[Strawbale] Straw bale preservatives

[Mark Piepkorn]

Presented without comment one way or another for your pleasure.

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http://www.farminguk.com/bsp/10130/ews.asp?DBID=103-281-013-076&iPage=1&id=5552

Preservatives help avoid hazardous moulds

Analysis of preservative treated and untreated straw bales have 
highlighted the potentially high levels of harmful moulds that can 
occur in bales and how this can be easily avoided.

Mould and yeast are both present in hay and straw, and when found at 
high levels are indicative of crop quality deterioration. Increased 
levels are evident through bales heating up, especially if harvested 
damp, with an increase in dust and matting of the wads. Less visible 
will be the rise in micro-toxin fungal spores, which potentially will 
be liberally spread when the bale is shaken up or put through a bale 
spreader, so posing a health hazard for both humans and livestock.

The micro-toxins present in a dusty or mouldy bale can be a major 
challenge to the respiratory system and the cause of illness. In 
humans the most common association would be 'farmer's lung', and 
again in livestock the spores will result in respiratory illness, 
loss of performance and potentially can lead to abortion.

The analysis compared the use of Baler's Choice preservative on oat 
straw baled at between 16% to 24% moisture last autumn. Baler's 
Choice uses a buffered, near-neutral form of propionic acid, plus 
citric acid to retain colour and freshness.

Similar results have also been found in trials conducted at the 
University of Wisconsin into the effectiveness of Baler's Choice when 
used on hay. Here the crop was harvested at 22% moisture content and 
the mould levels in the treated and untreated bales were then 
monitored over a storage period of up to 120 days after baling. As 
the table below shows, in untreated bales, mould counts rose 
considerably to around 2,250,000 cfu's/gram, whilst those in the 
bales treated with propionic acid remained at the same virtually 
insignificant levels.

"Whilst not a replicated trial, the oat straw analysis is 
interesting. If Baler's Choice allows crops to be baled at higher 
moisture contents then this will buy flexibility at harvest and be a 
useful tool for the farmer," says Dr Martin Yeates, Technical Manager 
at the Kingshay Farming Trust. "Crops will deteriorate when harvested 
in less than ideal conditions, so there is a benefit if this product 
enables you to confidently store bedding or forage bales that will 
not deteriorate and become matted and dusty."

"It has long been accepted that propionic acid is by far the most 
effective preservative for hay and hayleage, and these trials confirm 
that. The reduction of mould and dust is important if forage or 
bedding quality is to be maintained, especially where the bales are 
being used as a source of long fibre in a cow's diet, or being fed to 
horses which can develop hypersensitivity if fed dusty bales," 
comments Richard Snell of the Profitable Farming Company.

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