Onderzoek naar betere schatting van de dichtheid van gras- en maiskuilen

This report describes the results of a study on the possibilities to estimate the density of grass en maize silages for calculation of the fodder stock more accurately than the current table values. During ensiling the amount of crop of 104 grass silage clamps, 42 maize silage clamps and 108 big bales (54 round and 54 square) were weighted and after ensiling the dimensions were measured and the chemical composition was analysed. For round and square bales a new regression formula was derived, which estimates the density more accurate than the current table values. It is recommended to calculate the density of round en square bales with the following formula: Density (kg/m3) = 994.81 - 0.5335 x dry matter content (g/kg) - 1.196 x crude fibre content (g/kg ds). For grass en maize silage in clamps and bunker silo’s no new model could be derived which estimated the density more accurately than the current table values.