Poor management at postharvest can lead to rapid spoilage. Most silage is made from annual crops, and mycotoxin content may vary from year to year. In addition, distribution of mycotoxin contamination is very heterogeneous existing highly contaminated sites among good quality material.

Mycotoxins are produced by specific moulds, which are impossible to entirely avoid in the process of growing and storing crops for ruminant feed. Forages used for making silage are naturally in contact with yeasts and filamentous fungi present in the field, but can also occur during harvesting, transport and storage. Mycotoxin production can occur during plant growth in the field or during the stages of silage making or storage that allows air ingress into the ensiled material.

Preventing Mycotoxin production

There are several steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of mycotoxins being produced:

• It is important to harvest at the right maturity to avoid ensiling mature, dry forages that are difficult to pack and inherently contain higher populations of yeasts and moulds.
• Harvest at the right crop dry matter (DM) levels to facilitate packing
• Use an inoculant proven to provide a fast fermentation as well as provide feed out stability.
• Use inoculants that are proven to minimize mould growth by producing mould-inhibiting organic acids like acetic acid and propionic acid in their metabolic paths. L Buchneri and L. Hilgardii are leading bacterial technologies that enhances stability through its proven anti- fungal effects
• Seal silos promptly and effectively