Getting Silage Dry Matter Right
..for every ten trailer loads at the clamp, eight of them are just water and only two have any silage in them! – or do they?
Setting Silage Cutting Height
So the instructions might tell you exactly how to adjust the height of cut of a machine, but not the height it should be cutting. This begs the obvious question…….What is the correct height of cut for silage?
Pre-harvest Silage Clamp Health Checks
Some consider a pre harvest clamp check as nothing more than shifting stuff out of the way, turning it from machinery park to silage clamp in one afternoon. But there is quite a bit more to think about.
Are Back Walls Necessary?
So what are the implications of having access to both ends of the clamp; we don’t have to build a wall at the end so it must be cheaper right?
The Effect of Silage Chop Length
The length of chop has a huge impact on the quality of the silage you make. There are many benefits from chopping the material but that forager is a costly animal that has a mighty appetite for fuel – so what are we trying to achieve?
The Power is Wilting
The more time the crop sits on the ground, the lower the sugar levels will be once it hits the clamp (due to respiration) so the length of wilt has to be a balancing act.
Silage Clamp Walls - How High?
This is a complex question to answer, it depends on lots of factors, not least how much space you have. That might sound like a blindingly obvious statement and no space is actually “free” space as there is always an alternative use or cost involved. So what do we need to consider?