29:37.610]silage, haylage, grass, cereal crops,
[00:29:39.610]would be like a minimum 45 pounds fresh matter,
[00:29:43.530]as is, per cubic feet.
[00:29:45.390]Or 16 pounds dry matter per cubic feet.
[00:29:48.650]And as I said, we try to get more on that
[00:29:50.870]porosity concept.
[00:29:51.870]So the porosity, we try to be less than 40%.
[00:29:54.290]The reason for that is that we think
[00:29:59.910]of the pores and porosity.
[00:30:01.790]That's the gas.
[00:30:02.610]That's the pores.
[00:30:03.430]That's where the gas may be.
[00:30:05.630]So this is where the gas--
[00:30:08.010]the fuel devours around the silage particles.
[00:30:10.670]That's the liquid and solid phase, for example.
[00:30:14.450]And this fresh or bulk density, it's better correlated
[00:30:20.550]to the porosity.
[00:30:22.910]So when we're really talking about this space with air,
[00:30:27.130]and we look at these two graphs here--
[00:30:29.770]this graph of the two curves--
[00:30:31.530]we see that these two lines here with the bulk density porosity,
[00:30:36.690]they really correlate to each other.
[00:30:39.310]And the dry matter density, not a whole lot.
[00:30:41.970]So this could be a problem that you have your dry matter here,
[00:30:46.450]but then you vary the water or the moisture content.
[00:30:50.230]So it's like you're having less or more gas or moisture.
[00:30:54.650]And we're really trying to figure out the gas space here.
[00:31:00.770]So when you think of, OK, I want 16 pounds dry matter
[00:31:05.050]basis per cubic feet as minimum density.
[00:31:08.730]If your forage is 45% dry matter,
[00:31:10.990]then your bulk density is kind of low.
[00:31:13.450]It's 35.6% only.
[00:31:16.730]And if it's wet, wet forage is a lot easier to pack.
[00:31:19.910]So if it's wet, it's being already 53.3.
[00:31:24.910]So it's quite a bit higher than 45.
[00:31:27.110]I've shown these I think on the second conference
[00:31:34.590]that we had here, but it's always nice to remember.
[00:31:37.730]The one on the left, and I'm gonna show some things
[00:31:40.410]more related to soil compaction,
[00:31:42.430]because they've been doing something to avoid
[00:31:44.470]and we want something that will compact.
[00:31:46.910]So I've been seeing some things that I found interesting.
[00:31:49.590]There's not a whole lot of research on that area.
[00:31:52.730]Some from the old crew in Wisconsin, but not anymore.
[00:31:57.050]But then this first picture here is,
[00:32:00.070]it's kind of like no brainer, easier.
[00:32:01.690]You add more weight and then you're gonna pack
[00:32:05.410]at a deeper depth and also you pack harder at the surface
[00:32:10.170]and more of a shallow packing.
[00:32:12.990]Now this one was pretty interesting when I first saw it.
[00:32:15.190]It's that you have same axle load,
[00:32:19.270]narrow tire and a wide floatation, wide tire.
[00:32:22.950]And they have this kind of like a balloon shape effect
[00:32:25.370]on the compaction.
[00:32:26.850]And in this case, the depth of compaction was the same
[00:32:30.790]but using the narrow tire, you have like a stronger
[00:32:35.690]or a tighter compaction compared to the one that's wider.
[00:32:40.150]So it's something like, oh, maybe this could be interesting.
[00:32:43.030]You know, we're talking about pile but in bunkers,
[00:32:44.890]just to go like near the wall or just to finish the job
[00:32:48.950]and really try to get like the final layers
[00:32:52.370]and make sure you get rid of the air.
[00:32:54.670]So this could be something interesting to consider.
[00:32:58.290]Tire pressure, I saw this data was shown at a meeting
[00:33:02.050]early this year in Wisconsin.
[00:33:03.210]I was like, you know, this is pretty interesting.
[00:33:05.370]I think we don't think that it can be that important.
[00:33:09.590]You know, it's another factor.
[00:33:10.710]It's another one of those little piece of the puzzle
[00:33:14.110]that will make the whole thing.
[00:33:16.230]So you increase the tire pressure and we will
[00:33:18.630]also increase quite a bit of the ground pressure
[00:33:22.110]or the compaction.
[00:33:25.230]And this one was even so that it caught even more my attention.
