Implications of Costs in corn silo production systems

Written by:Diomer Antonio Galán Rincón.

Bachelor's Degree.Public Accounting / MSc.Science of Higher Education.

At present, due to the economic instability in the country, it is essential for companies to know the total amount of money invested in the production process, which may be difficult to break down and determine at each stage because it is very complex.

This situation could be common in the livestock activity specifically, where probably the production costs cannot be quantified in a precise way in the different processes that are developed; even more, when in the same company and due to the high cost that represents the feeding of the animals, alternative measures are taken that allow to reduce in a certain way the costs incurred.

As in the case of producing corn silage, this type of feed represents an advantage for producers, in terms of economy and yield, since they will always have the necessary nutrients even in the event of drought or floods.

In this sense, silage is for Reyes, Mendieta Fariñas, Mena, Cardona and Pezo (2009) "a technique for the conservation of green forage by anaerobic fermentation (without the presence of oxygen), which when well implemented allows maintaining and preserving the nutritional quality for a long time".

Therefore, in view of the need to stabilize the food supply and thus animal production, there is no doubt that forage reserves constitute a fundamental axis of the system, especially silage, whose useful life is very long in time, provided that good management practices have been respected at the time of its preparation.

For this reason, if it is desired to maintain a stable production level and minimize losses during the summer, it is necessary to have a sufficient supply of conserved forage during the critical period of deficit.

Based on the above, it can be said that silos are a highly appreciated resource in livestock farming, since they can be used to store grass when it is abundant and to be used when it is scarce.

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