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Description: The bunk life, or aerobic stability, of silage can be determined by measuring the heat generated when silage is exposed to air. The time for the silage temperature to increase by 2 degrees centigrade is usually taken as a measure of stability. Temperature rise can be measured with thermocouples and researchers have used various weights of silage (up tp 5 kg) held in a variety of containers, including uninsulated 5 gallon buckets or styrofoam ice buckets. Temperatures are best measured frequently and automatically by a data-logger. In the system pictured, which measures 40 inches by 40 inches, the spoilage of 36 relatively small (80-120g) samples can be determined simultaneously. The silage is first allowed to come to room temperature, is thoroughly mixed with air, a suitably sized sample is weighed into a 12 fluid ounce wide-mouthed glass canning jar, which is placed into one of the 36 cells, a thermocouple is placed in the center of each silage sample and the temperature is measured hourly by an automatic data-logger and recorded on a computer. The jars fit snugly into the heavily insulated cells that are divided by 2 inch thick polyurethane foam insulation (R-10). During construction the space around the round jar in a square hole was filled with spray foam insulation to further insulate each cell. The equipment is covered with a loosely fitting 2 inch thick layer of urethane foam to minimize heat loss but allow air ingress. From the data collected, the time for the temperature of each cell to increase by 2 degrees centigrade, the maximum temperature reached, and the time to reach this temperature can be determined. These values allow the ranking of different silages or TMR's but these values are probably much shorter than would occur in a feedbunk because of the small sample size and the insulation preventing heat loss.

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