Silage bales equals “single use plastic.” We are going to have a rethink forced on UK livestock farming very soon. I reckon.
Round bales or silage pit?
- Thread starter Paul R
- Start date
- Location
- Perthshire, Scotland
I totally agree with you.
But there is a good story to tell if we can put things in place.
I’m told that silage film is top grade virgin plastic, too good to be incinerated for energy. If the joined up thinking can be sorted (it’s slowly starting) to recycle and reuse the plastic for example making fence posts. Also that means less timber required for farm use. That then ticks a few boxes regarding public perception and environment.
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
That sounds alright, but the per-bale price you first stated still seems high.
As I understand it, bale-wrap is already being recycled to a fair extent. And there is research / experimentation with new kinds of wrap, some that are more amenable to recycling, some that are biodegradable over a period of a few years rather millennia.*
*To be fair, some lads around here do keep bales for what is, I guess, probably longer than the new biodegradable will survive...
Bear with me
That sounds alright, but the per-bale price you first stated still seems high.
As I understand it, bale-wrap is already being recycled to a fair extent. And there is research / experimentation with new kinds of wrap, some that are more amenable to recycling, some that are biodegradable over a period of a few years rather millennia.*
*To be fair, some lads around here do keep bales for what is, I guess, probably longer than the new biodegradable will survive...
My rough costs
Fert per bale £5.40
Baling £3
Wrap £2.50
Wrapping £2.50
Mowing £1.20
Tedding £1
Raking £0.8
Bale carting and stacking £1
Land rent £5.80
Total comes to £23.20
Based on an 17 bales an acre crop. Scary!!
Fag packet maths at its finest!
BobbySusie
Member
We recycle our bale plastic, I don't have netting, bales made with a Fusion 3. Surely that's not a single use plastic.
organicguy
Member
- Location
- North East of the south west
I am sure your figures are more realistic than most. 20 years ago on rented PP they were costing £14 a bale at contracting rates.
- Location
- South West
No slurry or mucking costs ?
These
we only put out horse manure on a few paddocks. Approx £350 a year contracting cost. We don’t import slurry, too many dock seeds
Actually forgot to add spraying to my Costs. Approx £1.50 a bale at a guess.
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
Why is everyone worried about plastic wrap on bales? It is necessary to preserve the nutrient value and is largely recyclable. However when the meat that was fed on that silage appears in the shops, it's in a plastic tray sealed with yet more plastic! And is any milk still sold in non plastic containers these days? And what are the display fridges made from?
ILovebaling
Member
- Location
- Co Durham
There's a merit to both I'd say depending on how and what you are farming. If your only looking at 2-3-4 hundred bales and you've not got a pit already I can't imagine it would be cost effective to build a pit to EA standards currently, sure someone will tell me I'm looking too short term though.
But if you are making thousands of the things and don't have a pit I would think 2 or 3 years worth of buying bale wrap would cover the cost of building a pit?
There is 1 dairy farm around here still running on bales, they make thousand after thousand of them and cannot see how that is economical even though they do bale it themselves. Price of plastic alone kills the job.
But if you are making thousands of the things and don't have a pit I would think 2 or 3 years worth of buying bale wrap would cover the cost of building a pit?
There is 1 dairy farm around here still running on bales, they make thousand after thousand of them and cannot see how that is economical even though they do bale it themselves. Price of plastic alone kills the job.
BIG PACK
Member
- Location
- north yorkshire
There’s a big estate near me that has 1200 suckler cows and takes all the calves through to finished and they square bale and wrap everything . They start silaging in the middle of may and are at it till just about the start of harvest ! I dread to think what there bale wrap bill comes to .
- Location
- Devon
Am I reading that right - £20/ acre mowing?
£17 tedding and £13.60/ acre raking?
Is this 1, 2 or 3 cuts?
2 cuts. This year averaged 17-18 bales an acre over 2
Raking I allowed £7.50 an acre
Tedding £10 an acre for 2 passes if necessary
Mowing 12 an acre
These are only fag packet maths to show our basic costs
Monty
Member
- Location
- Nantwich, Cheshire
Hmm. I'd rather see a pile of plastic than a pile of rotten grass. One day the government will learn and burn plastic and convert it into electricity.
last year I did a complete job for a neighbour his haylage worked out at £9.06 bale and £6.60 for his hay mowing to stacking.
For our own silage last year based on 3 heavy cuts plus additional grazing it comes out at £11.95/bale for chopped bales, £3.44/bale rent and £1.96/bale fert, £0.60/bale for field maintenence. Another £0.50/bale if you want a pass of a sprayer. £1.40/bale if you want to include 20ton/acre of muckspreading. All based on contracting rates. Fortunately it costs significantly less doing the work in house otherwsie I would have heart attack
last year I did a complete job for a neighbour his haylage worked out at £9.06 bale and £6.60 for his hay mowing to stacking.
For our own silage last year based on 3 heavy cuts plus additional grazing it comes out at £11.95/bale for chopped bales, £3.44/bale rent and £1.96/bale fert, £0.60/bale for field maintenence. Another £0.50/bale if you want a pass of a sprayer. £1.40/bale if you want to include 20ton/acre of muckspreading. All based on contracting rates. Fortunately it costs significantly less doing the work in house otherwsie I would have heart attack
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Arceye
Member
- Location
- South Norfolk
We did our bale costs at half of seed cost, fertilizer, wrap, baled, stack, haul, mowed, ted, raked and it was £15.13 per bale.
I calculated the mowing, raking and tedding of the tractor hours plus one tenth of the purchase of the machine, checking this with Nix I found it to be only a couple pounds an acre at most from farmers costs they had listed. Since I would keep the tractor, mower, tedder, rake and wrapper etc for 2nd and subsequent cuts the expense of a silage pit would be prohibitive and increase the fixed costs significantly, it would have to be roofed as I have no slurry or dirty water system.
I calculated the mowing, raking and tedding of the tractor hours plus one tenth of the purchase of the machine, checking this with Nix I found it to be only a couple pounds an acre at most from farmers costs they had listed. Since I would keep the tractor, mower, tedder, rake and wrapper etc for 2nd and subsequent cuts the expense of a silage pit would be prohibitive and increase the fixed costs significantly, it would have to be roofed as I have no slurry or dirty water system.
nails
Member
- Location
- East Dorset
Makes sense to do both. Clamp silage in a Dorset Wedge is as cheap as you can do it,no need for much plastic . Anything much over 2000 bales, got to be better to clamp. Where i used to work huge first cut in the clamps and the subsequent cuts baled. No raking, everthing picked up behind MoCo . Cracking silage.
Haven’t got round to taking a pic today as I’ve had the fabbl man but will try to remember tomorrow. I think a load will do roughly 45x45 ft at a depth we are happy with
Why would a clamp be I pile of crap? It’s easy to make it a pile of crap the same way you can leave bale for the crows to get or let cattle to it and they make holes in every one. The loss of the trailed forager and self propelled gangs putting too much in a clamp without consolidating has probably made this myth
- Location
- The North
thats brilliant, good for you, pics would be great!!
I always believe clamped silage is much better, farm where i am now has no clamp and if i cant make hay it kills me paying for wrap which just gets cut off, its such a waste, but cant justify a clamp here.
ridger
Member
- Location
- Tyrone, Northern Ireland