Dry maize silage for cubicle bedding then digesting?

[sjt01]

Has anyone used dry maize silage for cubicle bedding? We feed maize silage and cubicle slurry to our digester, and the straw we currently use for bedding adds virtually nothing to the AD process. If we used dry maize silage, we would save ourselves the straw and the maize would still feed the digester.

 

[Will Wilson]

Stephen - there is a plant in Lydney Gloucestershire that do this.

I cant remember the name but they were talking about it at a KWS open day a couple of years ago. KWS have their trials on site.

I will see if I can dig it out.

I think they were quite happy with it - the issue could be losing the energy in the silage while it's sat in the sheds 'rotting' for want of a better word.

Will

 

[sjt01]

Stephen - there is a plant in Lydney Gloucestershire that do this.

I cant remember the name but they were talking about it at a KWS open day a couple of years ago. KWS have their trials on site.

I will see if I can dig it out.

I think they were quite happy with it - the issue could be losing the energy in the silage while it's sat in the sheds 'rotting' for want of a better word.

Will

I was thinking of putting it on our drying floor in thinnish layers to dry, using heat from the heat dump radiator. With recent winds, the maize face has been drying out rapidly and there has been plenty of really dry material blowing about, ideal for bedding.

 

[Chippy]

I’m also interested in this because I feel like bedding on sawdust is a waste because it’s not helping with gas in digester but there must be more products out there that are good for bedding cows and producing gas. I was on paper which I believe does help with gas but no good with slats because sinks to the bottom.