Ensiling olive cake with and without molasses for ruminant feeding

The purpose of the current experiment was to study the ensiling properties of olive cake with and without added molasses at 2–6% (w/w). The results indicate that molasses enhanced the ensiling fermentation of olive cake, as evidenced from higher lactic acid content and higher lactic acid bacteria numbers at 4% and 6% added molasses. However, when applied at 4% and 6% molasses increased fermentation losses up to 9.4%, probably due to larger yeast population. Polyphenols which could interfere with protein utilization by ruminants, decreased during ensiling by about 40%. It is concluded that molasses added at 3% could improve the ensiling fermentation of olive cake without substantial losses.