[00:33:30.050]This is the-- it shows the effect
[00:33:32.970]of number of passes of a 14 and 1/2 ton combine
[00:33:37.390]on the penetration resistance of a silt-loam soil.
[00:33:40.870]So they use these, you know, the CPT, these cone penetration
[00:33:44.470]test, the penetrometer, and the number
[00:33:48.310]numbers here are the number of passes of the combine.
[00:33:52.310]So we have 0 and the compaction index here in the bottom.
[00:33:57.290]And even this first pass that they did,
[00:34:02.290]between 70% and 80% of compaction
[00:34:04.590]occurred during the first pass over the field.
[00:34:07.250]So you know, it's something like sometimes the rate of harvest
[00:34:11.330]and the forage is coming in really, really fast.
[00:34:14.010]And it's really important to try to cover
[00:34:16.010]at least the entire surface, so to
[00:34:17.990]drive it throughout, because you get
[00:34:20.230]a lot on that first pass of the pack or the push tractor.
[00:34:25.190]Making the pile, we recommend the progressive wedges.
[00:34:33.090]So it's the best, I would say, to compact.
[00:34:36.810]It's also the safe side.
[00:34:40.550]The height before the length, I think
[00:34:42.230]this is kind of like the typical situation.
[00:34:44.070]This was in California, so they have
[00:34:47.670]a lot of issues with the real estate,
[00:34:49.350]and they don't have space, and they do the push-ups.
[00:34:51.390]They keep just pushing, going the height.
[00:34:54.990]So this could lead to some problems with avalanche, too,
[00:34:57.330]that I'll touch on in a minute.
[00:35:01.290]And the length before height, yeah, I'm not sure.
[00:35:03.750]You would spread so much.
[00:35:05.650]Maybe just start with the carpet.
[00:35:10.190]But we're still going to have a lot of exposure to air,
[00:35:13.390]especially if there would be some interruption.
[00:35:16.410]And another point.
[00:35:17.350]It's really important.
[00:35:18.230]Thin layers, four, six-inch tops.
[00:35:23.250]I use a calculator from Wisconsin,
[00:35:24.930]and I just plugged some parameters here just
[00:35:27.930]to monkey around with the equation.
[00:35:31.170]And then you see that you go from like six to eight inches.
[00:35:34.770]I write like the difference on the dry matter density
[00:35:37.030]and the porosity.
[00:35:38.070]So you're out of that 16 pounds per dry matter cubic feet.
[00:35:44.930]Porosity is below 40%.
[00:35:47.030]It doesn't-- those are like you go from six to four inches.
[00:35:52.910]Sometimes it's not very hard just to deviate that much.
[00:35:58.750]So when I saw that packing data from the soil compaction,
[00:36:03.110]and this is like I think would be really, really--
[00:36:05.930]as I said, all points are important.
[00:36:08.030]But really to drive over the entire surface
[00:36:12.890]and to do the thin layers.
[00:36:14.430]I think those will be really keys for this process.
[00:36:16.710]This is just a different calculator
[00:36:19.570]for the density in specific.
[00:36:21.810]So we can add some numbers like delivery rate, dry matter,
[00:36:26.070]thickness, packing weight, and spits out the porosity,
[00:36:30.110]fresh matter density, dry matter density as well.
[00:36:33.270]This was from that harvest in Texas early this year
[00:36:43.810]with the three kale.
[00:36:45.510]So we just were there.
[00:36:46.390]We were there for just a portion of when
[00:36:48.790]they were building the pile.
[00:36:50.770]But when we got there, the push tractor, there was only one.
[00:36:56.290]The push tractor, there was just one tractor right there.
[00:36:59.030]It was parked.
[00:37:00.150]It wasn't doing anything.
[00:37:01.930]And it was pretty clear that they didn't spread and start
[00:37:04.690]packing the very first load.
[00:37:06.490]So when you have that porosity, that sponge that's
[00:37:09.910]contained in the middle, and then all of a sudden,
[00:37:13.230]all these trucks, I guess like four CMIs, they came all
[00:37:16.070]at once.
[00:37:17.030]So then he's like, oh, I got to go, go, go.
[00:37:20.250]And since he didn't spread, I think,
[00:37:22.250]ideally to the amount of forage, then he
[00:37:25.070]was pushing a little too, I think, thick layers.
