Ammonition of Low Qulity Roughges Oklhom Coopertive Extension Service Division of Agriculturl Sciences nd Nturl Resources F-2243 Dvid Llmn Gerld Horn Ry Huhnke Lrry A. Redmon Extension Beef Cttle Specilist Professor Animl Science Extension Agriculturl Engineer Extension Forge Specilist Ech yer, n bundnce of low qulity roughges is produced in Oklhom. The supply of low qulity roughges is the result of mny fctors including: high precipittion during the hying seson, lte hrvest dtes, nd drought. Crop residues, such s whet strw, grin sorghum stover, nd corn stover re other potentil sources of low qulity roughges tht re not often utilized in beef cttle diets becuse of their low nutrient vlue. Still nother source of low qulity roughge hs resulted from CRP (Conservtion Reserve Progrm) lnd tht is either coming out of the CRP progrm or hying tht hs been llowed to relieve drought situtions. Appliction of nhydrous mmoni provides n opportunity to substntilly improve the nutrient chrcteristics of these roughges. Use of this technology hs grown considerbly in the pst 15 yers. In generl, stck of roughge is covered with polyethylene sheet to crete n ir nd mmoni tight sel. Anhydrous mmoni is injected into the stck nd llowed to rect with the roughge for one to four weeks. Why Ammonite? When n bundnce of moderte to high qulity forge is vilble, there is little reson to consider mmonition. Appliction of this technique will be most prcticl in yers of drought, when little forge is vilble or when moderte to high qulity forge is expensive. It is lso beneficil in situtions when there is some other incentive to ble low qulity roughge. An exmple of this includes opertions where the min objective is to grow fescue seed crop. The fescue residue is often bled to remove the mteril from the soil surfce in order to llow forge re-growth to occur. The mmonition process serves to convert the residue by-product into moderte qulity roughge for cttle. Ammonition improves roughge nutritive vlue by: Incresing roughge digestibility Incresing roughge intke Incresing crude protein content Allowing storge of higher moisture roughge by inhibiting mold development Crude Protein An Oklhom study (Zorrill-Rios et l., 1991) ddressed the use of mmonited whet strw in emergency feeding progrms for growing cttle. The whet strw used in the study hd initil crude protein nd digestibility contents of 3.6 nd 26% respectively. Steer clves (635 lb. initil weight) were fed untreted or mmonited whet strw nd bout 6.5 lbs. of corn. Incresed mounts of soyben mel up to 1.23 lbs./dy were fed with untreted strw; wheres, steers fed mmonited strw did not receive ny supplementl protein. Dily live weight gin of steers fed untreted strw nd the highest level of soyben mel or mmonited strw nd no supplementl protein ws bout 1.0 lb. The incresed crude protein of mmonited strw decresed the need for supplementl protein by n mount equivlent to 1.25 lbs. of soyben mel/steer/dy. This is often referred to s the protein-spring effect of mmonited roughges nd is likely due to the incresed intke of digestible dry mtter (DM) nd dded crude protein of mmonited roughges which increses microbil protein synthesis in the rumen. Digestibility nd Intke Roughge digestibility nd intke re enhnced beyond the improvements seen when protein supplement is used to correct protein deficiency in untreted roughge (Tble 1). Replcing one pound of corn supplement with soyben mel resulted in miniml improvement in weight gin (from 1.00 to 1.17 lbs./dy) for steers receiving untreted hy. Ammonition of the hy resulted in n verge of 0.56 lb./dy improvement in weight gin nd n verge of 21% greter hy intke. Similrly, gestting cows fed mmonited whet strw hd higher roughge intke nd weight gin compred to cows fed whet strw nd supplemented with lflf hy s protein source (Tble 2). Mold Inhibition Mold nd fungus cuse heting nd deteriortion of hy nd crop residue if roughge moisture content is bove 20%. Ammoni, t level of 1.5-2.0% of hy DM, cts s fungicide nd cn effectively preserve roughges contining up to 30% moisture. 2243 / 1 Oklhom Stte University
