Interview with Farmer Phil on his latest video
In one of his recent videos, Farmer Phil talks about opening and tidying up the silage pit, the results of using Silostop oxygen barrier and his thoughts about it. Let's talk to Farmer Phil about his experiences.
Q: Hi Farmer Phil, can you tell us a bit about your latest video?
A: Hi! Yes, of course. In the video, I talk about opening the silage pit and tidying it up. We've been feeding the cattle for two or three days, and I share some facts on how much is there or not. I also talk about the Silostop oxygen barrier and how it has worked.
Q: Can you tell us more about the Silostop oxygen barrier and why you were sceptical about it?
A: Sure. I was sceptical about it because in my mind, there was no way it was going to work. But it has worked perfectly. The real testament to its effectiveness is in the edge, and it's absolutely perfect. We have been feeding it out for about two and a half or three weeks now, and there is no waste there. I'm still baffled by how well it has worked.
Q: What was your experience like with using the Silostop oxygen barrier? Did you face any challenges?
A: Our experience with the Silostop oxygen barrier was very positive. It has done exactly what the setup was meant to do, and it's worked absolutely perfectly. The only challenge we faced was filling all the sandbags, that took a lot of time!
Q: We saw there were a few comments telling you that you should have covered the pile differently, why did you do it this way?
A: We put down the oxygen barrier, and then put the sidewall sheet on top of it. We read the instructions and it said sidewalls then oxygen barrier, the reason for that was that if it was the other way around the water would come down onto the oxygen barrier and then run into the walls and down whereas doing the other way around it runs down into the silage.
Q: Can you tell us more about the maize, and how has it performed?
A: The maize has been good so far. We've only just started feeding it, so it's hard to tell if it has made any difference in the bulls yet. We do know the estimated yield based on the fresh weight coming off the field, but we haven't got the results back on how the varieties have performed.
Q: Were there any surprises during the process of opening and tidying up the silage pit?
A: Yes, there were. When we opened the silage pit, the corner next to the wall was not as good as the other side. We had to tidy it up by getting some sandbags and leaving them on top to stop them from rolling down. We also had to keep away the wind to stop it from blowing up underneath. Overall, the process went well.
Q: Would you recommend using the Silostop oxygen barrier to other farmers?
A: Absolutely. I was very sceptical about it at first, but it has worked incredibly well. I would highly recommend it to other farmers. It has saved us a lot of time and effort and has minimized waste.
*This interview was put together from Phil's video transcript