The evolution of silage: From pits to precision and where Lallemand fits into the story

Silage has come a long way. The image above reflects a time when silage making relied on instinct, weather and available machinery. Today, it is a science backed, precision driven process. Throughout this evolution, Lallemand has helped farmers improve forage quality and consistency.

Where silage began

Preserving forage through fermentation dates back thousands of years, with early records from China and Europe describing chopped forage stored in pits. Modern ensiling emerged in the late 1800s and early 1900s alongside mechanical choppers and a better understanding of anaerobic fermentation.

In Australia, many farms through the 1960s–80s relied on dirt wall pits and basic machinery. As silage systems expanded, one lesson became clear: good fermentation doesn’t happen by chance.

Heating, dry matter losses, mould growth and inconsistent animal performance drove research into what happens inside the stack. This work identified lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as the key drivers of fast, efficient and stable fermentation, marking the point where science reshaped silage.

Lallemand’s role in modern silage

With more than a century of expertise in microbial fermentation, Lallemand recognised that the precision used in baking, brewing and bioscience could transform forage preservation. By developing specific strains of beneficial bacteria, silage shifted from an art to a controllable biological process.

Today, MAGNIVA forage inoculants reflect decades of research and on farm experience, combining targeted strains of Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Lactobacillus buchneri to deliver:

This reliability is especially valuable under Australian conditions.

Today, advances in harvest technology, compaction, sealing films, oxygen barriers and science backed inoculants MAGNIVA have turned silage from “hoping for the best” into a highly managed, high return feed strategy.

Lallemand continues to invest in research, microbial innovation and practical on farm solutions to help producers maximise every tonne of forage they grow. Silage may have started with simple pits and ingenuity, but its future belongs to precision, and Lallemand is proud to be part of that journey.