Choosing the right silage inoculant and understanding how it works can make a real difference to forage quality, nutrient preservation and feed-out performance. We've brought together answers to some of the most common questions about silage fermentation, inoculant selection and practical application, helping you understand how MaxSilo products can support better silage management and reduce avoidable losses.
Making good silage is about preserving as much as possible of the crop you have worked to grow and harvest.
Once forage is ensiled, naturally occurring microorganisms compete for the sugars and nutrients within the crop. The right silage inoculant introduces selected beneficial bacteria to help direct this fermentation in a more favourable way.
Depending on the formulation, MaxSilo inoculants are designed to help:
The aim is simple: more usable, nutritious silage from every tonne harvested.
No. Different bacterial strains perform different jobs, which is why MaxSilo offers a range of inoculants designed around different silage challenges.
Some formulations use homofermentative bacteria, which rapidly convert plant sugars into lactic acid and encourage a fast reduction in pH. These are particularly useful where the priority is efficient fermentation and nutrient preservation.
Others use heterofermentative bacteria, which produce compounds including acetic acid that help suppress yeasts and moulds and improve aerobic stability when silage is exposed to air.
MaxSilo also offers formulations combining these approaches where both fermentation and feed-out stability are important.
The right product depends on the crop, dry matter, ensiling conditions and the main challenge you are trying to manage.
MaxSilo Prime
For rapid, efficient fermentation and general-purpose nutrient preservation. It combines Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus.
MaxSilo Prime Plus
A higher-strength homofermentative formulation developed for more challenging or difficult-to-ensile crops. It combines Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei.
MaxSilo Cool
Designed primarily to improve aerobic stability and reduce heating and spoilage during feed-out. It contains Lentilactobacillus buchneri.
MaxSilo Cool Plus
A higher-strength, dual-strain formulation for silages facing greater aerobic stability and spoilage challenges. It combines Lentilactobacillus buchneri and Levilactobacillus brevis.
MaxSilo Fusion
A dual-action formulation designed to combine rapid fermentation with improved aerobic stability, helping protect silage both during ensiling and after opening.
The best choice depends on the individual forage and the challenge you are trying to solve. Speak to the MaxSilo team and we can help identify the most appropriate inoculant for your silage system.
MaxSilo Prime – protect fermentation
MaxSilo Prime is a homofermentative inoculant. Its selected bacteria rapidly convert plant sugars into lactic acid, encouraging a fast reduction in pH and helping establish a stable fermentation.
The objective is to reduce fermentation losses and preserve more of the valuable nutrients present in the harvested crop.
MaxSilo Cool – protect feed-out
MaxSilo Cool is a heterofermentative inoculant. It is designed to improve aerobic stability once the silo is opened and the silage is exposed to oxygen.
Its Lentilactobacillus buchneri bacteria encourage the production of acetic acid, helping suppress yeasts associated with heating and spoilage.
In simple terms:
MaxSilo Prime → better fermentation and nutrient preservation
MaxSilo Cool → cooler, more stable silage during feed-out
Results will vary according to the crop, dry matter, harvesting conditions, silo management and product selected.
Across the range, MaxSilo inoculants are designed to help achieve benefits such as:
Ultimately, preserving more of the crop means making better use of the money already invested in growing, harvesting and storing it.
Yes. Reducing avoidable dry matter loss is one of the main objectives of the MaxSilo range.
Homofermentative products such as MaxSilo Prime and Prime Plus encourage rapid lactic acid fermentation and a faster decline in pH. This helps limit undesirable microbial activity and preserve more of the original crop during ensiling.
Products designed for aerobic stability, such as MaxSilo Cool and Cool Plus, help protect against additional losses caused by heating and spoilage once silage is exposed to air.
Different products therefore protect dry matter at different stages of the silage-making and feeding process.
Yes. This is specifically where the MaxSilo Cool range is designed to help.
Once the silo is opened, oxygen allows yeasts and other spoilage organisms to become active. They consume valuable nutrients and generate heat, which can lead to further deterioration and mould growth.
MaxSilo Cool contains Lentilactobacillus buchneri, which promotes the production of compounds including acetic acid that help suppress these spoilage organisms.
Where aerobic stability is an especially significant challenge, MaxSilo Cool Plus provides a higher-strength, dual-strain option.
Different challenges do not always occur in isolation.
Some silages need rapid control during fermentation but are also vulnerable to heating and spoilage once opened.
MaxSilo Fusion has been developed for this type of situation, combining bacteria that encourage efficient early fermentation with bacteria selected to improve aerobic stability during feed-out.
This gives a dual-action approach: protecting the forage at ensiling and helping protect it again when oxygen is introduced.
