Although the concept of large round and square ensiling bales have been around since the late 1970s, many improvements have been made to the management and equipment since then. Today, the silage stretch wrap film applied in the silage-making process helps small or medium-scale beef or dairy producers.
For several reasons, this technique of preserving silage is attractive to producers, but the main advantage is to reduce the risk of losing valuable crops caused by weather damage, compared to preservation as dry hay.
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Understanding Forage Analysis
Once you receive a copy of the analysis report, it is essential to understand the values and how the diet formulation, animal performance, and dry matter intakes may be affected by this. The main nutritional parameters that must be evaluated are:
Dry Matter (DM)
If the silage is less than 25% DM, animals find it difficult to eat enough to meet their needs. Therefore, the DM is a measurement of what is ‘not water.
D-Value (%) a Measure of the Digestibility of the Feed
Less concentrate is required for equilibrium rotation if there is a higher D value.
Metabolizable Energy (ME)
A measure of the energy that is available to use to the animal when fed.
Crude Protein (%)
CP or crude protein is protein content measurement, but it doesn’t mean a measure of protein quality. Providing sufficient protein is important to cover feed shortages.
pH (a Measure of Acidity)
The DM% of the silage determines the target pH. Generally, poor fermentation will occur if the pH is higher than five or less than three. Make sure that you buy a supplement with ME content higher than the forage.
Ash (%)
A trace element and mineral size content for grass silage, the target should be a maximum of 8%. ME is reduced if the silage contains 10% ash. It indicates poor fermentation and soil contamination.
Optimize Your Bale Silage Quality
Rhun Fychan, a forage scientist from IBERAS, Aberystwyth University, provides tips on how to make big bale silage in high-quality:
Make-Ahead Planning
Ensure the proper cute date and forage quality requirements by making ahead planning about it. Make a discussion with your contractor in advance so that you will be ready to move on when weather conditions allow.
Slurry and Fertilizer
These should be applied so that there is sufficient time between cutting and application; don’t use nitrogen excessively.
The Cutting Height
This should be carefully assessed. If you cut too low, the risk of soil contamination can increase and delay the growth and reduce the quality.
Wither
Wither efficiently and quickly to maintain quality. Use a spreader mower when conditions allow, or immediately ted after mowing, avoid soil contamination by taking into account soil condition in the harvest time.
Cut Bales to Maximize Density
This increases fermentation and saves on propeller, packaging, and transport costs.
Well Shaped Bales
This will result in a better film-wrap seal. A uniform grid shape will evenly fill the bale space, creating a well-formed shoulder of the bales.
Use a Good Quality Silage Bale Wrap
Wrap the bales as quickly as possible in six layers. This is cost-effective, can reduce mold, and improve fermentation. The silage stretch wrap film layering can affect the silage and mold quality. If the number of film layers increases, it will reduce mold growth and dry matter silage loss, making the fermentation process more efficient.
Wrapping
Instead of wrapping in the field, wrapping by the stack will result in less mold and a better film wrap seal. If bales are field wrapped, carefully handle and transport bales so that the film wrap will not be damaged. It is better to transport the bales on the day of baling as soon as possible.
Monitor and Repair any Damage in the Bale Stacks
Place nets and tires on the piles to avoid it from birds and also control vermin.
Handling and Stacking Bales with Care
This is important to avoid the film wrap from the physical damage. There is no evidence that the conventional stacking method is worse than on-end stacking.
Throughout the history of bale wrapping, many products and items have been introduced to perform the entire process efficiently. Farmers are lucky today that they can access all of these products. When it comes to multipurpose baling, the silage film remains the best among all these bale wrappings.
A bale that is wrapped in a silage layer will keep all the nutritional value of the forage. This will also prevent any unwanted fermentation that can change the quality of the silage. Wrap your silage bales with high-quality film during the storage process to increase the nutritional value of the forage.
Bale Net Wrap And Silage Film Factory
Finally, the silage wraps will produce healthy silage for your animals. Silopak provides HDPE bale net wrap and silage film products with premium quality. Get the best silage stretch wrap film from Silopak, a silage film manufacturer you can trust.