Tble 1. Effect of mmonition of grss hy nd supplementtion on steer performnce. Supplement (lb./dy) Gin Hy Intke Corn Soyben Mel Hy (lb./dy) (lb. DM/dy) 0 0 Untreted.35 8.7 Ammonited.81 10.5 4 0 Untreted 1.00 8.0 Ammonited 1.56 9.5 3 1 Untreted 1.17 8.0 Ammonited 1.53 9.8 Lechtenberg et l., Purdue University, 1980. Ninety dy tril with 60 hed of 500 lb. steers. Mture orchrdgrss hy initilly contined 7% CP nd ws 46% digestible. Protein nd digestibility fter tretment ws 14 nd 54 percent, respectively. Tble 2. Performnce of gestting cows in dry-lot, fed untreted whet strw nd 7 lbs. of lflf or mmonited strw. Strw + Alflf Ammonited Strw Roughge intke, lb./dy 21.8 26.1 Cow weight chnge, lb./dy -.27.10 Wrd et l., University of Nebrsk, 1982. How does it work? The term nhydrous in nhydrous mmoni refers to the bsence of wter. When the gseous nhydrous mmoni comes in contct with roughge, it combines with the moisture (wter) in the roughge to form mmonium hydroxide. Plnt cell wlls re mde up of complex crbohydrtes consisting of three primry compounds; cellulose, hemicellulose, nd lignin. Ammonium hydroxide is n lkline compound, much like lye sop, nd serves to: solubilize hemicellulose by breking chemicl bonds holding lignin nd hemicellulose together; nd prtilly brek down the structure of cellulose by disrupting hydrogen bonds. This rection cuses swelling of the fiber nd llows cellulse (the enzyme responsible for cellulose digestion) better ccess to the fiber for digestion (Church, 1988). Following mmonition, most rough- ges hve drker crmel-like color nd softer texture. Wht roughges cn be mmonited? Any roughge tht hs low nutritive vlue is good cndidte for mmonition. Tble 3 shows exmples of different roughges tht hve been mmonited nd the resulting chnges in crude protein content, dry mtter digestibility, nd roughge intke. Importnt considertions: Site selection. Select site for the mmonition stck tht is reltively flt, but well drined. If possible, loction somewht shielded from the wind is preferble. Ble size nd stck size. Any size roughge pckge cn be mmonited including; loves, loose stcks, round bles, nd squre bles of ll sizes. Single or multiple tiers of bles cn be used effectively. In the stck method the limiting fctors to stck size re generlly polyethylene sheet size nd stcking equipment. Ammoni hs exceptionl penetrting qulities, llowing for lrge, tight stcks of hy to be treted. Moisture level. Roughges should contin minimum of 10% moisture for the mmonition process to be successful. Optiml moisture level is between 15 nd 18%. Roughges with s high s 25 to 30% moisture hve been successfully treted. Timing of tretment. For best results nd most efficient use of purchsed mterils, hy should be mmonited Tble 3. Results of roughge mmonition trils. % Crude Protein % D.M. Digestibility Increse In Roughge Untreted Treted Untreted Treted D.M. Intke Whet Strw 3.7 9.7 38.9 48.0 18% Corn Stover 6.2 11.0 48.0 56.2 22% Milo Stover 5.4 16.8 46.2 61.3 - Pririe Hy 5.8 14.7 49.5 58.2 - Fescue Hy 6.6 14.8 39.7 57.7 36% Orchrdgrss Hy 7.1 14.2 46.1 54.3 22% Switchgrss Hy 4.5 11.0 43.3 53.2 3% Adpted with modifictions from Kuhl, Knss Stte University, 1981. 2243 / 2
immeditely fter hrvest. This will minimize loss from wethering nd prevent mmoni hot spots due to mmoni concentrting in wet res of the hy. How to Ammonite 1. Mke certin there is redy source of nhydrous mmoni vilble in your re. This cn be mjor limittion in res where there is little frming. 2. In order to pply the pproprite mount of mmoni, it is importnt to mke n ccurte determintion of roughge weight. Weigh t lest five lrge bles (20 smll bles) in order to get good indiction of verge weight. Remember different types of roughges often hve very different densities nd ble weights. Also, estimte roughge moisture content becuse the mount of nhydrous mmoni pplied is bsed on dry mtter (DM). For exmple, 10% moisture content whet strw hs 90% DM which equtes to 1800 lbs. of DM per ton of strw (2000 X.90). 