Most commercially available silage inoculants are supplied as freeze-dried preparations of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which are rehydrated immediately prior to application to herbage (Wilkinson, 1989). One limitation of this approach is that rehydrated bacteria are likely to be less active initially than ‘freshly cultured’ (actively growing) cells. Thus an extended lag phase may precede the period of logarithmic growth of freeze-dried inoculants. From the above argument, it follows that freshly cultured bacteria may be preferable in order to enhance activity in the initial period of ensilage.

In two experiments, firstly the principle of using freshly cultured inoculants was examined in laboratory silos followed by a scale-up of the inoculant production process to investigate the practicability of using it in an on-farm system, and examining its effect on silage composition and cattle production response.