MaxSilo inoculants can be used across a wide range of forage crops and high-moisture grains.
The correct product is determined by both the crop and the challenge.
Lower dry matter or more difficult-to-ensile crops, including many grasses, legumes and sorghum silages, may require greater emphasis on rapid fermentation.
Maize, wholecrop cereals, high-moisture grains and other silages vulnerable to heating after opening may require greater emphasis on aerobic stability.
Forages facing both challenges may benefit from a combined approach.
Your MaxSilo representative can help identify the most appropriate formulation for your crop, dry matter and feeding system.
A bacterial species name alone does not tell the whole story.
Different strains of lactic acid bacteria can vary considerably in their fermentation characteristics, ability to tolerate different conditions and the compounds they produce.
MaxSilo formulations therefore use selected bacterial strains for specific roles within the silage fermentation process.
For example:
It is the selection, concentration and combination of strains that determines what an inoculant is designed to achieve.
Yes.
MaxSilo formulations are developed using selected silage inoculant bacteria and are evaluated under controlled conditions to assess characteristics such as fermentation, dry matter preservation and aerobic stability.
Field evaluation is also part of the continuing MaxSilo development programme, allowing products to be assessed under practical farming conditions.
Application rates vary by formulation.
For each product, the recommended dose is designed to deliver the correct population of beneficial bacteria to the forage.
Always follow the application rate and instructions provided for the specific MaxSilo product being used.
Yes.
MaxSilo is designed for application to forage during harvesting.
The sachet is mixed with clean, non-chlorinated water and added to the forage harvester's inoculant applicator tank.
Most modern forage harvesters are equipped with inoculant application systems. Where this equipment is not available, suitable spraying equipment can also be used to apply inoculant evenly during silo filling.
Always follow the preparation and application instructions for the individual MaxSilo product.
The required water volume depends on the applicator system being used.
As a general guide, approximately 1–2 litres of water per tonne of forage can be used, although low-volume applicators may operate at different rates.
The most important factor is accurate and even distribution of the required bacterial dose throughout the forage.
The bacteria begin becoming active as conditions inside the compacted and sealed silo become favourable for fermentation.
Homofermentative bacteria rapidly utilise available plant sugars and produce lactic acid, helping lower the silage pH and establish conditions favourable for preservation.
Heterofermentative bacteria have a different role and continue influencing fermentation in ways that help improve resistance to spoilage when the silage is later exposed to air.
Where possible, silage should be allowed to ferment for at least 21 days after sealing before the silo is opened.
The optimum fermentation period can vary according to the crop, moisture content, inoculant and management system.
Silage inoculants are formulated to supply a specific population of beneficial bacteria to the forage.
Applying less than the recommended amount can mean that insufficient bacteria are present to achieve the intended effect.
For best results, always apply the recommended dose and ensure application equipment is properly calibrated.
Higher rates should only be used where recommended for the particular MaxSilo formulation or following technical advice.
Yes. Several products in the MaxSilo range, including Cool, Cool Plus and Fusion, are designed to help control the microorganisms responsible for heating and spoilage when silage is exposed to oxygen.
MaxSilo Cool contains Lentilactobacillus buchneri, which encourages the production of acetic acid to inhibit yeasts associated with aerobic deterioration.
MaxSilo Cool Plus combines complementary heterofermentative bacteria where stronger aerobic protection is required.
MaxSilo Fusion combines Lacticaseibacillus casei and Lentilactobacillus buchneri, providing dual-action protection. It promotes rapid fermentation and pH reduction during ensiling, while improving resistance to yeasts, moulds and heating during feed-out.
Good silo management remains essential, but these products provide additional biological protection to help reduce heating, spoilage and nutrient losses.
No.
An inoculant cannot compensate for fundamentally poor silage management.
Correct harvest timing, appropriate dry matter, rapid filling, effective compaction, good sealing, oxygen-barrier protection and correct feed-out management all remain extremely important.
MaxSilo inoculants are designed to work alongside good management, helping control biological processes that cannot be managed by compaction and sealing alone.
The greatest return is therefore achieved when effective inoculation and excellent silo management are used together.
Silage fermentation is a biological process and naturally occurring microbial populations can vary substantially between crops and conditions.
Using a selected inoculant gives beneficial bacteria a numerical and biological advantage, helping make fermentation more predictable and reducing the risk of unnecessary nutrient and dry matter losses.
Similarly, where heating during feed-out is a known problem, using an aerobic-stability inoculant provides another tool for protecting the silage once oxygen is introduced.
An inoculant therefore provides greater control over a process that would otherwise be left largely to the microorganisms naturally present on the crop.
MaxSilo products should be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Shelf life can vary by formulation, so always check the individual product packaging for the relevant expiry date and storage instructions.