Why Do We Get Top Waste on Silage Pits?
Cutting
waste and spoilage on silage pits is a great way to improve dairy farm profitability. Spoilage and top
waste is due to incomplete or delayed fermentation in the top layers of silage resulting from the presence
of oxygen during the early stages of the fermentation. Oxygen can be present due to delayed sheeting,
inadequate rolling, penetration of oxygen through conventional black or clear polythene sheets, or due
to a lack of weight on the top sheets and nets resulting in air pockets under the sheet and a lack of
consolidation in the top layers of silage.
Efficient silage fermentation is an anaerobic process which takes place only once there is no air present. The presence of air delays fermentation, massively increases dry matter losses allowing breakdown of protein, sugars and loss of feed value as well as allowing rapid production of yeasts, moulds and other spoilage organisms. The result on many pits is high dry matter losses, wasted silage, slime layers, mycotoxin contamination, aerobic instability and heating on the face in the top metre of the pit.
Prevention of Waste on Silage Clamps
It
is essential to consolidate well, seal as soon as filling is completed using a sheeting system which
prevents the entry of oxygen fully sealing all sheet edges and protecting the sheets from damage. The
Silostop oxygen barrier system has proved highly effective in preventing air entering silage pits. The
Silostop system consists of a genuine oxygen barrier film together with protective nets to prevent damage
to the plastic film and gravel bags to seal edges and seams. This well researched system has dramatically
reduced waste on silage pits both in scientific trials and on commercial farms.
However even with the Silostop system for optimum results some additional weights on the top surface of the pit is highly beneficial. This acts to consolidate the surface layers on light fluffy dry forages and to keep the silage sheets in close contact with the surface of the silage in order to prevent air pockets.
We still need some weight on top of silage sheets and nets
Which are the Best Silage Pit Covers?
For
years now, Richard Webster has been searching for a cheap effective means of applying weight to sheets
and nets on silage pits. Old car tyres on silage pits are becoming a thing of the past. car tyres are
dirty, labour intensive, a filthy job which everyone hates they no longer have a place on the modern
dairy farm.
Nets alone are not heavy enough for dry forages especially on shoulders. Silostop clear film, and woven protective silage nets weighted down with RWN Lorry Tyre Side Walls or Rings make the best and most effective silage pit and clamp covers.
RWN Lorry Tyre Sidewalls or Truck Tyre Rings
We
now have available a good supply of inexpensive rubber lorry tyre
rings or waggon tyre sidewalls made from lorry tyres, perfect for covering pits and silage clamps.
Lorry tyre rings have been widely used for many years on silage pits in North America, Canada, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia.
RWN Lorry Tyre Sidewalls are 1 metre diameter and weigh around 13 kgs. Each sidewall or tyre ring will cover 1 square metre of pit. They are available in loads of 810 sidewalls, bundled into packs of 27. Each load is sufficient to cover an 810 m2 silage pit. RWN Lorry Tye Sidewalls are very easy to handle and will quickly cover a silage clamp.
Covering silage sheets and protective nets with additional weights improves the feed value of the top layers of silage as well as reducing dry matter losses, spoilage and heating. Nets prevent damage to plastic sheets they do not apply weight. Old car tyres have been used for many years but most are now 30 to 40 years old and need to be replaced urgently. Two of the least popular jobs on the farm are tyring a pit with dirty, wet, stinking, old tyres and forking waste off the top of a badly sealed pit. Waste which represents thousands of pounds worth of silage. Waste which was easily preventable.
To
make top quality silage with minimal waste and maximum feed value, roll silages well, avoiding any slopes
greater than 30o, seal the clamp imediately ensuring that it really is air tight and
protect the sheets with protective nets.
Covering the entire silage pit surface with Lorry Tyre Sidewalls consolidates the top layers of silage, tightens the silage sheets, prevents air pockets and and keeps the pit covers in tight contact with the silage surface.
RWN Lorry Tyre Sidewalls are the perfect replacement for old car types on silage clamps. Much cheaper and easier to handle than heavy rubber silage mats. Cheaper than gravel bags. They cover much more silage and last many times longer than gravel bags. Use gravel bags for sealing edges of silage clamps and seams. Use protective nets to prevent damage to silage sheets. Use tyrewalls to cover the pit.
Lorry
Tyre Sidewalls are clean, dry, all the same size, easy to handle, easily stacked, cheap and effective.
Handling can easily be mechanised. They are easy to keep clean, take up very little space and can be
stacked on pallets or handled with pallet forks or bale spikes and stacked against a wall or on a rack.
Lorry Tyre Sidewalls cover a lot of silage very quickly. It takes half the time and labour to cover a pit compared with using old car tyres. Definately the cheapest, most effective solution to covering a silage pit and stopping the waste on silage pits. Use on grass and maize silage, wholecrop and straw stacks.
RWN Tyre Sidewalls used with Silostop Sheets and Nets make fantastic silage covers
Lorry or Truck Tyre Sidewalls have many Advantages :
- Each ring covers 1 square metre - A few go a long way. Much less work than tyres
- Easy to handle - contain no water. 13kg carried in each hand. Clean and easy to use
- Tidy and Stackable - Can easily be stacked on pallets. Much tidier on the pit
- Handling can easily be mechanised - Move on pallets or on a long bale spike
- Easy to store - No heaps of wet, dirty tyres full of nettles. Very quick to apply
- Lorry Tyre Sidewalls are Extremely Durable - Expected life of 30 - 50 years
- Inexpensive (cost 1-3p/t of silage) - Written off over 15 years cost is negligible
- Labour Saving - Can reduce Labour Costs by 1-3p/t of silage compared to car tyres
- Reduced top waste on silage - Saves work, more feedable silage, less mycotoxins
- SAVES MONEY - More milk from less forage and healthier cows
Much Better than Car Tyres. Much Cheaper than Rubber Silage Mats
Much More Effective than Silage Nets alone
Cost per Tonne of Silage is Negligible
Tyre Sidewalls are the Best Covering for Silage Clamps
Quality
forages are too valuable a resource to waste. A three metre deep silage clamp containing 1800 tonnes
of forage worth £50,000 can be covered by one load of tyre sidewalls, which written off over 15
years would cost less than £50 per year.
RWN Lorry Tyre Rings or Sidewalls are an effective solution to top waste on a wide range of forages and moist feeds including grass silage, wholecrop cereals, crimped cereals, forage maize, wet brewers grains, presssed pulp and Trafford Gold.
Click to see more Lorry Tyre Sidewalls on Silage Clamps and Lorry Tyre Sidewalls on Silostop Silage Nets
BETTER SILAGE, REDUCED FEED COSTS, MORE MILK AND LESS HASSLE
A Cheaper and More Effective Clamp Sealing System
For advice on making better silage, reducing waste and cutting feed costs or for prices and availability of Silostop Oxygen Barrier Film, Gravel Bags, Protective Silage Nets and Lorry Tyre Sidewalls contact Richard Webster. Contact us now - availability of Tyre Sidewalls can be limited during the silage season.