“If You Build It, They Will Come.”

The Art and Science of Building the Best Silage Inoculants that Bring the Most Value.

TThere’s an old farmers’ proverb that says, “You should rest for at least thirty minutes per day unless you can’t find the time, in which case, you should rest for sixty minutes instead.” Well, we also have the ‘MicroSynergies’ proverb: “You should use a silage inoculant in your forage, unless you think it’s too expensive, in which case, you need to use a silage inoculant.”

For centuries, silage inoculants were never used. So why would these tools be all- of-asudden indispensable? This question can be likened to the comparison between a horse-drawn harvester of the past and a modern behemoth that we all see at the dairy trade shows… Could you still harvest being pulled by horses? Sure. Would this be the best use of your time and resources? No. And the same line of reasoning applies to using silage inoculants. Could you still process forage without an inoculant? Sure. Would this be the best use of your time and resources? Not at all. So, what is a good silage inoculant even doing that makes it so indispensable? To better understand why you’re even using an inoculant in the first place, a brief background on the science is in order.

Back To The Future

Prior to the introduction of inoculants, forage was of course untreated. This was largely okay because all of the negatives associated with operating this way were just “a part of the game”— no one had an advantage in preserving and improving forage. And yet the old problems that were a part of doing just that (dry matter loss, indigestibility, and spoilage) were persistent. It was a problem that everyone had, but it was also a problem that ultimately could be solved. Farmers and researchers alike noticed that all of these problems (dry matter loss, indigestibility, and spoilage) were being caused by “problem organisms” that began to ferment the forage when it was stored for any significant amount of time. In order to solve this problem, they had two choices: beat them or join them. Beating them would mean eliminating the presence of microorganisms in the forage altogether— which would prove to be impossible (even satellites that have been orbiting the earth in a vacuum for years show anaerobic bacteria presence on them if/when they return for analysis). In short, there is no way to completely eliminate microorganisms from nearly any environment and forage was no different. In this case, they needed to “join” them instead. This meant fighting harmful organisms with beneficial ones…

Brad Glocke President MicroSynergies

But “beneficial” organisms as a general category (like probiotics) weren’t going to be enough. Ultimately the right organisms for the job would need to be able to:

1. Outcompete the harmful microorganisms and…

2. Prevent spoilage of the forage.

And if needs turned into wants, these organisms should also (3) prevent the loss of dry matter and (4) improve digestibility to boot.

Healthy Competition

To solve the first problem of microorganism competition, the solution would prove to be fairly straightforward: add the beneficial organisms early-on in the process and they’ll begin to grow and take control of the fermentation.

A classic example of this can be seen in the “accident” of the champagnemaking process over the traditional, nonsparkling, wine-making process— where in the process of fermenting traditional white grapes used for sparkling wines like champagne, the fruit enters a refermentation process where the yeasts “take over” the fermentation and emit the gases that ultimately create the bubbles in sparkling wines. This “happy accident” was discovered in the late 1600s by a French Benedictine monk named Dom Pérignon. Yet, in forage, yeasts taking over the fermentation are neither happy nor an accident.

Yeasts and molds are a type of fungi - and while there are some beneficial species (such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii for example), most yeasts will do big damage to the environments they inhabit through spoilage. That is, if or until the environmental pH drops to a specific point. Yeasts grow in a pH-neutral environment that ranges from around 8.0 to just slightly acidic - around 5.0. And if the pH drops even further, the yeast simply fails to grow.

