SHREDDING CORN SILAGE FOR IMPROVED EFFECTIVE FIBER AND LESS SORTING

摘要

This work was an attempt to produce better corn silage by mechanically improving the digestibility and effective fiber of the crop in the field. A machine using shredding rolls and flails as the primary conditioning mechanisms was designed, constructed, and tested. Particle size distribution and power data were collected and lab scale silos were packed for density and fermentation determination. An AgBag was filled to test full scale implementation of the system. Dairy heifers, used to measure intakeand particle size refusal, showed less sorting with shredded silage than chopped silage. A TMR mixing trial showed that particle size distribution changed during mixing, yet 30% of the shredded silage mass was longer than 71 in after even 30 minutes ofmixing.