Baled silage has become one of the most important conservation methods in Sweden. Because we take our grass as silage we get the quality and the good hygenic that we would like to have. Silage has become a big buisiness also in the horse feeding where many of the breeders have changed from the hay to the hay-silage. The difference between regular silage and haysilage is that the hay silage is dryer (60-70%DM). The hay-silage has also put higher demands on machinery and wrapping material since the grass gets sharper and harder to press together real hard. The main reason for the test was to compare two different systems for wrapping, the new Cross Pac and conventional.

Yeast and Clostridia is a problem in silage for farmers as contaminated silage may result in poor animal health and milk quality. Clostridia can produce toxins that, when consumed, acts as neurotoxins, it may also cause blown cheeses if the Clostridia contaminates milk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cause, effect and interaction of yeasts and Clostridia in silage. Clostridia are microorganisms which are strictly anaerobic and consume carbohydrates and protein in the silage. Yeast is a fungus that is facultative aerobic and feed on carbohydrates in the silage.

The aim with this literature review is to describe the ensilage process in a bunker silo. The process from harvest and chopping to filling and unloading the silo is explained. The sealing of the bunker silo plays an important role for the final quality of the silage. This review covers some of the techniques used. There are many silage additives on the market, some of them are presented including how they act in the ensilage process.

To succeed, and make money at your animal production you need to feed your animals with high quality fodder. Other condition to succeed is that you keep your production costs at a minimum. To be able to produce Baled silage at a low cost it?s very important that the bales have a high density. Density is measured in kg dry matter (DM) per cubic meter. The purpose with this report was to learn more about making silage in round bales and to how much the bale density varies between different brands of round balers.

Horses are made to eat mainly roughage and it is essential for optimal health to offer them an appropriate amount of roughage with good hygienic and nutritional qualities. To produce good hay at the right time and be able to keep the hygienic quality until next summer is a problem. This has the effect that horse owners today choose haylage and silage to a larger extent. Science in this area is scarce, i.e. if the change from hay to silage has any effect on the horse.

Maize for silage has been used as fodder in different parts of the world for a long time and has recently become more common also in Sweden. Our cold climate has been a problem as maize is very sensitive to low temperatures and frost. With new varieties and better techniques for cultivation it is now possible to grow maize in the southern and middle parts of Sweden. As for the north of Sweden the length of the cultivation season is a limiting factor as there are too few days with temperatures of over +10 ºC. Maize is well suited for silage making but oxygen-free conditions are required.

The use of forage maize has increased over the last years. The aim of this litterateur review was to summarize a part of the research that has been conducted on forage maize for growing cattle, including cultivation and conservation of the maize. The forage maize is planted in April or the beginning of May when the temperature in the soil is between 6 and 10°C. Maize needs high temperatures and much water. Maize is harvested in the autumn when the dry matter (DM) is more then 30% or the plants have been exposed to the first frost in the autumn.

The aim of this undergraduate thesis was to formulate advices regarding the use of field beans, cultivated together with spring wheat, as whole-crop silage in feeding to dairy cows. In the thesis, optimal harvest time of the field bean/spring wheat crop, as well as the feeding value and the fermentation quality, was studied. On the research station at Röbäcksdalen in Umeå field bean/spring wheat (70 % respective 30 % of normal seed rate for the pure crop) and pea/oat (70/30) was grown in field experiments both 2002 and 2003. The following year, 2004, the pea/oat crop was excluded and instead field bean and spring wheat was cultivated in three different mixed ratios (field bean/spring wheat; 100:0, 70:30, 30:70). Every year the crops were harvested at four different development stages and the green forages were used in ensiling experiments.

High levels of ammonia in grass silage have been up for discussion by Swedish advisers. One reason is that it is more difficult for the rumen-microbes to utilise high levels of ammonia. A low level of ammonia is also good because if the cattle can use more of the protein in the silage, they don?t need so much protein concentrate. That is very good for the economy at the farm, and it is also good for the environmental problems caused by high levels of ammonia. In this project, 24 samples of silage have been taken at 20 different farms in the south west of Sweden.

This work is about silage contaminated with slugs (Arion lusitanicus). The hypothesis was: Do slugs affect the nutritional value and hygiene quality of silage? During the winter season 2007/2008 silages were discarded in big amounts due to the contamination of slugs. Both the Swedish Farmer Association (LRF) and the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) received phone calls from farmers and animal owners about contaminated silage. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and SVA decided to initiate this project as a master thesis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the content of glucose, fructose, sucrose and fructan (WSC) varied in silage, haylage and hay harvested from the same field and at the same time of harvest. The study also investigated if differences in the WSC-fraction in the forages caused differences in composition of WSC in the colon of horses fed the forages. Hay, haylage and silage were harvested in the first week of June 2005 and stored for about nine months before feeding. Horses that were fistulated in right ventral colon and caecum were used, but only the colon fistula was used for sampling. The fresh crop and the conserved hay, haylage and silage were analyzed for chemical composition and WSC-fraction.

This literature review examines different forages which are well suited for suckle cow production in Sweden today. They should also be possible to cultivate in Sweden under the current circumstances. Crops suitable for grazing in Swedish climate but not used in Sweden today, but which may be relevant for Swedish conditions are also mentioned. In Sweden today, mainly grass silage, straw and hay are used as forage, but also wholecrop silage is used to some extent. However, concentrates are not used to a greater extent, since it contains too much energy.

The aim of this paper was to explain protein degradation in silage and protein quality and biogenic amines in silage and their effects on the health of the dairy cows. After harvest-ing, the plant proteases degrade the proteins in the plant. The protein degrades to different fractions with different digestibilites in the rumen. Fraction A contains non- protein nitro-gen which is peptides, free amino acids and amines. True protein is in the fraction B and is further divided into three subfractions depending on their solubility.

Modern milk production have come a long way when it comes to accommodating the nutritional and physiological needs of the animals, but unfortunately the behavioural and psychological needs of cows and heifers are often left unfulfilled. A long time for eating is beneficial for the digestion and also gives the cattle something to do and decreases the risks for developing abnormal behaviours. An important factor that influences eating- and ruminating time is the particle size of the roughage. The aim of the study was to find out if particle size influences the behaviour of dairy heifers, in particular with regard to eating behaviour and abnormal behaviours. The study was conducted at Uddetorp farm high school in Skara. Forty-two heifers of the breeds SR and SF were housed in 8 slatted floor pens.

During the last ten years the cultivation of maize in Sweden has increased and is expected to grow further. Most of the maize in Sweden becomes silage which is used to feed animals at farms. Maize has in other countries been shown to be a substrate for growth of mould and especially Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp. and Pencillium spp. has been reported.