This is where bacteria come in. In general, bacteria actually create and prefer a more acidic environment. Specifically, anaerobic “LABs” (“lactic acid bacteria” or microorganisms that primarily grow without the presence of oxygen) will produce several metabolites, one of which is beneficial acids. These acids will ultimately drive the pH down below the 5.0 mark— the point where yeasts and molds can no longer grow and where the beneficial bacteria can also produce the other metabolites that make their presence helpful beyond preventing spoilage. But getting the pH to move from a neutral point to a more acidic point doesn’t simply come by “adding some good bacteria.” There’s a unique science to this process, known as Floral Succession molds can still thrive), the introduction of this example organisms will help get the pH to where it needs to be but still won’t solve the problem. What’s needed in this case is an organism the also produces beneficial acids but can work in a pH that continues to drive the acidity in a direction that prevents the adverse effects of spoilage. The addition of another organisms — say, one that works best between a pH of 7.0 and 5.0 gets us closer but still too close for comfort… You get the point — adding a final organism that drives the pH to somewhere around, say 3.5, will create the level of comfort we need to be confident in the inoculant’s ability to do its primary jobs: outcompete the yeasts and molds and prevent spoilage.

To Breathe Or Not To Breathe

The Domino Effect

At some point, we’ve probably all seen these incredible internet videos (or tried to emulate them ourselves) where someone sets up an elaborate arrangement of dominoes and we watch in either amazement or vicarious frustration when the fall-pattern succeeds or when a single domino fails to connect and all that effort seems like it was for nothing. In analogy terms, this is the perfect example of Floral Succession.

Like yeast and other microorganisms, bacteria have both viable and optimal temperature ranges and viable and optimal pH ranges - and just like yeast, they will fail to grow outside of these ranges. So, if a bacterium can grow and thrive between a pH of 8.0 and 6.0 and produce beneficial acids, if added in significant amounts, it will help drive the pH down, but will fail to work beyond the 6.0 mark. Because the pH is still above the 5.0 mark (the point where yeasts and

Moving onto the “wants” of a silage inoculant, the next nice-to-have feature is the ability to avoid dry matter loss caused by the carbohydrate digestion from certain aerobic microorganisms. In short, when there is open forage or pockets of oxygen within the ensiled forage, aerobic microorganisms (organisms that need or prefer oxygen to thrive) have a chance of taking control of a portion of the fermentation. In traditional silage inoculants, anaerobic organisms are used (organisms that thrive in the absence of oxygen). In these aerobic scenarios however, the organisms look for a carbohydrate source — which is what they need to consume in order to grow — and they digest it. As a result, part of the carbohydrate source is “lost” — hence the “dry matter loss” that we try to avoid. So how can this be avoided? From a non-microbial standpoint, the forage could simply be packed as densely as possible, creating an organically anaerobic environment. Yet in practice, this is a rare accomplishment. The only practical solution is to add a beneficial organism that can work in aerobic conditions. But if an anaerobic environment is the end goal of packing the forage and incorporating anaerobic organisms, how can this be done? Wouldn’t it be counterproductive to the efficacy of the formulation to now include aerobic organisms? Wouldn’t they work against each other? Yes…

That is unless you could dream up an organism that could work in both conditions — either aerobically or anaerobically. This is exactly where heterofermentative bacteria come in.

Heterofermentative bacteria differ from homofermentative bacteria in their ability to grow — and grow quite well — in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. While this ability isn’t necessarily rare, it is rare when it comes to beneficial bacteria — like the ones used in silage inoculants.

Among the most popular hetero-fermentative microorganisms used are Lactobacillus buchneri and Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis. While it’s not absolutely necessary to add one or both of these organisms to an inoculant formula to prevent dry matter loss (again, you could just insure that the forage is packed to an incredible density), the addition of one of these organisms tends to create a more robust formula and additional value from the standpoint of the farm.

Intentional Energy Use

Beneficial bacteria in general provide value by creating an ideal pH environment through metabolism that produces acids. In addition, various probiotic bacteria produce metabolites such as more and different types of acids, vitamins, enzymes, and antimicrobial compounds that promote good bacteria and make it more challenging for bad bacteria to colonize the environment.

All of these features create benefits on-balance for their host environment. In the case of direct-fed microbials (“DFMs”— or probiotic-type formulations for non-human animals), some bacteria will produce enzymes to help pre-digest macronutrients, including lipases to digest fats, carbohydrases to digest starches, and proteases to digest protein (although the latter might not always be ideal, which is why it’s important to select the right bacteria that produces the right enzymes for the job).

