Making Napier Grass Silage in a Small Barrel
Napier Grass for Dairy Goats
For these two reasons, Napier grass has become an important feedstuff of dairy goats during the summer time in the southern part of Taiwan. The production of Napier grass is about 600 mt per hectare per year. It can be more or less than this, depending on the type of irrigation system used. Napier grass needs to be planted on level ground so it can be harvested four or five times a year by machine.
Seasonal Shortage of Napier Grass
Napier grass grows very fast during the summer in Taiwan because of the high temperatures. Sometimes, the production of Napier grass is more than the goats can eat. When winter comes, however, the growth of the Napier grass slows down. There is often a shortage of Napier grass on dairy goat farms over the winter. Napier grass silage is a good way of preserving the summer grass for use in wintertime.
Many methods have been used to make the silage. These include the use of bank silos, large sausage bags, small sausage bags and thin plastic belts. All of these can preserve the Napier grass in good condition, if farmers can follow the silage-making procedure properly, step by step.
Small Barrel for Silage
However, farmers need a fairly large land holding to build a silo or place a sausage bag. Farmers raising dairy goats on a small land holding cannot use these methods efficiently. Therefore, a small barrel for the silage was chosen, as being easy to transport from one place to another and taking up little space (Fig. 1).
The barrel is made of plastic, and can be recycled. It has a capacity of about 120 kg. In recent years, Napier grass silage has been made very successfully in this kind of barrel on dairy goat farms.
Problems in Silage Production
However, it is not easy to make good Napier grass silage. Many factors can affect the quality of the silage, including harvest time, the length of the grass when harvested, the period of fermentation, and whether the silage is densely packed and free of air spaces. The high water content of Napier grass also means that Napier grass silage is poorer quality than silage made from maize.
Supplements in Silage
Dried corn, kernels, dry maize flour, wheat bran, rice bran and soybean bran have all been used at different times, added to the Napier grass to absorb the excess water. Dried corn kernels or wheat bran seem to be the best additives.
Labor Cost
Napier grass silage has also been made as a commercial product. Eight hours' labor by three persons is needed to make 10 mt of silage. The barrel must be very clean before it is filled with silage, and the lid must fit properly. The ingredients of the silage are mixed in a mixer and transferred into the barrel by a compacter (Fig. 2). This machine has a hydraulic oil system, and is used to increase the density of silage.
The labor cost of the silage is about US$100/mt. At the moment, two different kinds of Napier grass silage are being sold in Taiwan, each containing 20% of dry corn or soybean bran. The silage sells for US$1000-1200/mt, giving the producer a good profit.
Information about this technology is from the farmer
Mr. Wang Gar Shou
Tel: 886-7-6976904
Index of Images
Figure 1 Small Barrel (on Left) Used for Napier Grass Silage
Figure 2 Transferring the Napier Grass Silage into Small Barrels<BR>
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