Corn Silo Research Articles

Application of technical vision systems for diagnosing the quality of cattle feed

Russian and foreign literature on the development of diagnostic systems and scanning of objects using a vision system with deep machine learning programs has been analyzed during the study. The features of the technological process of feeding cattle have been studied. A system of non-contact assessment of the dry matter content/humidity of the components of the feed mixture of natural cultivation on the example of a corn silo using technical vision systems was proposed. A database of images of corn silage was collected and the dependences on the intensity of the reflecting light flux of the silage were revealed taking into account changes in humidity. The research was conducted in 2020 on the basis of the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM (FNAC VIM), using experimental equipment of the Institute of General Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences named after A. M. Prokhorov and FNAC VIM. A stand with a technical vision system has been developed that allows to classify the components of a cattle feed mixture by color characteristics. The obtained dependences of the reflecting intensity of corn silage allow us to assert the prospect of using a vision system for express-evaluation of the quality indicators of feed mixture components. Taking into account the level of robotization of technological processes of feeding cattle, the problem of assessing the quality indicators (in particular, the dry matter/moisture content) of the components of a feed mixture is relevant.

Определение химических показателей растительных кормов Чувашской республики

This review presents the results of a comprehensive study of various chemical indicators of plant feed for farm animals. By standard techniques photometric, titrimetrichesky and gravimetric determined by ways the content of solid (GOST 31640-2012), crude fat (GOST 13496.15-97), a crude protein (GOST 13496.4-93), crude cellulose (GOST 31675-2012), crude ashes (GOST 26226-95), calcium (GOST 26570-95) and phosphorus (GOST 26657-97). As objects of vegetable fodder raw materials are considered wheat, maize, lucernous hay, scallop hay, rapeseed extraction cake, sunflower extraction cake, rapeseed cake, barley, peas, lucernous hay, corn silos, growing and/or prepared in the territory of Krasnarmeysky, Vournashky and Chuvilsky regions, It has been revealed that rapeseed and sunflower extraction cake, as well as rapeseed cake, have an increased value of raw fat in the territory of the Vournar district compared to the rest of the Chuvashia region. According to the chemical indicator of dry matter, all fodders comply with the standards in Yadrin, Wournar and Civilsky districts; By the indicator of raw protein – most fodders comply with the standards in Civilsky, Krasnoarmeysky, Yadrin and Wournar districts; By the indicator of raw fiber – the samples from Civilsky district meet the standards, in Yadrin and Krasnoarmeysky district minor deviations were found, and in Cheboxary and Wournar districts the indicators do not fully correspond; By the indicator of raw fat - corresponds to the norms of Yadrin district, in Civilsky and Krasnoarmeysky districts minor deviations were found, and in Cheboxary and Wournar districts the indicators do not correspond to the norm; In terms of raw ash – in all areas the value is exceeded; Calcium content – in almost all areas there is an excess of the norm; In terms of phosphorus content – meets the standards of the Wournar district, in the Civilsky and Yadrin districts minor deviations were found, and in the Krasnoarmeysky and Cheboxar districts the indicators do not correspond. All of the areas studied by us, the best raw material indicators of plant feed in Yadrin and Civilsk districts of the Chuvash Republic.

Comparative characteristics of amaranth and corn silage qualitative indicators

The use of traditional corn silage in the diets of lactating cows during the winter-stall period leads not only to the animal productivity decrease, but also to the milk quality. An increase in these indicators can be achieved by improving the feed quality, in particular by using non-traditional crops for silage, amaranth being one of them. A comparative assessment of the effect of amaranth and corn silages on animal health, blood biochemical parameters, milk productivity and quality during the wintering period was carried out. Scientific and economic experience was conducted on the basis of peasant farm by I.I. Korovnikov, in Khokholsky district of the Voronezh region. Two variants of silage were put: from the green mass of amaranth to the phase of milk-wax ripeness of seeds and corn silo. Two groups of dairy cows of Holstein-Friesian breed with an average productivity of about 4200 kg of milk, selected by the principle of analogues, were used in the experiment. Body temperature, heart rate and number of respiratory movements per minute, scar reduction were within normal limits for cows of both groups. Moreover, a reliable difference in clinical and physiological parameters between the experimental and control groups was not found out both at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The inclusion of high-protein amaranth silage in the diet of lactating cows leads to normalization of the liver and, as a result, normalization of all metabolic processes. Amaranth silage had a positive effect on the quality of milk. So the milk obtained from the cows of the experimental group had a significant advantage in comparison with the control one in terms of fat (by 0.46%) and protein (by 0.18%). Feeding amaranth silage to cows showed that it is well eaten by animals, and its use increases the productivity of cows by 11.9% compared with the contro group. The results obtained allow us to recommend amaranth silage as the main bulk feed in the winter-stall period when preparing balanced diets for lactating cows.

