Managing Forage “Undesirables”

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Email

Loren Daentl PAS

It is widely known that elements of our forage harvest, storage and feed-out processes can bring potential risk factors to our livestock herds. Topics like mycotoxins and forage hygiene are prevalent, and solutions to these concerns are readily available and quickly deployed to help manage the concern. The concerns associated with these challenges are a real threat to animal wellness and production. When these challenges are properly identified, their solutions can reap huge benefits. But far too often these forage concerns, that I will label as forage “undesirables,” go misidentified and wrongly addressed. This misdiagnosis ends up costing farms revenue from both production losses as well as incorrect remedies. Below, I will summarize the four forage “undesirables” to watch out for and how they function on our farms.

Wild Yeast

Wild yeast are live yeast cells that are naturally occurring and feed off lactic acid, sugars, and oxygen. When a readily available carbohydrate source (silage, TMR, corn, etc.) has exposure to oxygen, these wild yeast populations thrive, consuming the nutrients intended for our livestock and raising the pH of the forage, making it less stable and producing off flavors and heating at our feed bunk.

Mold

Mold, just like wild yeast, is naturally occurring in our environment. In the wild, mold and yeast are good things. They break down dead plant matter so it can go back to the soil and be reused as nutrients for the next generation of plants. But when these mold and yeast use our TMRs and silages as their food source, they rob our livestock of nutrients and cause off flavors and unappetizing feed bunks. Yeast allows mold to thrive by altering the forage pH and generating heat. The result is a warm, nutritious environment which is highly suitable for rapid mold growth.

Nutritionally, wild yeast and mold are often grouped together because their consequences in the animal are similar. When yeast and mold populations are actively consuming our livestock’s feedstuff at the animals’ mealtimes, that microbial activity does not instantaneously end. The yeast and mold continue to feed on the ration within the animal for a period, just as the rumen microbes do. This accelerates the deterioration of the rumen mat and changes the rumen environment, robbing both production and feed efficiency. For this reason, yeast and mold will commonly elicit a digestive upset within the animal.

Mycotoxin

Mycotoxins are produced by mold. But just because mold is present does not necessarily mean we have a mycotoxin concern. Mycotoxins are a toxin that the animal’s immune system and internal organs must process. They also have the potential to interfere with reproduction, suppress the immune system and lower production. Mycotoxins pose a greater stress on the animal’s biological systems and internal organs, but they may affect the digestion system less than their comrades, yeast and mold.

Bacteria

Just like wild yeast and mold, bacteria also feed off nutrient-rich forages and TMR. The same growing conditions that are favorable for yeast and mold will also be favorable for bacteria. Bacteria, like mycotoxins, are also a stress on the animal’s immune system and rob energy from the animal as they fight bacterial infections. Bacteria can also affect microbiome populations within the animal, wreaking havoc on feed efficiency and digestive processes. Bacterial infections can include challenges such as salmonella, E. coli, clostridial infections and many others.

Summary

In summary, wild yeast, mold, mycotoxins, and bacterial challenges are the four main “undesirables” to watch for and guard against in our forage centers. Although these four undesirable risk factors are remarkably similar, they also are unique and affect the animal in vastly diverse ways. We need to deploy specific and targeted solutions to address each specific concern. Feeding a mycotoxin binder is not the correct approach if the concern instead is a yeast, mold, or bacterial challenge. Working with a team that can quickly and properly identify the concern will ensure the correct solution can be effectively implemented. Contact your Insight FS Nutritionist or Agronomist to properly identify these undesirable aspects of forage and start maximizing your forage center for your operation.