72 ARABLE APR / MAY 2021 • farmers-mart . co . uk
UNIQUE CLAMP COVERING NOW AVAILABLE FOR GRASS SILAGE
A unique concept in covering silage is available this spring from forage preservation specialists , Kelvin Cave Ltd . The Silage Safe system requires no weighting on top of the clamp , dispensing with the need for tyres , gravel bags or any other weights .
INSTEAD , the clamp is sealed by a series of straps which are tightly ratcheted into place . This makes one of the most unpopular jobs at the end of silage making a potentially two-person operation .
The straps can also be tightened during the course of the crop ’ s storage which ensures a full and even tension is achieved over the clamp . This helps avoid the creation of air spaces as the silage settles .
A further benefit of the system is its application and removal in two-metre sections . This is just as useful at the time of feed-out as it is at covering , speeding up the process and avoiding the need to move weights . Each section can then be stored on racks for use the following year .
This is the first year Silage Safe has been available in the UK for the grass silage season . However , several forage producers were early users of the system for maize silage last autumn . These include a dairy farmer in an exposed coastal location and an arable farmer in East Anglia covering maize for anaerobic digestion .
A & E G Heading Ltd covered a clamp on their Cambridgeshire farms measuring a massive 100 x 30 metres , with a height of 6 metres . This is believed to be the largest ever clamp covered with this system anywhere in the world .
Farming around 6,000 acres and cutting 800 acres of maize last year , farmer , Marc Heading , said : “ I was absolutely determined not to have a clamp covered in disused tyres and wanted it to be relatively easy to manage .”
The estimated 14,000 tonnes of freshweight in the clamp will be used as feedstock , together with wheat straw , for the Headings ’ five-megawatt gas-to-grid anaerobic digester .
Hopkin Evans
‘ The greatest damage caused on our farm is
when anything flaps in the wind , but this covering just stays in shape and in place – it doesn ’ t move at all ’
He says : “ The covering system is projected to achieve payback in one to two years through a reduction in dry matter losses which could otherwise easily occur through aerobic spoilage .”
Dairy farmer
Silage Safe is equally suitable for smaller farming operations , being bespoke for every clamp . On the South Wales coast , dairy farmer , Hopkin Evans , also used the system to cover maize last year for his 180-head herd .
A key feature for Mr Evans was the product ’ s wind-resistance , assisted by being firmly anchored in place inside the clamp .
He says when the maize harvest was complete last October , it was just his family left on site for the job of sheeting and covering the clamp . Once sheeting was complete – using O2 Barrier 2in1 , the single sheet which transforms into two – the Silage Safe netting just needed closing and tightening .
“ Sheeting and covering the clamp has always been such a physical operation , but this was really easy ,” he says . “ I have never done it with just my wife and parents before , and the whole process took well under two hours .”
For the future he plans to add more of the new covering systems to the other clamps on the farm . He says : “ I did deliberate hard before buying the Silage Safe but I have no doubt we did the right thing .
“ I can see this product easily lasting 10 years but I ’ m confident it will return its investment in two to three years . The greatest damage caused on our farm is when anything flaps in the wind , but this covering just stays in shape and in place – it doesn ’ t move at all .”
Distribution of Silage Safe in Great Britain is exclusively through feed and forage preservation specialists , Kelvin Cave Ltd . Tel : 01458 252281 , www . kelvincave . com .