[00:37:28.890]And then in the end here, we can see
[00:37:31.130]there's still a lot of forage that is
[00:37:33.230]left unpacked on the ground.
[00:37:35.510]So it's important to start on the right pace.
[00:37:39.390]And it's not really important to do the first loads,
[00:37:41.950]because it's going to have all that weight and the gravity
[00:37:44.190]effect.
[00:37:45.070]Yeah.
[00:37:45.570]And still, when you want to build and make everything
[00:37:47.450]right, you should just start with the right path.
[00:37:53.250]Coordinated traffic during harvest
[00:37:58.270]is a little more on the safety side.
[00:37:59.990]The packing route to avoid collisions, accidents.
[00:38:03.750]This was on a feed yard.
[00:38:05.470]And there's like one, two, three, four.
[00:38:09.010]There was another one here, five.
[00:38:10.490]There was like a bunch of semis just waiting to unload.
[00:38:13.490]These are three.
[00:38:15.070]You know, tractors.
[00:38:16.730]So when you see all these--
[00:38:18.730]I don't know what packing route, if they ever discussed anything.
[00:38:22.030]The tractors are not in the forage.
[00:38:23.810]They're not still like packing somehow.
[00:38:25.870]And they're in the front of the truck.
[00:38:27.490]So I think there's still quite a bit of miscommunication
[00:38:31.390]in this case.
[00:38:33.730]Drive slowly.
[00:38:34.870]Avoid the wheel slip.
[00:38:36.970]Maybe about two, two to three miles per hour.
[00:38:41.170]Multiple passes, two directions.
[00:38:44.570]So some people, they like to go around in circles.
[00:38:48.170]You stay a little longer on the pile.
[00:38:51.050]Other people like more--
[00:38:52.610]I think we get more on the density,
[00:38:54.110]doing just back and forth.
[00:38:56.670]And both have the good points and the not so good points.
[00:39:01.630]I think you have to pick your battles.
[00:39:03.130]It's OK, I'll do a better packing job going back and forth
[00:39:09.150]for the way I'm building my silo.
[00:39:12.110]Might have some more like wear and tear
[00:39:14.570]on the equipment.
[00:39:16.050]Some people, they like to go over,
[00:39:17.410]but then turn around and back.
[00:39:18.890]So then you're losing time just trying to turn around
[00:39:22.330]instead of shifting.
[00:39:23.670]So there are all these different variables
[00:39:25.550]that people have to sit and do the pre-harvest meeting
[00:39:28.570]and decide how to go.
[00:39:31.790]Also, you're doing a better packing job.
[00:39:34.290]You can fit more silage.
[00:39:36.330]So you will reduce your storage cost.
[00:39:39.410]And also, you get rid of air.
[00:39:41.030]You have a better in siling, a better fermentation.
[00:39:44.090]So again, this is just some parameters
[00:39:45.830]I put on the calculator.
[00:39:47.390]And you go from like a 10, 12 and 1/2, 15, 17, 20.
[00:39:51.950]This is possible.
[00:39:52.850]And we've seen even in the feed yards.
[00:39:56.630]So you see how much we can gain on just the capacity
[00:40:04.490]of that particular area.
[00:40:06.050]Then as soon as done, I gave that 9, maybe
[00:40:13.610]12 hours of a little time, a buffer,
[00:40:18.350]you might have before you actually cover with the plastic
[00:40:21.470]and you seal everything, either with tires or sand
[00:40:25.850]or gravel bags.
[00:40:28.970]The white plastic better than black.
[00:40:31.070]You're not going to be just attracting more heat.
[00:40:33.930]One study, it was like a 10 or 20 degree difference
[00:40:37.310]on the top six inch, just having that black face up.
[00:40:40.430]And we've seen around.
[00:40:43.130]Oxygen barrier film is not a novelty.
[00:40:46.490]I like the technology, especially if it's not really
[00:40:50.570]smooth on the top.
[00:40:51.470]It sits a lot better than the regular plastics, I feel,
[00:40:55.130]when you eliminate some of the air pockets.
[00:40:58.450]Like on this picture, more weight
[00:41:00.250]on the seams and the edges.
[00:41:02.750]Then they have the splits, more oftentimes connected with twine.
[00:41:07.630]But some place that we go, we have so much wind.
[00:41:10.390]And they say, you know, they split, they're not going to cut.