3. Clculte the mount of nhydrous mmoni to be pplied. Reserch hs shown tht pproximtely 3% mmoni on roughge DM bsis (60 lbs. per ton of DM) provides good results. Also consider how to regulte the totl mount of mmoni pplied. One option is to prepre the stck, clculte the totl mount needed, nd then plce n order for tnk tht contins no more thn the mount needed. Appliction cn lso be monitored with mmoni regultors to id in ccurte ppliction. Another lterntive is to use the percentge guge on the nhydrous mmoni tnk to estimte the mount of mmoni tht hs been injected. For exmple, if cpcity of n nhydrous tnk is 5000 lbs., one percentge point on the tnk gge is 50 lbs. (5000 x 0.01). If the gol is to pply 1500 lbs., the percentge units chnge on the tnk gge would be: 1500 lbs. 50 lbs. per percentge unit = 30 units 4. Arrnge bles so tht single sheet of polyethylene (usully 40 X 100 ft.) cn cover the entire stck with t lest 2 ft. of surplus sheeting long ll edges so the stck cn be seled. For lrge round bles, pyrmid three bles high with three forming the bse or two bles high with four forming the bse works well depending on ble size. It is not necessry to plce polyethylene between the ground nd hy becuse miniml mmoni will be lost through the ground during ppliction nd storge. 5. The mmoni cn be pplied through hose or pipe extending from the tnk under the plstic nd terminting ner the center of the stck. Plcement of the end of the hose or pipe is not criticl. Ammoni hs excellent dispersion qulities nd will rpidly penetrte ll res of the stck. If desired, the end of the hose or pipe cn be secured so tht it points down nd releses mmoni into metl bucket or brrel. This method my reduce the mount of liquid mmoni loss under the plstic sheeting, especilly in cses where hy is stcked on slope, or when mmoni is relesed too rpidly. 6. Cover the stck with single sheet of polyethylene (6-mil or 8-mil thickness). Blck polyethylene is recommended becuse it is more resistnt to ultrviolet light deteriortion thn other colors. Be creful not to ter the polyethylene while covering the stck. All holes nd ters must be repired to prevent the loss of mmoni. To mke the stck ir tight, sel ll edges of the polyethylene using t lest eight inches of soil, fine rock or other weighty mteril. In ddition to creting n ir-tight sel, the soil round the bse will lso help to nchor the sheeting to prevent possible wind dmge. 7. Apply mmoni slowly (no more thn 30 lbs. of mmoni per minute). Slow ppliction will minimize bllooning nd stretching of the polyethylene sheet. Anhydrous mmoni expnds from liquid to gs when it is relesed from pressure. The wrmer the temperture, the more the gs will expnd. Applying the mmoni during lte evening nd night hours, especilly during 6-8 mil plstic Nurse tnk dirt or grvel Ammoni hose Ammoni pipe 2243 / 3
mid-summer, will minimize bllooning nd stretching of the polyethylene. 8. The length of time required for the stck to remin seled depends on the environmentl temperture s shown below: Temperture ( F) Weeks of tretment Below 40 More thn 8 40 to 60 4 to 8 60 to 80 2 to 4 Above 80 2 Keep hy covered until few dys prior to feeding. Ammonited hy tkes on moisture more redily nd is more susceptible to spoilge thn untreted hy becuse the fiber hs been prtilly broken down. Uncovering the stck two dys prior to feeding will llow ny excess mmoni to escpe. Precutions Ammonition of moderte nd high qulity forges cn cuse toxicity in cttle! Restrict mmonition to mture, low qulity roughges. Ammonition of high qulity roughges, such s lflf, forge sorghum, hybrid sudn, smll grin hys, or ny moderte to erly hrvested grss hy (including both cool nd wrm seson species), cn led to toxicity problems known s crzy cow syndrome or bovine bonkers. Symptoms include hyperexcitbility, circling, convulsions, nd even deth. Toxicity is cused when cttle consume sufficient quntities of the toxic compound, 4-methylimidzole, which is formed when soluble sugrs in the roughge rect with mmoni. This compound psses through the milk to ffect nursing clves, nd in fct, nursing clves seem to be more susceptible to the toxicity thn mture nimls. Mture roughges hve low soluble sugr content nd represent little risk of toxicity problems. To minimize the risk of toxicity: Do not mmonite moderte or high qulity forges Do not pply more thn 4% mmoni on dry mtter bsis Do not mmonite roughge tht hs wet spots from recent hevy rins becuse mmoni will concentrte in these wet spots To reduce the risk of clf toxicity, either refrin from feeding mmonited roughge to cows with young clves or wit until the clves re t lest one month old. If toxicity does occur, immeditely remove mmonited roughges for severl dys nd void working or exciting the cttle. Exercise Extreme Cution