Guidelines For Effective Silage Face Management

Face management involves the effective management of the open side of a bunker – the face – so as to prevent losses.

- Richardt Venter

As with any on-farm practice it requires management inputs, and the principle of getting out what you put in is especially fitting in this instance. Whether you are using equipment for silage feedout or removing it manually, it has to be properly managed.

Aerobic exposure

Oxygen exposure renders silage aerobically unstable, allowing for microbial growth and proliferation that cause heating. Once heating occurs in silage, energy is lost and nutritional value decreases. The feed that is eventually fed out no longer has the same values as the sample taken from the bunker, and will differ from the nutritionist’s performance prediction.