Silage plastic covers are UV-treated polyethylene sheets designed to safeguard silage against weather-induced damage and spoilage, making them an excellent alternative to traditional tarps while cutting costs in terms of labour expenses and equipment expenses.
Oxygen barrier silage plastic helps limit oxygen infiltration into piles and bunkers, thus minimising dry matter (DM) losses. It can either be applied as an independent layer or integrated directly into silage plastic covering itself.
Cost
Preparing silage is an expensive venture. There are labour costs associated with harvesting, hiring contractors to mow, purchasing materials and more. To protect your investment and minimise spoilage losses, invest in high-quality covers to protect hay or silage from spoilage – they will stop air and rainwater entering while providing an oxygen barrier against aerobic spoilage and prevent any loss in nutrition. A high-quality plastic silage cover should include air and rainwater protection while an oxygen barrier reduces aerobic spoilage to ensure maximum feed quality and minimise protein breakdown nutrient losses!
Tarps can provide an economical and safe alternative to plastic silage covers, yet many do not meet this standard. Their material, often composed of flexible polymers that do not offer similar impermeability as plastic covers and often filled with toxic phthalates that pose health hazards to livestock, make these covers unsuitable for this task.
Bicolour bags created using multilayer coextrusion technology offer an effective alternative to bunker silos. Each layer can have unique properties that allow manufacturers to tailor the product specifically to specific applications; Green-Bag bags have two white outer layers which reflect sunlight while their black inner layer blocks radiation entering from outside, thus helping reduce internal temperature for improved feed quality and higher yields; they also weigh down sufficiently to exclude air and precipitation.
Durability
Some farmers utilise silage plastic covers to shield their feed from the elements and prevent spoilage and breakdown, keep it cool, suppress weeds, which are costly to remove, and help suppress spoilage of forage from spoiling or spoilage altogether. They are dual-sided; usually one side white and the other black to reflect UV light while keeping temperatures down underneath while also featuring woven surfaces which ensure it remains in place during winds or rainstorms.
When choosing plastic for silage covers, be sure to compare thickness (in mils) and quality of the material used. Polyethylene (PE) material’s type and production process determines its strength and durability; reinforced PE products provide greater chemical and UV resistance compared to non-reinforced alternatives.
Oxygen barrier plastic is an ideal material to use when covering silage piles. By restricting oxygen entry into its upper layer and thus limiting dry matter loss, oxygen barrier plastic provides optimal coverage without increasing dry matter loss. You can apply it either independently or incorporate it as part of the plastic covering for silage piles.
Ground limestone or soil may offer some protection from spoilage loss, but they simply do not match up to a plastic cover in terms of effective moisture preservation. Furthermore, roof and tarp arrangements cannot fully seal off airflow from entering silage bins, potentially leading to air loss that leads to moisture loss in silage storage bins.
Lightweight
Silage plastic cover can provide a lightweight alternative to traditional tarps for covering silage piles, helping reduce wind lift in high-wind environments and over silos without retaining walls. Furthermore, its light nature helps reduce wind lift while simultaneously cutting back on weed killer and manual pulling needs. When selecting polyethylene material suitable for your planned application it’s essential that it can withstand chemicals; reinforced liners made of both HDPE and LDPE should provide optimal chemical resistance.
Silage plastic covers with quality features can reduce dry matter shrinkage and spoilage, improve nutrient conservation, and enhance aerobic stability on the feed-out face of your silage pile. Their use can save tons of feed that would have otherwise gone to spoilage; furthermore, having an oxygen barrier prevent spoilage and increase yield of your feed production.
Many inexpensive tarps and recycled materials are being sold as silage covers, yet these do not provide true impermeability. Unlike woven netting which stops oxygen entering the pile to interfere with fermentation processes. Furthermore, these covers tend to tear when subject to heavy weight dragging over them.
Non-reinforced plastic sheets cannot withstand the stress of being pulled long distances by heavy machinery or even by humans. If possible, opt for custom-fabricated covers with few seams; otherwise request that any seams that must remain be sealed by the manufacturer and that all edges be rounded to reduce puncture risk or wear and tear.
Environmentally friendly
Producing silage is a mammoth task, from hiring contractors to mow at just the right time, so to maximise returns it is imperative that quality silage covers are used. They protect from oxygen ingress which leads to spoilage while protecting from heat damage and decreasing protein breakdown, all essential for maximising returns on money invested in silage production.
Kansas State University recently conducted a study that demonstrated how covering silage bunkers and piles with plastic film could significantly decrease dry matter losses by 7.8 to 1; an impressive return on investment. Plastic films offer producers substantial cost-cutting potential while streamlining ensiling processes overall.
Silage plastic covers and films made with dual black layers provide full opacity for better silage preservation, restricting oxygen ingress, stopping mould growth, speeding fermentation and improving quality while helping the farmer reduce labour costs and increasing profitability.
Coextrusion technology used within plastic sheets enables polymers with different properties to be combined into multilayer extrusion films with specific characteristics, making this method both efficient and eco-friendly.