[00:41:12.650]You need to put the actual whole tires.
[00:41:15.010]So it's, yeah, again, you've got to pick your battles.
[00:41:17.950]Might have some issue with stagnant water.
[00:41:19.630]People like going around and tripping.
[00:41:21.230]You've got to be careful.
[00:41:23.370]Covering some other data from late Dr. Bolson.
[00:41:27.630]Just to remind, this is a nice study.
[00:41:31.170]Three different crops.
[00:41:33.010]And they were covered or not with the regular plastic.
[00:41:35.650]And he measured the losses from the 10, 20, and 30 deep.
[00:41:40.570]Death.
[00:41:42.170]So on the top layer, on the 10-inch layer,
[00:41:46.510]you basically go from like 80% losses down to 20 or less.
[00:41:51.850]So solid, you have like four times less lower losses
[00:41:55.890]on that 10-inch layer.
[00:41:57.690]And depending how large, how big it is,
[00:41:59.990]that's a really big, large amount of feed.
[00:42:03.050]OK, I got this question like, every now and then,
[00:42:10.430]I got the questions like, hey, I
[00:42:11.690]had my silo there, and it's been this many weeks or a month.
[00:42:16.590]Is it worth to cover?
[00:42:19.530]I found-- I think this is the only data
[00:42:21.530]I could find on this topic.
[00:42:24.510]This was a dry matter recovery on the top 13 inches.
[00:42:28.350]These are the sampling times, 7/21/90/180.
[00:42:32.710]And they were covered immediately.
[00:42:34.650]They were not covered at all, and covered after a week.
[00:42:38.850]So after the first week, you have a battery
[00:42:41.210]recovery of dry matter on the one
[00:42:43.310]that was immediately covered.
[00:42:45.310]And no cover, and just covered after, they were the same, 86%.
[00:42:50.390]But then with the different sampling times,
[00:42:53.690]you still kind of hold on that 80%, at least in this study.
[00:42:58.130]And the one that was not covered,
[00:42:59.630]you go from 85% to 70%, then 46%, then 37%.
[00:43:03.830]So at some point, you're going to get to that 20%.
[00:43:08.710]The time-- so what's the time?
[00:43:10.730]I mean, the time is like as soon as you're back.
[00:43:13.690]As soon as you're done, please.
[00:43:15.710]Because yeah, you still save some 70% here,
[00:43:22.250]but you lost 10 already.
[00:43:25.310]So the longer you wait, you're waiting, you're losing.
[00:43:29.430]Every day, you're losing a little bit.
[00:43:31.790]So I would say you try not to wait.
[00:43:37.350]As soon as you can, just cover and seal it.
[00:43:40.250]We know that's not the task everybody likes to cover a silo,
[00:43:47.970]but it could be done in not a much worse way.
[00:43:52.490]This was in Mexico,
[00:43:55.870]and when I was in Brazil,
[00:43:57.050]I grew up in a small place.
[00:43:58.190]We had a bunker that was small and we used to do the same.
[00:44:00.450]We put dirt over the plastic.
[00:44:02.650]But you see this poor guy over here?
[00:44:05.850]You're bringing the payloader with dirt dumping and he's like, "Yeah,
[00:44:09.770]yeah, make sure that you spread everything over the plastic."
[00:44:13.110]Yeah, that's like a long, long, long workday.
[00:44:16.810]So yeah, it can be worse.
[00:44:19.250]Some block cutting during feed out like Dr. Diaz mentioned.
[00:44:23.310]This is a nice picture because it shows the effect with the thermal image.
[00:44:27.130]This phase that was being fed out and it's
[00:44:29.650]being freshened ahead of the oxygen penetration,
[00:44:32.150]it was about 74, 73 degrees.
[00:44:37.090]The size that were
[00:44:39.290]exposed there about 1992.
[00:44:42.470]So you still have that spoilage going on,
[00:44:45.290]you have detrimental microbes,
[00:44:47.130]less dry matter, less nutrients.
[00:44:48.670]So we always try to dimension your silo
[00:44:51.970]properly according to the feed-out rate.
[00:44:55.170]This just a slide on the safety side, always be careful.
[00:44:59.190]The piles are always just like a humongous in some places
[00:45:03.370]with over 20 feet high, 20, 25.
[00:45:07.510]Always be
[00:45:08.810]careful.