Evaluation of gaseous allyl isothiocyanate against the growth of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxin production in corn stored for 6 months.

Brazil produces approximately 63 million tons of corn kernels annually, which is commonly contaminated with fungi and mycotoxins. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of gaseous allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus parasiticus and Fusarium verticillioides, and mycotoxin production (aflatoxins B1 , B2 , G1 and G2 , fumonisins B1 and B2 ) in corn during 180 days of storage. AITC at 50 µL L-1 resulted in a significant reduction of the fungal population (P<0.05) after 180 days, decreasing 3.17 log(CFU g-1 ) and 3.9log(CFU g-1 ) of A.parasiticus and F.verticillioides respectively in comparison with the control. In addition, 10 and 50 µL L-1 treatments prevented the production of fumonisin B1 for the whole period. Aflatoxins were not detected in either control or treated groups. Residual levels of AITC in corn treated with 10µL L-1 and 50 µL L-1 were detected up to 14 days and 30 days respectively. Prophylactic treatment with AITC reduced the fungal population and inhibited fumonisin B1 production in stored corn, exhibiting great potential to be applied in corn silos to prevent fungi contamination and minimize mycotoxin levels. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparison Between Theoretical and Measured Settlements of a Cyclically Loaded Silo

Wheat or corn silos, as well as oil and fuel tanks, are periodically filled and emptied during their lifetime. Cohesive layers, underlying the foundation structure, are thus subjected to loading–unloading cycles that alternatively cause their compression and swelling. Consolidation process has been studied by several authors, which assumed loading–unloading cycles of variable shapes. This paper presents a further simplified theory, valid for scalene triangular shaped cycle of loading and unloading, representing better the actual condition of a cereal silo, quickly loaded at harvest season and slowly emptied during selling time. Theoretical results, obtained by the simplified theory and a F.E.M. analysis, have been compared to the measured settlements of a corn silo located at the Po river delta (Italy).

"Physical Quality and Mycotoxins in Corn Silo, Used in Dairy Cattle Feeding in Tizayuca, State of Hidalgo, Mexico"

"Physical Quality and Mycotoxins in Corn Silo, Used in Dairy Cattle Feeding in Tizayuca, State of Hidalgo, Mexico"

EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE AND BACTERIAL INOCULANT ON THE TEMPERATURE, DENSITY AND pH OF PEARL MILLET SILAGES

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to investigate the temperature at different depths of the stack silo and strata front profile before and after the removal of silage. Also, the pH values in the upper and lower profile and the silage density of the fresh materials (FM) and dry matter (DM) in pearl millet silages with particle sizes of 5 or 20 mm, with or without inoculant, were assessed, using corn silage as controls. There was an interaction (P&lt;0.05) silage × stratum profile and silage × depth profile for the temperatures before the removal of silage, and the pearl millet silages had lower temperatures in the upper stratum compared to corn. The temperature gradient between the silage and environment pearl millet and corn silos were smaller in the lower stratum profile. The temperature gradient after the removal of the silage was less than 50 cm deep at all the pearl millet silos. There were no differences in the densities of the FM and DM of the studied silages. The pH values of the silages before their removal were higher in the upper stratum and lower stratum in the bottom of all the pearl millet silages, in contrast with corn silage. The pearl millet silos had lower pH values in the lower stratum of the silo. Silages with 5 mm particle size provide lower temperatures in the middle portion of the panel before the removal of the silage. The use of bacterial inoculant in this study did not change the characteristics evaluated.

