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TECHNICAL ADVICE - SPECIAL SILAGE
« One day of work for 365 days of feeding the animals »
Here is the sentence that could sum up the silage site. To succeed, it is very important to follow good practices for harvesting, making your pile, covering it and finally opening it.
WHAT IS SILAGE ?
It is a conservation method by anaerobic lactic fermentation. In practice, it is necessary to acidify and stabilize the wet forage in the absence of oxygen (drop the pH as quickly as possible, allowing a stable pH to be reached).
Average losses from a silage silo are 5 to 20%. With this guide to VELITEX good practices we will give you the keys to minimizing your silage losses.
4 essential steps for a successful silage
HARVEST | MAKING | COVERING | SILO FRONT FACE
FOR SUCCESSFUL SILAGE
Not at the last minute !
Your silage film and/or silo protection solution cannot be purchased at the last minute. Investment is considered according to criteria! Why do you underestimate the value of a season's safe ? On average, silage film costs you less than 0.8% of the amount you have to preserve. Why buy it at the last minute and too often without selection criteria ? Be demanding.
OUR ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL SILAGE
Phase 1 : The harvest
Our advice
1/ Anticipate
Anticipate the harvest date of your forage (33% dry matter for corn silage and between 28 and 35% DM for grass/fodder mixture)
2/ Clean
Clean your silo and put your films on the walls
3/ Organize field priorities
The driest fields (+35% DM) should be placed at the bottom of the silo. You must finish your silo with the furthest fields in order to favor effective compaction of the last/upper layer.
4/ Adjust the forage harvester
Check the cutting length and grain shattering. Favoring a short cut of the silage will allow you to achieve effective compaction.
“It is the compactor who regulates the silo filling and not the forage harvester"
OUR ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL SILAGE
Phase 2 : Making the pile
1/ Before
Increase the tire pressure of compacting machines (+1 bar) to increase the impact of the tire during compaction
Provide 2T of packing machine per row of forage harvester (10 rows of forage harvester = 20T of packing machine at the silo, i.e. 2 tractors)
Plan to use a silage inoculant
2/ During the confection
Spread thin layers of 15 to 20 cm over the entire length of the silo
Compact the forage in the longitudinal and transverse direction with packing machines
Do not exceed the walls by more than 50cm to ensure good compaction of the silo
Finally: compact 1 hour after the last trailer to ensure ideal compaction of the upper meter.
Cover immediately after the pile is finished compacting
What is good packing & compaction ?
The density of the silo is expressed in kilograms of dry matter per cubic meter of silage.
In corn we must reach = 240kg/MS/m3
In grass silage/fodder mixture = 220kg/DM/m3
How to measure your settlement ?
We can carry out a silo scan using our core drill and our pH meter + temperature sensor.
OUR ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL SILAGE
Phase 3 : Covering of the pile
Our advice
1/ Do not rake the surface of the pile
2/ Fold the wall films over the silage (maximum length = 50cm)
3/ Choose an oxygen-barrier silage film adapted to your practices
4/ Place the silage film: without stretching it, you must let the film conform to the shape of the silo
5/ Visually check the surface of the film from one end of the silo to the other
6/ MANDATORY protect your silage film with suitable silo protection (Example: SEAL+ 45µm with SILOSAT or SUBTEX 500, SEAL+ 80µm with any type of silo protection)
7/ Seal the periphery of the silo with a double row of silo bags to avoid any air entry
8/ Don’t worry if the silo swells
9/ Check your silos regularly to ensure their integrity and tightness: obligatorily 2 weeks after the construction site then once a month minimum
OUR ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL SILAGE
Phase 4 : Consumption and management
of the opening front
Our advice
1/ Closure of the silo
Leave your silo closed for at least 8 weeks, to allow time for the fermentation and stabilization phases to complete.
2/ Sealing
Seal the opening front face with DUO-SILOBAG or SILOLEST to prevent oxygen from entering under the silage film.
3/ Optimize
Optimize the speed of consumption in the silo: 15cm/day in winter and 25cm/day in summer in order to avoid restarting fermentation and overheating.
4/ Consumption
Unload your fodder as properly as possible to avoid air entering the front face
VELITEX solutions
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A question ? Please contact VELITEX
Velitex SAS
Created in 1980, VELITEX is a company specializing in the provision of technical and innovative solutions for the conservation of agricultural harvests & crops adapted to the needs of end users seeking excellence.
We work in the areas of conservation and protection of silage, fodder, sugar beets, compost and livestock effluent, wood chips. We also offer solutions for horticulture, viticulture and market gardening.
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Tél : +33 (0)2 77 02 91 53
Email : service.commercial@velitex.fr
16, rue de la Poste 27950 SAINT-MARCEL - France
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