[00:45:09.310]There's some fissures here on this face.
[00:45:13.910]We recommend to use some safety apparatus, maybe
[00:45:16.810]like a harness with a safety line.
[00:45:18.870]So some people are using this.
[00:45:20.450]They are also doing more and more of these safety meetings,
[00:45:23.210]the pre-harvest meetings.
[00:45:26.430]And on the face management, you try
[00:45:28.410]to just have that top of the pile
[00:45:31.790]where you can reach with the unloading equipment.
[00:45:34.270]You try to keep everything clean and straight.
[00:45:36.830]Remove at least six inches--
[00:45:38.330]or even more, depending on the challenges or the hot weather,
[00:45:42.370]if it's poorly packed.
[00:45:44.030]And not to leave any small pile or some silage
[00:45:48.510]by the face for the next day, because that's just
[00:45:50.810]generating some yeast or fungi inoculum.
[00:45:53.970]A little on the silage avalanche.
[00:45:59.030]And look at my time.
[00:46:02.130]How's my time, Kip?
[00:46:03.850]Oh, OK, pressure is on.
[00:46:06.810]Avalanche.
[00:46:07.850]Always avoid to pack the new forage with the old silage.
[00:46:12.610]You have that issue with just like a cohesion
[00:46:15.170]of the particles.
[00:46:16.550]So when you pack one, the new one, with the old.
[00:46:20.990]Also, it comes down to the crop type and the chop length.
[00:46:23.810]Like, the shorter the particles, you
[00:46:26.810]have less of that cohesion.
[00:46:29.010]Crop type, we think of haylage.
[00:46:30.590]You have kind of like a mesh.
[00:46:31.910]So we never heard about avalanche with haylage.
[00:46:34.910]It's more either corn silage, high moisture corn.
[00:46:37.370]Moist infiltration, check the--
[00:46:41.450]hopefully it's covered-- check the integrity of the plastic.
[00:46:44.270]If you have, especially in some places
[00:46:45.810]that you could have some water, just
[00:46:47.610]leaking and creating some little bit of a fissure.
[00:46:50.990]Changing crop dry matter.
[00:46:53.490]You think something like--
[00:46:55.310]and I saw this example with snow, for example.
[00:46:57.410]You have wet snow, and then suddenly you
[00:47:00.570]have some more dry, fluffy snow.
[00:47:02.870]So you don't have much of cohesion.
[00:47:05.010]And when you think of dry matter of the crops,
[00:47:06.890]one that's packed tighter, it's wetter.
[00:47:10.790]And one that's not as tight, so they are not really stable.
[00:47:16.170]Filling strategy, mention about this.
[00:47:18.130]Pack density, of course, it's tighter, better packed,
[00:47:20.830]so it should be more stable.
[00:47:22.850]And feed out management.
[00:47:24.750]Try not to stab the bottom and wait for some of that material
[00:47:28.590]just to fall off, to cave.
[00:47:31.270]Or in this situation, you kind of like to live dangerously,
[00:47:35.170]like drive right across.
[00:47:36.410]Hit the face.
[00:47:38.650]So again, a little training and, I guess, common sense.
[00:47:44.690]So in summary, when properly constructed and managed,
[00:47:49.350]these pyociles, they're efficient.
[00:47:52.350]They can be inexpensive.
[00:47:54.170]Storage systems, they offer flexibility
[00:47:56.150]in terms of size, in terms of location.
[00:47:59.990]I would say some direct expenses would be basically
[00:48:03.590]the construction or the preparation
[00:48:05.930]of the pad, and everything else here is like harvest costs,
[00:48:10.430]like the packing equipment, the labor, plastic, fuel.
[00:48:15.630]And I would say indirect expenses,
[00:48:19.190]according to this research in Wisconsin,
[00:48:22.370]would be basically the silage and dry matter losses.
[00:48:26.270]So the air removal and exclusion from the forage mass
[00:48:30.590]is always critical for success.
[00:48:33.170]And this is actually my last slide,
[00:48:35.450]it's like, oh, all those things again is like, yeah,
[00:48:39.010]because those are, they're important,
[00:48:41.190]every single one of them.