Prediction of Temperature Distributions in Peaked, Leveled and Inverted Cone Grain Mass Configurations during Aeration of Corn

Three-dimensional heat and momentum transfer for the peaked, leveled, and inverted cone grain mass configurations in a corn silo was studied with aeration airflow rate ranged from 0.26 to 0.31 m3/min-t (0.24 to 0.28 cfm/bu) using the 3D finite element stored grain ecosystem model. Non-uniform airflow models for peaked, leveled, and inverted cone grain mass configurations were developed using the finite volume method. Airflow resistance due to porous media of grain material was implemented using Ergun's equation and a linear porosity variation with low porosity at the center and maximum at the side. The velocity profile and heat transfer during aeration were quantified for the peaked, leveled and inverted cone grain mass configurations. The change in grain temperature in the inverted cone grain mass configuration was the fastest followed by the leveled and peaked configurations. It took 102, 114, and 186 h, respectively, for cored, leveled, and peaked grain mass configurations to cool the grain from 40C to below 20C. For the peaked cone volume, the model predicted an 84-h delay in the cooling front movement (or about 55%) compared to the inverted cone configuration. This has significant implications with respect to fan run time hours, electricity consumption, and the potential for grain spoilage.

Fungi and selected mycotoxins from pre- and postfermented corn silage

To determine fungal genera, Aspergillus and Fusarium species and aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) contamination from pre- and postfermented corn silage produced in the most important region of Argentina where silage practice is developed. Sampling of corn silos was performed manually through silos in transects at three levels: upper, middle and low sections. AFB(1) and FB(1) were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography, zearalenone by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and DON by gas chromatography. Over 90% of the samples showed counts higher than 1 x 10(4) CFU g(-1). Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides were the prevalent species. Some tested samples were contaminated with AFB(1), ZEA, DON and FB(1). This study demonstrates the presence of fungi and AFB(1), ZEA, DON and FB(1) contamination in corn silage in Argentina. This manuscript makes a contribution to the knowledge of mycotoxins in Argentinean silage in particular because the environmental conditions in this country differ from those of most reports. The comparison of pre- and postfermentation silage is also outstanding. Therefore, information on fungi and mycotoxins present in silage--an increasingly popular commodity--is useful to estimate potential risk for animal and human health.

Karrooo

Karrooo Alex Mindt (bio) [Begin Page 39] I'm heading west on I-80 with my two teenagers, Paul and Allison. We've been in the car for almost six hours now, and we've settled into our own remote worlds—Allison with her Walkman, me with the radio, and Paul still playing that computer game in the back seat. Occasionally he blurts out, "Come on," or "Oh no," his thumbs smacking at the little plastic keys. Paul is a thirteen-year-old with blotchy skin and an extra thirty pounds that started accumulating when his father got an apartment in the city last year. He can't seem to bring a positive thought to completion. He may start with the sun shining in a bright blue [End Page 39] sky, but somehow he works his way down into a mosquito-ridden mud puddle. "Yeah, Trevor invited me to his party, but it's only because you're friends with his mom." That sort of thing. Allison, my too-good-to-be-true sixteen-year-old, is listening to Henry IV Part I on her Walkman. She says she's in love with Prince Hal. With every new play, she hurls herself into the great sea of passion for some impossibly heroic, romantic character who (she'll realize soon enough) will never exist on this planet. The Platte River moves lazily under us as we cross a bridge in the fading evening sun. The river doesn't care about where it's heading or when it gets there. Like the people of this state, the Platte is not against meandering and low expectations. That's why I escaped, I suppose. I was focused and ambitious, which of course led to a whole host of other problems. [End Page 40] I left Grand Island at seventeen with my National Merit Scholarship to attend Grinnell, before interning in D.C. for Senator Harkin and partying with so-called important people—policy makers, bribe-takers, martini shakers, in that order, and me, all twenty-two ambitious years of me. I didn't know then that I'd end up a frustrated nonprofit administrator unsuccessfully married to a college professor with whom I'd have two kids who sometimes call me by my first name. On the other side of the Platte, railroad tracks scoot under the freeway and wind along the riverside. I think of my father, who traveled along those tracks for almost forty years, all the time wishing he could be in the sky. When he was nineteen, he joined the Air Force, but his vision wasn't good enough to fly, so they stuck him in Sacramento for two years, running a maintenance shop. From there, he moved back home and got a job on the Burlington-Northern. He once told me that he spent all of his down time leaning out of the train, looking up at the sky and the hawks and eagles circling above. The idea of flight fascinated him. Walking on the wind, he called it. Before long he became an avid bird watcher, joining the Audubon Society, heading out on his days off with his friends Bernie and Len. I remember him once waking me in the middle of the night. "Linda, dear," he said, standing over me. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and he'd just received a phone call from someone at the North American Rare Bird Hotline. A yellow grosbeak had been spotted feeding at a corn silo outside Ottumwa. "I don't want to go, Daddy," I said. "Take Len." "He can't make it," he whispered. "Listen, this is extraordinary, honey. The yellow grosbeak is a tropical bird. It never makes it north of Houston, for God's sake." "Daddy," I said, "I'm tired." He was a dark blob, his large body silhouetted by the dim hall light. "I just didn't want you to miss something like this." He backed up and stopped at the door. "I'm sorry I woke you," he said before turning and heading out to central Iowa for what was to become one of the great bird outings of his life. He...

