Banana stalk silage molasses substitute?

Animal Options
#1

Hi everyone!! We are missionaries with Christian Veterinary Mission in the small village of Buwama in southern Uganda, having arrived only 1 month ago. I have been to ECHO N. Amer twice and especially enjoyed the TAD 1 course. We are helping a church with a school of ministry and doing community development with animals and agriculture.

I wanted to try making banana stalk silage for bolstering pig rations here in the village, but there is no molasses source unless we are able to get to the capital Kampala (one vendor had about 1/2 cup of molasses in a bucket). Another vendor has a block of dark sugar that he says is the same and just has to be reconstituted to make equivalent of molasses. Should I try that or use the darkest packaged sugar in the market? What about just cutting up sugarcane with the banana stalks and adding only salt?

Thank you so much for any advice as I wish to get started on the silage project as soon as possible. Blessings to everyone,
Davis

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#2

@Boonsong_Thansrithon, do you have recommendations for what other sugar sources Davis could try using given his list? Do you see any potential downsides of using chopped sugar cane? If not, how finely would it need to be chopped?

#3

Thanks everyone! Stacy, I am still interested in what @Boonsong_Thansrithon might say about this, but I also wanted to let everyone know that I have gotten some good info from Julie Kyle, DVM at ECHO. Plus, I have had a little more time to read some of the older threads on the ECHO Community messages about this topic.

From what I’ve read it turns out there is wide variation in the sugar source (if it’s used at all!). Molasses, reconstituted crude sugar, brown sugar, honey, etc. have all been used with success. There seems to be a lot of forgiveness there, although I think the sugar cane is going to be too “wet” as is. Maybe a day or two of drying is needed if that is used.

I also found wide variation in the silage plant choice which is very interesting to me. Anyone used to “cut and carry” foraging could fill the silage barrel with banana stalks AND some of what the animals are used to already.

Thanks everyone!! I will try to post some results when we try this project.
Blessings,
Davis

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#4

Thanks for coming in Uganda. May God bless your work.
I’m in Uganda and I’m a born of Uganda. I do farming