Preparing silage can be a time-consuming endeavour, and for optimal results it’s essential that all of your efforts are protected.
At this stage, high-quality www.netwrap.com.au silage plastic covers can come to the rescue. These heavy-duty tarps provide essential environmental protection, blocking air, moisture and weeds from spoiling your silage and protecting its vital nutrients from being lost over time.
Improved Fermentation
Silage plastic cover provides a barrier that keeps out oxygen, aiding fermentation. Anaerobic bacteria convert plant carbohydrates to acetic acid that causes pH levels in forage mass to drop and restrict aerobic bacteria which produce butyric acid and other harmful products from flourishing in this way. When handled according to proper ensiling practices, lactic acid fermentation should stop within 21 days when forage has achieved optimal moisture content and nutritional value.
Proper ensiling requires careful management of all aspects of the process, from selecting an adequate density to ensure limited air penetration at exposed surfaces during storage and feed out, which reduces dry matter losses, to mixing and distributing forages evenly throughout a silo or bunker while sealing it tight to prevent air movement or spoilage.
Silage covers are essential tools for protecting feed and reducing nutrient loss in silos and bunkers. While alternative covers have been utilised on farms, none offer as much protection – for instance molasses, “nutri-shield,” ground limestone, sawdust, sod or even using only roof roofing material does not offer sufficient silage protection compared to using high quality plastic covers (a minimum thickness of 6-8 mil is ideal).
Prevents Oxygen Ingress
Oxygen infiltration into silage piles is one of the primary sources of feed loss during fermentation, so providing adequate protection with an oxygen barrier layer incorporated directly into the plastic or as a separate film cover is critical to mitigating this problem. www.netwrap.com.au silage plastic must adhere well to the surface of the silage pile while being weighted down to avoid wind or vermin dislodging it, allowing oxygen ingress.
Gravel bags or lorry tyre sidewalls and sheets can help accomplish this task efficiently. Furthermore, it is also vital that edges of sheets be well sealed using close weave anti-UV protective nets designed specifically to work beneath standard black silage sheets or cling film sheets.
Use only high quality double layered silage covers that are UV resistant and equipped with an oxygen barrier, to significantly decrease the risk of oxygen ingress and subsequent loss of dry matter (DM).
Since 2005, true oxygen barriers like Passion AG OB film have been developed that are much stronger than standard black or thin clear polythene clamp films in terms of restricting oxygen permeation. Numerous independent trials conducted using these films on grass silage, wholecrop and maize silaging have demonstrated significant reductions in dry matter losses and spoilage rates.
Reduces Moisture Ingress
There is an impressive variety of silage plastic sheets and cling film products on the market that claim to be better or cheaper than standard black silage sheets, yet all are oxygen permeable due to being made of polythene; unlike their traditional black plastic equivalents or thin clear polythene clamp films that recently hit stores, these products introduce oxygen directly into silage even with one sheet applied at a time.
Passion Ag and Silostop’s low oxygen transmission silage film stands out by using multilayer co-extrusion technology, creating plastics with up to seven layers. These flexible yet strong www.netwrap.com.au silage plastic boast UV warranties of 18 months – ideal for covering silage pits.
These new OB film products are more efficient than traditional black sheeting in terms of limiting oxygen ingress into silage, according to independent scientific trials, improving fermentation and significantly decreasing feed loss, dry matter shrinkage and nutrient losses.
Once the OB film has been placed over forage, it’s crucial that it is weighted down so as to protect it from wind or rodent disturbance. Gravel bags or truck tyre sidewalls can often be used as weighting agents for this task.
Reduces Feed Loss
Covering silage not only reduces dry matter loss but also improves feed quality and lowers supplement costs. By restricting oxygen exposure and thus the growth of aerobic organisms that break down forage, as well as precipitation which washes away valuable soluble feed components and increases nutrient losses to surface and groundwater, covering silage helps improve feed quality while decreasing supplement costs.
Forages with high protein contents may become overly fermented, leading to reduced quality forage. Fermentation converts plant carbohydrates to heat and carbon dioxide, thereby decreasing pH levels where beneficial bacteria thrive and decreasing lactic acid production – ultimately decreasing available energy in the forage.
Mycotoxins, or mycotoxin metabolites produced by spoilage moulds, deplete forage nutrients and interfere with microbial activity, negatively affecting cow performance and milk yield, which can be costly for dairy producers. A bunker silo cover will help avoid mycotoxin contamination while simultaneously supporting proper lacto acid fermentation processes.
Rhino Plastics provides an assortment of silage covers designed to protect bunker, pile, and pit silos. Their 2in1 Combi Film provides one-step application of silage film and oxygen barrier film together in one easy process; it adheres securely to silage so it can be quickly rolled up and secured quickly for rapid roll up/securement. Available both 150mic black silage films with ultraviolet light protection.