When Applying Anhydrous Ammoni Exposure to nhydrous mmoni cn cuse blindness, lung dmge, burns, or deth. If you re exposed, immeditely flush the exposed re with wter for t lest 15 minutes. Seek medicl ttention immeditely fter emergency first id tretment. To be sfe using nhydrous mmoni, lwys: Wer personl protective equipment including msk, goggles, gloves, long-sleeved shirt, long pnts, nd proper work shoes. Hve n mple wter supply close by. Regulrly inspect hoses nd vlves nd replce them s needed. Be creful not to fill tnk over 85 percent of cpcity. Bleed off hose pressure before disconnecting. Sty cler of hose nd vlve openings. Follow regultions when using equipment. Hve qulified technicin repir the tnk. Use the proper hitch, sfety chins, nd Slow Moving Vehicle sign when towing. For dditionl informtion on sfe hndling of nhydrous mmoni, see OSU Fct Sheet No. 1723, Anhydrous Ammoni. Wht Does Ammonition Cost? The primry direct costs ssocited with mmonition include costs for nhydrous mmoni, polyethylene sheeting, nd lbor. Tble 4 gives n exmple of these costs. Ammonition generlly costs $11 to $15 per ton of roughge. Lrger stcks re cheper to mmonite per ton becuse lbor, plstic, nd miscellneous costs re spred over more totl pounds of roughge. Tble 4. Ammonition costs for 75 round bles of mture pririe hy. Item Units Cost/Unit Totl Cost Cost/Ton of Roughge Anhydrous mmoni 1980 lb b $225.00 / ton $222.75 $5.94 6 mil polyethylene sheeting (40 x 100 ) 1 $125.00 $125.00 $3.33 Crushed rock for plstic sel 5 ton $6.00 $30.00 $.80 Lbor 12 mn hours $6.00 $72.00 $1.92 Miscellneous equipment $20.00 $.53 Fuel (for stcking hy) 10 gllons $1.00 $10.00 $.27 Totl $479.75 $12.79 Averge ble weight = 1000 lbs. Dry mtter content = 88%. b 75 x 1000 = 75,000 lbs. of roughge x 88 % dry mtter = 66,000 lbs. of dry roughge x 3% = 1980 lbs. 2243 / 4
Tble 5. Vlue of mmoniting mture pririe hy for gestting cows. Vlue of Ammonition 90 Dy Per Ton of Wintering Progrm Feed Cost Roughge b Ammonited hy $58 - Hy + rnge cubes @ $150/ton $72 $14 Hy + rnge cubes @ $175/ton $76 $18 Hy + rnge cubes @ $200/ton $81 $23 Hy + rnge cubes @ $225/ton $85 $27 Hy + rnge cubes @ $250/ton $89 $31 b Ammonited hy lone or untreted hy plus 3.5 lbs. of 25% protein rnge cubes. Clculted to meet nutrient requirements of 1100 lb. cow during lst 90 dys of gesttion. Assumes 20% greter intke for mmonited hy. Mture pririe hy vlued t $50 per ton. Assumes untreted hy contins 5.5% protein, 50% TDN nd mmonited hy contins 12% protein nd 58% TDN. No supplementtion is required for the mmonited hy. Supplementing Ammonited Roughges Becuse mny low qulity roughges contin extremely low protein (less thn 5%), nd ll of the dded mmoni nitrogen from the mmonition process is not vilble to the niml, dditionl nturl protein supplementtion my be needed to increse niml performnce (Zorrill-Rios et l., 1991; Beck et l., 1992). As rule of thumb, consider the dded crude protein only 50% vilble to the niml. For exmple, verge protein content of whet strw ws 3.7% before mmonition nd 9.7% fter mmonition for severl trils (Tble 3.) Therefore, the dded crude protein is 6% nd the dded usble protein is 3% (6% x.5). Usble crude protein should be considered to be 6.7% (3.7% + 3%). If the clculted usble crude protein content is bove the niml s requirement, dditionl protein supplementtion would not be wrrnted. In situtions where greter thn mintennce performnce is desired (such s in the cse of thin, gestting cows), dditionl energy supplementtion my be wrrnted. Grin bsed energy supplements hve been shown to increse weight gin of gestting beef cows nd growing steers receiving mmonited roughges (Lechtenberg et l., 1980; Zorrill-Rios et l., 1991; Beck et l., 1992; Fike et l., 1995). Wht is the Vlue? The vlue relized from mmoniting roughges of low nutritive vlue will depend on: vilbility nd/or cost of lterntive roughges improvement in nutritionl vlue cost of supplementing untreted hy the vlue of ny improvement in niml performnce compred to feeding untreted hy Tble 5 shows n exmple of the vlue of mmoniting low qulity ntive grss hy for gestting cow diet with different supplement prices. To determine if mmonition is fesible, subtrct the estimted cost per ton of forge from the estimted vlue of mmonition. This exmple points