Silage

Silage is moist forage preserved by fermentation in low-oxygen conditions and fed to livestock. Lactic acid produced during fermentation lowers its pH and helps prevent spoilage.

Lactic acid fermentation: A microbial process that converts sugars into lactic acid, usually without oxygen. Lactic acid lowers silage pH and suppresses spoilage organisms.
Maize silage: Silage made from whole maize plants harvested while green and ensiled for livestock feed. It is a common, energy-rich silage used especially in dairy and beef production.
Forage: Plant material eaten by grazing animals or harvested as livestock feed. Silage is one way to preserve forage for later feeding.
Hay: Dried forage stored as livestock feed after its moisture has been reduced enough to limit spoilage. Hay preserves forage mainly by drying, unlike silage’s oxygen-limited fermentation.
Lactic acid bacteria: A group of bacteria that produce lactic acid from carbohydrates. These bacteria drive the acidification that stabilizes well-preserved silage.
Grass silage: Silage made from cut grasses preserved by fermentation. Its quality depends strongly on harvest timing, wilting, and fermentation.
Ensiling: The process of packing forage into airtight storage so it can ferment and be preserved. Ensiling names the preservation process that produces silage.
Aerobic spoilage: The deterioration of organic material through microbial activity in the presence of oxygen. Air entering stored silage can trigger heating, nutrient loss, and spoilage.
Anaerobic digestion: The breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms without oxygen, producing biogas and digestate. Both depend on oxygen-free microbial activity, but silage preserves feed rather than generating biogas.
Haylage: Forage preserved at higher moisture than hay but lower moisture than typical silage. It occupies the moisture range between dry hay and wetter silage.

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