Dry Matter

Because the fermentation is faster and the silage more stable, less dry matter is used up. An average 60-cow dairy will make around 900 tonnes of silage per year. So a savings of 10% is equivalent to an extra 90 tonnes of silage to feed. At £20 per tonne, this alone is worth £1800.

Soluble Protein

Protein in the crop is broken down by butyric bacteria to soluble nitrogen forms such as nitrate and ammonia. This is of lower feed value than true protein and so less supplemental protein will be required. With soy at £180 per tonne, this could be worth 8 to 10 pence per cow per day or £1080 on a 60-cow dairy.

Neutral Detergent Fibre

This is a measure of the total fibre of the plant. The enzymes in Silo-King® help break down fibre in the plant, releasing sugars and speeding digestion in the rumen.

Starch + Sugar

The fermentation is speeded up, especially in the crucial early part of the process and therefore less energy is burned up. Also the enzymes help to release more sugar. This can be demonstrated by measuring the temperature of the clamp where we have shown a reduction in the temperature of 18 degrees. On a 1000-tonne clamp this amount of energy is equivalent to around 5000 litres worth of milk.

In Vitro Digestibility

This is the unique way that Agri-King measures digestibility. It gives a much more accurate picture of rumen digestibility than conventional methods, which estimate digestibility from the fibre content of the feed.

Dr Tim Keady from the Ag Institute of Northern Ireland recently reviewed a large number of silage trials and concluded that each percent increase in digestibility would result in an extra 0.37 litres of milk and an extra 0.016% protein. On a 60-cow dairy the improvement shown above is worth £2200 per winter.