When making the case for bagged silage versus other storage methods such as silos, pits, or bunkers, it is helpful to start with the fundamental premise: properly stored and well-preserved silage retains more nutrients while reducing yeast, mold, and mycotoxins that can cause digestive disorders, milk production losses, reduced immunity, and poor breed-back performance, reduced feed intake, poor weight gain, lower feed efficiency, reduced immunity, and weaker reproductive performance.
“As a home-grown food source, silage is a cost-effective, sustainable way to provide dairy cows and cattle with many of the nutrients and calories they need to stay healthy and productive,” says Mike Martin, a consultant with Homestead Nutrition, Inc. in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Bagged silage offers producers a practical way to protect forage quality by creating the anaerobic conditions needed for efficient fermentation. Once filled, packed and sealed, silage bags rapidly limit oxygen exposure, allowing fermentation to begin promptly and helping preserve dry matter, energy value and palatability.
The sealed environment also helps protect silage from weather-related challenges such as rain, surface moisture and prolonged storage, reducing spoilage risk and supporting more consistent feed quality over time. That consistency matters because properly fermented silage — marked by strong lactic acid production and a low pH — helps suppress yeast, mold and other spoilage organisms, reducing the potential for feed losses, mycotoxin exposure and associated herd health concerns.
One of the main obstacles in producing silage using conventional methods like piles, pits, and bunkers is the considerable risk of spoilage and loss, which can amount to as much as 30%.
The problem with these conventional silage storage methods is excessive exposure to oxygen, which leads to rapid silage deterioration. The standard practice is to leave the open face of the pile, pit or bunker open for feeding, which leaves hundreds of square feet exposed and deteriorating.
“There tends to be problems with some mold on the top layer of a bunker, but a well packed bag has very little if made right,” says Martin.
Martin says he has seen clear differences in packing quality at dairies and poorly packed bags are not uncommon.
In one case involving a Versa bagger, he said he was struck by how tightly the silage had been packed.
Astoria, OR-based Versa Corporation, a global leader in agricultural silage bagging and handling, created innovative adjustable density systems that facilitate tighter packing of longer silage bags than the industry norm, which minimizes air pockets and spoilage while maximizing storage capacity.
Suppressing yeast and mold growth provides another important benefit. By limiting exposure to oxygen, the bagging process helps prevent contaminants from consuming valuable carbohydrates and proteins, resulting in greater nutrient density.
Fresher, more palatable feed also encourages more consistent, higher levels of dry matter intake, which increases digestibility, promotes weight gain, enhances milk yield, contributes to improved reproductive performance, improves feed conversion, helps maintain body condition, and contributes to better reproductive performance.
“If you’re not putting up proper good feed, it affects everything. It affects your bottom line. It affects your herd performance, everything,” says Martin.
For more information, call (800) 837-7288 or visit versacorporation.com.