Effects of holes in plastic film on the storage losses in total mixed ration silage in round bales

The ensilage of total mixed ration (TMR) is a technology designed to help farmers with limitations to provide a balanced diet for their herds. Our aim was to evaluate the conservation of TMR ensiled in round bales with or without holes in the wrapping plastic film. Eight round bales of a corn silage-based TMR of 1,000 kg (370 kg DM/m3) were prepared. Ten days (d) after ensiling, four bales were randomly punctured with two holes of 25 cm2 each in opposite sides of the bale. The temperature in the center of the bales was recorded during the storage using dataloggers. After 60 d of storage, bales were weighted to assess dry matter (DM) recovery. Silages were sampled for measuring DM content, chemical composition, pH, lactic acid, and microbial counts. The temperature of the sliced bale face was assessed by infrared thermography. The holes in the plastic affected the DM content, DM recovery, and pH, whereas lactic acid, microbial counts, and temperature were not affected by treatments. The holes in the sealing plastic film should be avoided. However, holes of 25 cm2 each were not capable of causing expressive losses in TMR silage stored in 1,000 kg bales.