Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Page 90
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LE NORD
been our aim in Finland, is based decisively on the promoted
cultivation of legumes and on the effective preservation of the
crops. Investigating in the Laboratory of Valio the factors which
influence the growth of legumes and the formation of proteins,
and in the first place, the biological fixation of nitrogen in the
leguminous root nodules, we directed attention to the great pos-
sibilities these plants offered for self-dependent and economical
production of proteins. The first condition for an effective utili-
zation of legumes was, however, the safe and effective preserva-
tion of the fresh crops. No method was known for this purpose
and therefore the first thing to do was to solve the fodder pre-
servation problem. In 1925 the theoretical basis was planned for
the preservation method, which the Butter Export Association
Valio named the A. I. V. method and which has since been in-
troduced into general practice in Finland by the said central
union of the Finnish co-operative dairies. In 1928 we carried
out tests with the new preservation method on a practical scale
on two farms and in 1929 it was put into practice. At present
the method is used on about 18,000 farms in Finland, and will
apparently spread all over the country duríng the next years,
especially since in addition to Valio’s fodder instruction, the in-
structors of the Agricultural Societies, involving the whole coun-
try, have undertaken the instruction of the A. I. V. method and
fodder production.
In this connection I will not describe more closely the theore-
tical basis of the A. I. V. method and its practical application.
I only mention briefly that the essential feature of the A. I. V.
process is the artificial acidification of the fresh forage with
mineral acids to a point between pH 3 and 4. This degree of
acidity is sufficient to prevent all detrimental deterioration pro-
cesses: respiration, protein breakdown to ammonia, and harmful
fermentations, esp. butyric acid fermentation. Immature grass,
clover, lucerne and green mixtures (e. g. peas and beans) which
in summer are excellent material for a high milk-production,
and keep the stock in fine condition, retain their good digestibility
and other wholesome properties when made into A. I. V. silage.
The nutritive losses in this method amount in practice to about
10 per cent, if the silos are satisfactory. Compared with the
making of hay and ordinary silage, in which the losses are 30—
40 %, the losses in A. I. V. method are very slight. Moreover,
the use of A. I. V. process makes possible the mechanization of