Last week, the 20th International Silage Conference made its way to the United States for a five-day event in Gainesville, Fla. The agenda was as full and diverse as the convention center ballroom that held over 360 people from dozens of countries.
The following is not an exhaustive list of silage and haylage topics and research presented at this year’s International Silage Conference — in fact, not even close. But I wanted to provide a few key ideas and main takeaways from the many plenary lectures and breakout sessions given by some of the biggest thought leaders in the global silage industry.
To kick off the first morning of the event, keynote speaker Kenneth Kalscheur took the stage to address silage production and utilization in the United States. The research animal scientist with USDA’s Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wis., familiarized international guests with current practices and opportunities for improvement that exist on American dairy farms. Overall, Kalscheur advocated for the benefits of providing more high-quality forage in lactating dairy cow diets.
Tim McAllister with Agri-Food Canada broadened the discussion by presenting opportunities for ensiling food waste for livestock. He explained the difference between food loss and food waste: the former occurs before products reach customers during production, processing, and transportation, whereas the latter occurs when unwanted or uneaten products are discarded after they arrive at grocery stores, restaurants, or our homes. After source reduction and feeding hungry people, McAllister said ensiling food waste for livestock feed is the third-best solution on the food recovery pyramid.
William Rooney with Texas A&M University broached the topic of plant breeding for silage production. Even though corn is by far the more common silage crop in the United States and many other countries around the world, Rooney addressed the growing concern of water availability in drier climates. Therefore, as more farmers introduce sorghum into their cropping rotations, it will be more critical to develop hybrids with desirable silage characteristics like high leaf content and good fiber digestibility.
Matt Digman, an agricultural engineer with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provided an update on recent advances in silage equipment, focusing on the possibility of autonomous forage harvesters in the future. Digman broke down the process of developing an autonomous machine, providing a progress report engineers have made in each step. For example, while there is already functional technology available for navigation and guidance, more improvement is needed in the area of safety and compliance. Overall, Digman was optimistic about automation and the opportunities it would create to streamline farm labor.
Niche research
Throughout the conference, there were breakout sessions and poster sessions that covered specific research on silage additives, lab analysis, feeding and utilization, mycotoxins and contaminations, pre- and postharvest management, and more.
Limin Kung, Jr., an emeritus animal science professor at the University of Delaware, suggested the last big milestone in silage additives was in 1996 with the introduction of heterofermentative inoculants. As more “novel” additives become available, he contended the primary goals for such products should be to maintain the original nutritive value of the crop, to minimize undesirable compounds, and to protect silage quality during feedout. The fermentation process is like a war between good and bad bacteria, Kung said, and silage additives should be used to ensure good bacteria win the war.
Jennifer Tucker with University of Georgia discussed baleage as a potential solution to overcome the challenges that excessive rainfall and humidity pose in a subtropical climate. The associate professor of animal science advocated for the combination of bermudagrass and alfalfa because of its advantages from both an agronomic and animal nutrition perspective, explaining best practices for harvesting, wrapping, and storing baleage.
Later on, the audience directed various questions to a panel comprised of Horst Auerbach with International Silage Consultancy in Germany, Kyle Beauchamp of KB Custom Ag Services in Colorado, and Michelle Chang Der-Bedrosian with Animix in Wisconsin. Some of the key takeaways from the discussion included how to monitor heating in silage piles and bunkers, managing spoilage and silage impacted by flooding, and leveraging artificial intelligence in harvest operations.
Other novel research findings included the feasibility of harvesting and ensiling tree leaves to improve feed supplies on small-holder African farms, making silage out of pea and faba beans, and even utilizing cactus plants as a feedstuff for ruminants. Although technology is evolving to define and measure silage nutrients and fermentation quality, many scientists agreed there is still plenty of gray area to explore the hundreds of contamination bacteria, fermentation acids, and silage gas compounds that have yet to be studied.
The bigger picture
While much of the program was dedicated to dissecting specific areas of silage production, conference conveyor Gbola Adesogan tied everything together by painting a bigger picture. Adesogan, a professor of animal science at the University of Florida’s Global Food Systems Institute, directed the audience’s attention to the role silage plays in everyday life.
Adesogan, who is originally from Nigeria, emphasized the need for education about effective and efficient silage production on small-holder farms in parts of the world where it is challenging to employ best practices. He suggested that quality silage is the foundation for nutrient-dense meat and milk. These sources of animal protein — or “brain foods” — are critical for proper human growth and development; however, Adesogan noted the significance of stunting in children around the world, including over 30% of African youth.
Although stunting is less prevalent in the United States, affecting roughly 3% of children, Adesogan contended no amount of food insecurity or malnutrition should be tolerated, but producing quality silage is a solution. The message reflected the overall mission of the Internation Silage Conference, which is to bring together bright minds in the industry to address issues in silage production around the world. The next International Silage Conference will be held July 2028 in Abuja, Nigeria.