[00:48:42.550]You know, you start with the right quality,
[00:48:45.010]right maturity, dry matter of your crop,
[00:48:48.170]chop length, kernel processing if the case,
[00:48:51.290]use an inoculant just to make sure
[00:48:52.730]you dry the fermentation,
[00:48:54.250]feel fast, pack tight, you know,
[00:48:58.390]you cover it and you seal immediately,
[00:49:00.930]practice the good feed out storage,
[00:49:03.010]and always, you know, work safely.
[00:49:05.970]And I think this is what I had.
[00:49:10.670]There we go.
[00:49:12.290]Thanks, everyone.
[00:49:13.130]- I heard Dr. Bolson's name mentioned a few times,
[00:49:26.590]and I had the opportunity to work with him very closely
[00:49:28.870]over the last 15 years on the oxygen barrier technology.
[00:49:33.410]He would appreciate the fact
[00:49:34.490]that you were talking about safety tonight or this afternoon.
[00:49:38.710]But one thing that was not mentioned
[00:49:39.830]was the importance of using the reverse gear on the tractor.
[00:49:42.630]He did talk about going in two different directions,
[00:49:44.570]but he was a real stickler
[00:49:45.890]about what he referred to as circling disease.
[00:49:49.510]And we actually had videos showing
[00:49:52.970]where the outer six to 12 inches,
[00:49:56.570]depending on the packing density,
[00:49:58.370]was being sloughed off and disturbed as turn.
[00:50:02.170]So check your,
[00:50:04.010]make sure your pack tractor drivers
[00:50:06.030]know how to use the reverse gear.
[00:50:08.590]They've got it,
[00:50:09.430]they can use the clutch and that gear shifter.
[00:50:11.890]And then the other thing,
[00:50:12.830]we did do a study at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo
[00:50:15.930]that was published in ADSA
[00:50:19.350]on delayed sealing or covering,
[00:50:22.790]but also on the impact of using a true barrier
[00:50:26.630]versus just a polyethylene film.
[00:50:29.110]And even when there was a 12, 24, or 48 hour
[00:50:33.530]time frame, there was still a significant difference
[00:50:37.290]in the value of the feed six months later
[00:50:39.970]based on the cover that was used,
[00:50:41.710]even though they had the challenge of the delayed sealing.
[00:50:46.070]- Yeah, I said I like the OB films,
[00:50:50.850]not only just by the oxygen transfusion,
[00:50:53.870]but how it sits on the surface.
[00:50:57.770]And if they would ask me, it's a no brainer,
[00:51:01.750]I was like, yeah, I'll go with the,
[00:51:03.050]the oxygen barrier film,
[00:51:04.930]you know, if I can choose between that and just the regular film.
[00:51:09.450]And the packing, yeah, the strategy,
[00:51:11.650]I'm more like a, you know,
[00:51:13.430]I like more the directional rather than the circle.
[00:51:17.730]But then you, yeah, it's one of the things that, you know,
[00:51:20.370]some people they would just choose and they will have like, yeah,
[00:51:22.870]but then with the circle, I'll just be around, you know,
[00:51:25.450]the forage even though you might disturb some of that, you know,
[00:51:28.190]upper layer depending on how fast you go or the operator skills.
[00:51:32.570]And they feel that, yeah,
[00:51:34.810]also I'm not going to have all the issues with,
[00:51:37.430]I don't know, transmission or where in there, you know, those things.
[00:51:40.270]So it's, yeah, like you,
[00:51:43.950]I would rather just see, you know,
[00:51:46.070]even like a tractor, a push tractor,
[00:51:48.350]and they go in different directions back and forth.
[00:51:51.130]But some, you know, some they have the reasons, I guess, you know.
[00:51:55.830]As I said, I grew up on a farm and, you know,
[00:51:58.150]when you work on a farm,
[00:52:00.250]that doesn't matter what you do,
[00:52:02.090]if it makes sense or not,
[00:52:03.230]you always have a reason,
[00:52:05.470]sometimes an excuse why you're doing that way.
[00:52:07.710]I saw my dad doing a lot.
[00:52:09.270]So yeah, but I agree with you, Ron.
[00:52:12.570]My question is in regards to sealing.
[00:52:16.130]Do you ever see anybody using
[00:52:18.010]distiller solubles to seal their piles and if so,
[00:52:22.050]are there instances or climates where you think that works better than others?
[00:52:26.590]Yeah, I've heard some of these, you know, alternatives.
[00:52:29.890]I think not specifically these.