Bursting of a corn silo – An interdisciplinary failure analysis

A corn silo made from corrugated sheet was the subject of a complete structural failure during standard operation. The main goals of the investigations performed were to identify possible causes for the accident (i.e., list of hypotheses), to choose the most probable one and to provide evidence by experimental and theoretical analysis. Metallographic analysis of the cracked sheet showed significant thickness reduction due to corrosion. The standard strength analysis resulted in a generally high stress level and a high likelihood of cracking in the corroded area. However, the bursting of the silo could not be explained alone based on this calculation. Therefore, with help of fracture mechanics it was assessed whether an unstable propagation of the initial crack was realistic. The general results of this study led to the conclusion that the bursting of the silo was most probably due to unstable propagation of a crack originated in the corroded area of the sheet metal near the inspection window.

Oxygen Infiltration from Horizontal Silo Unloading Practices

Three bunker silos (two corn, one alfalfa) were unloaded with both a skid-steer loader and a silo unloader which milled the face. Gas, temperature, and core samples were taken from each silo at four heights (50 cm from floor and top, two intermediate locations) and four depths from the face (12.5, 25, 50, 100 cm). Oxygen levels in the gas samples were 1.1 to 2.2 percentage units on a volume basis higher on the skid-steer side, resulting from the increased surface area (8, 10, and 26% for the two corn and one alfalfa silos, respectively) and porosity of the silage at the face (4, 29, and 92%, respectively) caused by this unloading scheme. Aerobic microbial counts were low in all three silos. However, yeasts and acetic acid bacteria were higher in the skid-steer core samples. In the alfalfa silo and the corn silo sampled in summer, total fermentation products were 22 and 7 g/kg DM lower in the skid-steer core samples, respectively, suggesting somewhat higher aerobic losses with this unloading method. Overall, differences in the characteristics of the silages removed by the two unloaders in this study were small.

Comparison of Conventional and Chilled Aeration of Grains Under Texas Conditions

Conventional and chilled aeration of rice and corn were investigated for Texas conditions using the simulation model AERATE. Of four conventional aeration strategies, continuous aeration performed best since it results in the smallest moisture losses and moisture gradients in the commercial rice and corn silos investigated. Chilled aeration utilizes a refrigeration system to control the bin inlet air conditions. It is able to prevent moisture losses and to maintain the average grain temperatures 15 C (25 F) below that of conventionally-aerated rice and corn during the summer months.

Production of sterigmatocystin by Aspergillus versicolor isolated from roughage.

A total of 69 samples of hay and straw collected during the winter period of 1984/85 were surveyed for their contamination by Aspergillus versicolor. The percentage of A. versicolor-positive samples was 14.5%. Nineteen A. versicolor strains mainly isolated from roughage were tested for the production of sterigmatocystin. All of the isolates examined were capable of producing different levels of sterigmatocystin on a cracked corn substrate. The majority of these strains were highly toxigenic; 53% of the isolates produced more than 500 mg/kg of sterigmatocystin. These findings suggest that corn is a very suitable substrate for sterigmatocystin production and that particularly in the surface layers of feed stocks and corn silos such toxigenic strains of A. versicolor can produce considerable growth and possibly sterigmatocystin, too.

A microcomputer controlled corn silo

This paper describes an automatic control system for control of a large scale capacity corn silo. The problems which were solved during design of hardware and software for this system are also discussed.