A good number of these enzymes are produced by an aerobic genera of bacteria called Bacillus. While Bacillus are popular in many applications (both swine and poultry

DFM formulations tend use Bacillus almost exclusively for example), they don’t always have the right need to serve in silage inoculants— yet in areas where wetter forages are put up (such as Europe, where the practice is generally employed), Bacillus are more popular choices because of the endospore that they form around themselves, which makes them more resilient in wetter environments.

In silage inoculants, the last “want” of the aims of a good inoculant is to be able to help pre-digest the nonprotein macronutrients through enzymes. In short, this allows the cow to use her energy to produce more milk instead of using her energy to digest her food— and the key is of course that it’s less expensive for bacteria to do this than for her to do it. Because the ideal forage environment is anaerobic, enzyme pro-duction from the aerobic Bacillus is not truly a viable option. Because of this, adding enzymes to the inoculant is the best option (enzymes themselves are not alive and so the environment’s oxygen profile doesn’t have the type of an effect it has on a living organism like bacteria).

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

The considerations of pH, Floral Succession, heterofermentative bacteria, and enzymes are really only half of the silage inoculant formulation challenge. Other considerations include carrier solubility, regulatory certifiability, minimum and maximally effective bacterial colony concentration… and yet, the Elephant-in-the-room is:

What good is the formula if the bacteria aren’t alive when the inoculant is applied?

The answer doesn’t require anything more than an educated guess; the answer is… it’s not going to be effective at all if you’ve just paid for cheap carrier with “dead bugs.” So, what gives? The answer is in how the bacteria themselves are selected, grown, processed, tested, and packaged. For more details on the Micro-Synergy® method for this, refer to the article in this volume entitled How to Build Strong Microbes. But in brief, the guarantee of quality (and living) bacteria comes down to the following principles:

1. Select robust strains of bacteria that have been tested in various challenging environments.

2. Grow them using a custom fermentation media program that aims to create robust organisms— not just the highest concentration possible where they cells are near-lysing and dying.

3. Control the key elements of the processing and packaging environment and ingredients in order to reduce factors that contribute to the deterioration of cells and the eventual death of the bacteria.

Doing these key things will help to create a silage inoculant that is built with quality, dependable, reasonably priced, and valuable to the ones who need it most — the farm.

Key Ideas

Use Strong Bugs

Starting with strong bacteria (see How to Build Strong Microbes in this issue).

Create A Base

Start with a strong base, using bugs that create Floral Succession and lower the pH to the point where no yeasts or molds can grow.

Add More Functionality

Consider adding heterofermentative bugs— ones that work wither with or without oxygen to help strengthen the formula.

Make Sure It Works

Ensure that the right acids, enzymes, and other metabolites are in place— including bugs that work together in Floral Succession (see How to Formulate the Best Microbial Products in this issue).

Parter With Support

Find a sourcing partner who knows the bugs well and can help you craft a robust marketing campaign to help differentiate your product in the marketplace (see MicrobeMarketing in this issue).

To learn more, visit SiloSynergy.com

Get the right concentrations for the right forage (don’t pay for what you don’t need).

True Floral Succession and full formulation coverage using our proprietary MicroCube™ technology.

Anaerobes + aerobes to combat versatile environments and stop yeast and mold growth. Strong and stable microbes using our MicroSynergy™ technology.

MicroSynergies LLC is the world leader in sourcing for the largest collection of commercial microbial ingredients on the planet. Through our agreements, partnerships, and network of global microbial manufacturers, we connect our customers to thousands of strains in formats including bulk cultures, concentrates, contract fermentations, and specialty biologicals and market them under our proprietary brand names. In many of these formats, we’re able to include our value-added MicroSynergy™ technology for creating enhanced stability, longer shelf-life, and increased activity post-production. From there, we can augment our offerings with expert formulation and technical support, market access, our award-winning 3+80™ supply risk guarantee, and microbial-specific marketing expertise. All information and data supplemented by data and visuals are independently verified, current, and correct to the best of our knowledge. For more information, contact your MicroSynergies representative.