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Step 1 - Side Wall Sheets |
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Step 2 - Fill with Silage |
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Step 3 - Cover Silage with Silostop film |
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Step 4 - Protect Silostop film |
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Step 1 (Optional) Side Wall Sheets |
Use Silostop® film or regular plastic on side walls before filling to:
• ensure quality silage at shoulders
• ensure a good seal between top sheet and side walls
• divert water run-off away from silage
• protect side walls from damage
Apply plastic to side wall
Use silage at foot of wall to hold plastic in place
Once filled, pull side wall plastic over silage before top plastic film
> Step 2 - Fill with Silage
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Step 2 Fill with silage |
• Achieve a high packing density (minimum of 15 pounds per cubic foot).
• Shape all surfaces so water drains off the bunker or pile, and the back, front, and side slopes should not exceed a 3:1 slope.
• If filling after a break, e.g. overnight, do not pack previous session’s surface. This only forces more air into the packed heap.
• Do not spend time packing the last load excessively. Pack it the same amount as all the other loads.
• Cover immediately.
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| Click to enlarge |
> Step 3 - Cover Silage with Silostop film
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Step 3 Cover silage with Silostop® film |
After filling, cover the silage with Silostop film, either Silostop 2-step clear or Silostop 1-step white on black, both of which offer the following benefits:
• 20x more barrier than regular plastic
• Dry matter loss in top 3 feet reduced (from approx 20% to <10%)
• No spoilage to pitch
• Elimination of spoilage improves animal intake
• Tires can be reduced or eliminated
• Labor saving – faster and easier covering of the bunker
• Reduces cow health risk of ‘wire disease’
Silostop® film can be successfully joined on large bunkers to prevent entry of water and air.
Overlap joins by at least 2ft when using gravelbags, or 4-5ft when using tires.
Use a solid row of gravelbags or tires on all joins.
Note that Silostop is not a substitute for good management, but is a very useful tool in the silage making toolbox.
> Click for Silostop® film brochure
> Step 4 - Protect Silostop® film
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Step 4 Protect Silostop® film |
Silostop® 1-step white on black film can be used like regular bunker covers and does not need any further protection.
Silostop® 2-step clear film requires protection from UV light as well as from physical damage.
Option A
Regular plastic can be used to protect the film. This allows the benefits of Silostop® film (for example, lower dry matter loss, reduction in tires) to be achieved while at the same time making the system disposable.
Option B
For full protection, reusable woven tarpaulins or protective nets can be used. These are reusable year after year. Length of life will vary according to location and care.
They offer the following additional benefits:
• Help to prevent physical damage from birds and other pests
• Help to reduce overall weight required due to the woven structure allowing air to pass through
> Click for Silostop® white-on-black brochure
> Click for Silostop® Protective net brochure
> Step 5 - Seal and Weight
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Step 5 Seal and weight |
When using Silostop® film, either tires or gravelbags can be used to seal and weight the sheet. Emphasis must be placed on sealing the edges and joins by using a solid row of gravelbags or at least 2 solid rows of tires. There should be no gaps where air can enter.
Tires
When using tires, cover the whole surface with touching tires in the usual way. The number of tires used can be reduced if a good outside seal has been made. Consider using touching tires with gravelbags on the outside edges to provide the seal.
Gravelbags
When using gravelbags, tires can be eliminated altogether. Place a solid row of gravelbags along all outside edges and any joins. Then put rows of gravelbags approximately 14-20 feet apart.
The gravelbags can be placed on top of the protective cover, but must be in a position where they also seal the film. Remember: it is the Silostop film that must be sealed to exclude oxygen.
Approximate weight of gravelbags is 45lbs
Effective length of gravelbags is 3.3ft
> Click for Silostop® gravel bag brochure
> Step 6 - Feed out
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Step 6 Feed out |
Always keep a solid row of gravelbags (or tires) on the leading edge of the film to ensure that air does not travel under the film.
When using tarps (protective nets) these can be folded up and put away ready for next season while leaving the film in place.
Stack and store gravelbags on pallets for easy handling
Dispose of Silostop at recycling centers where available
> Click for Silostop recycling information (USA)
> Back to Step 1 - Side Wall Sheets
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Silostop® Links
Silage Quality
"Covering a silage pile with plastic greatly reduces waste, but only a comparison of weight-in and weight-out measures, as well as a nutrient analysis, can tell us what's being lost in storage. Most folks determine waste by the depth of the black layer on top."
BEEFmagazine.com
http://beefmagazine.com/ar/beef_silage_quality/
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Silage Team Website
Lots of useful info about silage.
Kansas State University
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pr_silage/
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Chalcombe Publications
Source of agricultural books.
Chalcombe Publications
http://www.chalcombe.co.uk/home.htm
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UK Dairy Event
http://www.dairyevent.co.uk/
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USA World Dairy Expo
http://www.world-dairy-expo.com/
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Silage Calculators
Provides a range of software which can be used to assist silage calculations, including:
• Bunker sizing
• Bunker capacity
• Silage density
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwforage/dec_soft.htm
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