Effect of Silage Quality on the Health and Performance of High-Producing Dairy Cows: A Review

Silages represents the principal component of the diet of high-producing dairy cows. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the existing literature on the impact of silage quality on the feed intake, performance, and health of dairy cows. The review described the impact of the nutritional quality of silages and fermentation products on dairy cow performance, including the implementation of preventive practices to avoid the undesirable fermentation process. The following section focused on the prevalence of pathogens that present a risk to animals and humans. A summary was provided of the most recent findings on the occurrence of Clostridium spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Bacillus spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in silage. The final section of the review addressed the most recent findings on the prevalence of undesirable metabolites, such as mycotoxins and biogenic amines, in silage. The mycotoxin section concentrated on the adverse health effects of elevated mycotoxin concentrations in dairy cow feed rations.