Blog | Reading Time 3 minutes
The importance of UV protection for silage
Silage, an essential component of many dairy and beef operations, requires careful management from harvest to feeding. While proper inoculation, packing, and sealing are crucial for successful fermentation, one often overlooked factor can significantly impact silage quality: ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight and other environmental factors.
Sunshine might seem harmless, but its UV rays can degrade silage by breaking down valuable nutrients like protein and carbohydrates. This not only reduces the overall feed value but can also lead to the formation of harmful mould and mycotoxins. These toxins pose serious health risks to your animals.
Fortunately, there’s a simple and effective way to combat UV and other physical damage: SilageKeeper woven UV protection covers. These heavy-duty, reusable covers act as a protective shield, blocking out UV rays and minimising their impact on your silage.
Here’s how SilageKeeper UV Covers benefit your operation:
- Preserves valuable nutrients: Minimses UV degradation to ensure your silage retains its nutritional value.
- Reduces mycotoxin formation: Limits sunlight exposure, creating a less favorable environment for mould growth and minimising the risk of mycotoxin contamination.
- Enhances long-term silage quality: With improved protection from UV and physical damage from animals and the environment, your silage will maintain its quality for longer, ensuring a consistent source of nutritious feed.
- Double duty protection: The tightly woven fabric covers go beyond UV protection. They also act as a physical barrier against wildlife and other factors such as tyres, preventing them from damaging the silage film and introducing oxygen and other contaminants.
SilageKeeper UV protection covers are an investment in the health of your animals and the profitability of your feeding operation. By ensuring high-quality, nutritious silage, you can expect:
- Improved animal health and fertility
- Increased milk production
- Reduced feed costs due to minimised waste
Ensuring your silage remains airtight and well protected is crucial. The way you seal your silage stack significantly impacts the filling process speed, forage quality, and labour hours required during feed-out.
Silage pit maintenance tips:
- Regularly inspect silage covers to ensure nothing has moved, been damaged or failed.
- Reposition gravel bags or tyres if they have moved off joins or edges to maintain a proper seal on the silage.
- Do not allow silage covers to flap in the wind, as this significantly shortens their lifespan.
- Check for animal damage by walking over the silage, as it is difficult to see from afar.
- Avoid agricultural chemicals being sprayed or drifting onto plastics, as they are known to degrade plastic compounds.
To ensure the longevity of your SilageKeeper UV protection covers, make sure you fold them up after use and store them in the shed for next season.
Ensiling losses can be avoided in the short term with the right sealing system. However, in the longer term, you also need to make sure your silage storage remains fit for purpose, sealed, secure, and protected for short, medium, and long-term storage.
Now is the time to inspect your silage pits.
Published Sep 2, 2024
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