out tht mmonition my not be cost effective for gestting cows when supplement prices re low. However, in this exmple the mmonited roughge does not require supplementtion. Consequently, the dded lbor nd equipment costs required to supplement the low qulity untreted roughge would further increse the vlue of mmonition. Summry Ammonition presents n opportunity to trnsform product of little vlue into vluble feed resource. Certinly, plnning nd good mngement re required to mke this procedure successful, but the economic rewrds cn be significnt. References Church, D.C. 1988. The Ruminnt Animl. Prentice-Hll, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Fike, G.D. et l. 1993. Protein Supplementtion of Ammonited Whet Strw: Effect on Performnce of Beef Cows. Cttlemn s Dy Report of Progress Knss Stte University 678:113. Kuhl, Gerry L. 1981. Ammonition of Dry Roughges for Beef Cttle. 7th Annul O-K Beef Cttle Conference Proceedings. Knss Stte University. Lechtenberg, V.L. et l. 1980. Animl Gins on Ammonited Hy. Indin Beef Cttle Dy Proceedings, Purdue University. Wrd, J.K. et l. 1982. Ammoni Tretment of Whet Strw. Beef Cttle Report, University of Nebrsk MP43:12. Zorrill-Rios, J. et l. 1991. Energy nd Protein Supplementtion of Ammonited Whet Strw Diets for Growing Steers. J. Anim. Sci. 69:1809-1819. 2243 / 5
The Oklhom Coopertive Extension Service Bringing the University to You! The Coopertive Extension Service is the lrgest, most successful informl eductionl orgniztion in the world. It is ntionwide system funded nd guided by prtnership of federl, stte, nd locl governments tht delivers informtion to help people help themselves through the lnd-grnt university system. Extension crries out progrms in the brod ctegories of griculture, nturl resources nd environment; home economics; 4-H nd other youth; nd community resource development. Extension stff members live nd work mong the people they serve to help stimulte nd educte Americns to pln hed nd cope with their problems. Some chrcteristics of the Coopertive Extension system re: The federl, stte, nd locl governments coopertively shre in its finncil support nd progrm direction. It is dministered by the lnd-grnt university s designted by the stte legislture through n Extension director. Extension progrms re nonpoliticl, objective, nd bsed on fctul informtion. It provides prcticl, problem-oriented educ- tion for people of ll ges. It is designted to tke the knowledge of the university to those persons who do not or cnnot prticipte in the forml clssroom instruction of the university. It utilizes reserch from university, government, nd other sources to help people mke their own decisions. More thn million volunteers help multiply the impct of the Extension professionl stff. It dispenses no funds to the public. It is not regultory gency, but it does inform people of regultions nd of their options in meeting them. Locl progrms re developed nd crried out in full recognition of ntionl problems nd gols. The Extension stff eductes people through personl contcts, meetings, demonstrtions, nd the mss medi. Extension hs the built-in flexibility to djust its progrms nd subject mtter to meet new needs. Activities shift from yer to yer s citizen groups nd Extension workers close to the problems dvise chnges. Oklhom Stte University, in complince with Title VI nd VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 s mended, Title IX of the Eduction Amendments of 1972, Americns with Disbilities Act of 1990, nd other federl lws nd regultions, does not discriminte on the bsis of rce, color, ntionl origin, sex, ge, religion, disbility, or sttus s vetern in ny of its policies, prctices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to dmissions, employment, finncil id, nd eductionl services. Issued in furthernce of Coopertive Extension work, cts of My 8 nd June 30, 1914, in coopertion with the U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture, Smuel E. Curl, Director of Coopertive Extension Service, Oklhom Stte University, Stillwter, Oklhom. This publiction is printed nd issued by Oklhom Stte University s uthorized by the Den of the Division of Agriculturl Sciences nd Nturl Resources nd hs been prepred nd distributed t cost of $824.00 for 5,000 copies. #8843 0397 TG. 2243 / 6