Frequently (and not so frequently) Asked Questions
BRIEF: What do you know about formic acid and fallow?
QUESTION:
I know you have taken an interest in the diets of deer, and thus hold you out as
my only hope! (what an honor!) Anyway, what I am looking for
is any information that you might be able to get your hands on in
regards to formic acid for treating bale-age. I asked on deermail, how
individuals were using baylage/haylage to feed deer. Only one whitetail
farmer (from the Netherlands) answered. He feeds haylage treated with
preservative formic acid to his whitetail and has been very successful.
We would like to feed baylage to fallow, but the bales we bought this
year were untreated. The goat farmers (the majority of our cash
cropper's business) can't use any preservative (from my understanding it
kills the goats). So our contractor used no preservatives. However, this
allowed mold growth, which killed our deer! The bales that did not mold
were loved, and the deer ate every bit. As whitetails and fallow are
about as different as night and day, what do you know about formic acid
and fallow? As this would be a higher nutritional value, we would like
to go with baylage over hay, but can't figure out the technical parts to
getting it right? Any ideas, or sources of information? Would you be
able to get anything from Texas A&M or Penn State? Both seem to do a lot
more with deer, than Cornell.I'll take whatever information I can get-
even if it's a contact name and
number.
ANSWER:
Propionic acid is used in the United States to help preserve hay and haylage. It
is more effective than formic acid and is not toxic to any ruminants at the
concentrations applied (after all, propionic acid is an important product of
rumen fermentation of feedstuff in the animal anyway). The other, more important
protection against spoiled haylage is to maintain the integrity of the bag until
feeding. Putting the haylage up at the proper moisture content is a factor
as
well.
I am not familiar with formic acid toxicity in deer or goats, but since it is not
used much here, I guess it won't come up any time soon. Formic acid
(and formaldehyde) are catabolites found in methanol poisoning cases and urine
formic acid can be used as an indication that a methanol (wood alcohol poisoning
has occurred.