Silage Film Manufacturers Revitalized Farming
Before silage film manufacturers revitalized the farming industry, the process of creating silage was more expensive and less mobile. Silos had to be built and maintained to store the crop while the fermentation process took place. But farmers discovered that covering bales with cling film made it easy to store silage anywhere. The cling film served the same purpose as the silo in packing the silage.
Chemical Process of Silage
All silage undergoes anaerobic fermentation after its harvested. The process starts about 48 hours after the silage is packed into bales. The process converts sugars into acids and takes about two weeks to complete. Before the fermentation process starts, there’s also an aerobic phase that consumes most or all of the trapped oxygen in the bales. The tightness of the wrapping determines how the silage will ultimately turn out.
Two types of silage are created as animal feed, sour and sweet silage. Sour silage is created when the bales are tightly wrapped. More of the oxygen is consumed, and the fermentation process causes the decomposition of the carbohydrates into acetic, butyric and lactic acids.
In looser packed bales, oxidation happens rapidly, and the overall temperature of the bales rises. Farmers monitor the bales, and when the temperature reaches 60-71°C, the bale is compressed to stop the oxidation process, and sweet silage is the result. The two types of silages are generally fed to different types of cattle and other animals as they produce different amounts of nutrients.
Adaptable Farming Practices
The freedom to bale silage in the field to undergo the fermentation process meant that farmers were suddenly presented with more options on land use. Farmers could simply rent a field when they had a call for more silage than they were able to produce and store on their own farms.
They also didn’t have to pay fuel costs for transporting the silage back to their silos or even maintain the silos any longer. The fermentation process caused the production of a lot of acids that would corrode the walls and floor of a silo over time.
By using silage film manufacturers’ products, there are no more maintenance costs for silos, and they are becoming a thing of the past in some countries. Instead, many farming communities have turned to silage film, and there are collective recycling schemes for the plastic used in silage film.
Today in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America, it’s common to see fields with rolled-up bales of silage tightly wrapped with plastic film and undergoing the fermentation process.
It’s become a way of life that allows the farmer more freedom and adaptability in the volume of silage they can produce. If you’re a farmer, you’re aware that farming offers ever-decreasing margins and ever-increasing fuel costs. Farmers need to stay as flexible as they can in how they grow and process the products they produce to ensure their livelihood remains viable. See how silage film from MMP can help you save money and be more productive.