Abstract
To investigate the effect of moisture content on the silage fermentation and intake by cattle, guineagrass and rhodesgrass were wilted to be 70, 60, 50 and 40% moisture contents and were ensiled into round bales. "Acetic acid silage" with high pH and low lactic acid content was made from high moisture materials. With the advance of wilting, lactic acid content increased up to 50% moisture content and then decreased. VFA and VBN content decreased with decreasing moisture content. The fermentation quality of silage was improved with decreasing moisture content. There were no significant differences in the dry matter intake of silages under various moisture levels. Breeding Japanese Black cattle ingested more dry matter from each silage than the maintenance level.