[00:52:31.610]I hear about some like molasses but you still get something that will be,
[00:52:39.810]I think, not really totally stop even air or water to reach.
[00:52:53.930]So at Lalleman, we're trying to come up with something on
[00:53:01.130]this edible cover or just some solution outside the use of films.
[00:53:06.970]We did some work with Larry Berger that was Dr.
[00:53:09.890]Bolson's student and he was at the University of Illinois.
[00:53:13.290]He had this material and then he fine-tuned and he approached us,
[00:53:17.210]"Oh, you want to do a study and see what it looks like?"
[00:53:19.630]It was like a Play-Doh type of a material.
[00:53:23.070]We did a bunker study and then we still saw quite a bit of
[00:53:30.650]spoilage. So I would still like the best choice is to use plastic,
[00:53:37.690]either a regular film, but if even better, the oxygen barrier. But so far, I
[00:53:43.430]haven't seen any data that would support a more like alternative or
[00:53:48.190]edible cover.
[00:53:50.890]Yeah.
[00:54:17.890]But it's something a little more immediate from like from one place to
[00:54:31.870]another, or is like.
[00:54:35.190]Yeah, just
[00:54:47.870]for, I think for people that are, yeah, yeah, that's, yeah, just for
[00:54:53.330]people that are online, the question was about, you know, moving,
[00:54:56.550]repacking silage, some of the products, we have some data that shows that,
[00:55:02.390]you know, use that based inoculant, you have more of that stability
[00:55:07.950]during feed out, and we have even like some data that I did personally when I
[00:55:11.510]was in grad school that you have like untreated silage versus, or actually is
[00:55:17.850]it's a, it was a TMR, like a TMR made with untreated or treated corn silage,
[00:55:23.490]and then the TMR made with untreated corn silage, but then, you know, treated
[00:55:30.390]with a propacid type of preservative. So the one inoculated had a better
[00:55:35.190]response in terms of stability, but you're already like in the process. So,
[00:55:40.150]you know, if you could before just use some book, book and write product, that
[00:55:44.490]would be ideal. If you knew that you'll be selling more
[00:55:47.830]moving, transferring somehow.
[00:55:51.070]We recommend you do, if possible,
[00:55:53.230]when it's like a cooler time of the year,
[00:55:56.190]and to try to do as fast as possible.
[00:55:59.010]So also the silage, you're not doing fresh plant,
[00:56:01.630]you're doing the silage, so the consistency
[00:56:04.090]is a little different.
[00:56:05.910]But I think in terms of additives and something
[00:56:08.610]to stabilize, I think the solution will only
[00:56:11.770]be a chemical additive.
[00:56:14.110]They ask like, oh, can I use an inoculant
[00:56:16.950]if I'm getting a silage and moving or doing something else?
[00:56:20.550]Well, the fermentation already happened.
[00:56:22.330]The sugars were gone.
[00:56:24.410]So in this case, there's nothing pretty much inoculant can do.
[00:56:28.470]It would be to be on the safe side,
[00:56:30.330]maybe just to mix some chemical additive.
[00:56:34.430]I think packing density will be a little bit different.
[00:56:38.310]Your material is completely different in consistency.
[00:56:41.730]So you have to be really careful about how tight
[00:56:44.030]you're going to pack it.
[00:56:45.350]In there, you're not promoting it
[00:56:46.890]for fermenting, you're promoting stable oxygen.
[00:56:49.990]So I would get as much oxygen as I can on it.
[00:56:53.910]And that's why it's a world unit at a scale of 200
[00:56:56.890]times greater than a 12-foot-5, 12-foot-7, 8-team.
[00:57:00.830]So I don't think it's going to get that top accuracy.
[00:57:04.250]Well, we can pull it off with a piece of research
[00:57:07.450]that Paul Humphrey's kind of reviewed.
[00:57:10.250]But Tom's got it in a perfect situation to pull it off.
[00:57:16.830]Yeah, I think, as I said, just to also see the consistency
[00:57:21.730]and how much more you may damage some
[00:57:24.110]of the cells in the plant.
[00:57:26.390]But yeah, if you're doing fast, and then
[00:57:30.370]if you want to really get an insurance policy,
[00:57:32.890]then a chemical additive could be an idea,
[00:57:36.070]could be a suggestion.
[00:57:38.070]Thank you.

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