Silage Storage Fact/Worksheet
How will these materials help me to protect my drinking water?
How do I complete the worksheet?
Why should I be concerned?
Silage is an important feed for animal-based agriculture. When properly harvested and stored, silage poses little or no pollution threat. Improper handling and inclement weather, however, can lead to a significant flow of silage juices (or leachate) from the silo. Leachate is an organic liquid that results from pressure in the silo, putting up feed that is too wet, or from extra water entering the silo. It is usually a problem only when silage is fresh or just after it is stored in covered silos. Storage in uncovered silos is not recommended, because exposure to the weather accelerates the decrease of silage quality. Loss of leachate represents a major loss of nutrient value from the silage.
If silage leachate enters a stream, its high organic content feeds bacteria that rob the water of oxygen. The capacity of a contaminant to rob water of oxygen is called biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The BOD of silage effluent is 150 times greater than that of human sewage. BOD from one ton of silage with a moisture content of 23.4% is equal to approximately 4,755 gallons of sewage. Ground water contaminated with silage juices has a disagreeable odor and shows increased acidity, ammonia, nitrate, and iron.
Silage liquid is often highly acidic and can be corrosive to concrete and steel. In addition to the pollutants found in silage leachate, an even greater potential threat exists. The low pH created by the presence of acids in silage leachate can free up and release naturally occurring metals in the soil and aquifer, which can increase metal concentrations in ground water.
Nitrate-nitrogen levels in drinking water greater than federal and state drinking water standards of 10 mg/L* can pose health problems, including the condition known as methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome), for infants less than six months of age. Young animals are also susceptible to health problems from high nitrate-nitrogen levels. Levels of 20-40 mg/L in the water supply may prove harmful to young animals, especially in combination with high levels (1,000 ppm) of
nitrate-nitrogen from feed sources.
The goal of Home*A*Syst is to help you protect the environment and your drinking water.
*means milligrams per liter, equivalent to parts per million for water measure
How will these materials help me to protect my drinking water?
- It will take you step-by-step through your fertilizer storage, handling, and disposal practices.
- It will rank your activities according to how they might affect the ground water that provides your drinking water supply.
- It will provide you with easy-to-understand rankings that will help you analyze the risk level of your fertilizer storage, handling, and disposal practices.
- It will help you determine which of your practices are reasonably safe and effective, and which practices might require some modification to better protect your drinking water.
How do I complete the worksheet?
After reviewing the information provided, select Go To The Worksheet in links at the left. It should take you about 15 to 30 minutes to complete the worksheet and summarize your risk rankings.
Information derived from Home*A*Syst worksheets is intended only to provide general information and recommendations to rural residents regarding their own homestead practices. It is not the intent of this educational program to keep records of individual results.