Vacuum Silage

[CDavidLance]

Are there any livestock farmers still making Vacuum Compressed Silage? It is a system that produces very high quality grass silage and used to be used in the 1960's and 1970's, but I may have been the last to use it in the UK when I retired in 2002.

 

[davidroberts30]

this pops up from time to time
i remember as a kid watching a video somewhere where a farmer put a big sheet on the floor and tipped a load of grass on it then folded the plastic and sealed it and sucked it down
looked just like 1 of them vaccum clothes bags and it sucked down to about a third of its size
never seen the video again

i got a old vaccy tanker here and the next time i cut silage and its dry i was going to sheet the pit and use the pump for a hour or so see what happens

 

[jellybean]

I remember seeing it used on a farm in Australia in 1967, only fairly small scale. I watched the clamp being made but never saw the silage that came out. Would have thought it not particularly practical these days.

 

[Barleycorn]

Went to a farm on Dartmoor that did it when I was at Seale Hayne in the early seventies. Always thought it strange that there was this farmer showing off the latest in silage making, but he still used a horse and cart to feed his stock!

 

[som farmer]

old neighbour used to do it, baled the grass green, not easy with a little baler, asked round for 'help' hauling bales, he did make excellent cider, stacked them on a sheet, sealed, used a milk vacuum pump, in reverse.
The result wasn't bad, but the bales weren't much lighter, getting them out, than they were putting them in, did a few year 2, year 3, none, everyone was to busy to help !!!!!!

 

[CDavidLance]

Went to a farm on Dartmoor that did it when I was at Seale Hayne in the early seventies. Always thought it strange that there was this farmer showing off the latest in silage making, but he still used a horse and cart to feed his stock!

That was me. The horse was called Hector.

 

[Hilly]

How do you seal the plastic ?

 

[CDavidLance]

How do you seal the plastic ?

There is a plastic extruded product called "strip-seal". It consists of a white core tube and a black channel. The sheets go between the two as the white tube clips into the black channel. It can be made to order by Stephens plastics of Corsham in Wiltshire. That is where I had mine from.

 

[CDavidLance]

That was me. The horse was called Hector.

A trip down memory lane. This was Hector with a cart full of silage. Much better through snow than a tractor.

 

[Hilly]

What did you use to pull vacuum ?

 

[davidroberts30]

What did you use to pull vacuum ?

Neighbour was milking on a old db engine, single unit

 

[CDavidLance]

What did you use to pull vacuum ?

It can be a milking machine pump or a slurry tanker. I have used both. The picture shows a pumped down clamp where I used a neighbour's slurry tanker. Other kit and a soil covered clamp are visible on this image.

 

[Hilly]

I wonder I could store barley like that ? Poor mans agg bag lol

 

[davidroberts30]

It can be a milking machine pump or a slurry tanker. I have used both. The picture shows a pumped down clamp where I used a neighbour's slurry tanker. Other kit and a soil covered clamp are visible on this image.View attachment 927433

Do you have more pictures or videos of the process?

 

[Hilly]

Do you have more pictures or videos of the process?

And the horse

 

[CDavidLance]

The quality of a well made vacuum compressed clamp can be exceptional which is why I kept using the method until I retired in 2002. The photo shows a newly opened clamp in 1991 that had zero waste, zero effluent and the sheep ate the lot.

 

[CDavidLance]

Do you have more pictures or videos of the process?

Yes. The pictures I have been showing you are from a website but I am not allowed to direct you to a website. If one of you can work out the web address from these clues then one of you can tell the forum where to find the details. I call this process "Yalland Vacuum Compressed Silage". My son has created a website with that title, but no gaps, and it needs three W's, and a dot before it and a dot and "uk" after it. Sorry about the riddle. Good luck. The farm on Dartmoor is called Yalland and that is where I worked on developing the Jowsey Doutre method until I retired.

 

[davidroberts30]

Yalland Vacuum Compressed Silage

www.yallandvacuumcompressedsilage.uk

 

[RushesToo]

The quality of a well made vacuum compressed clamp can be exceptional which is why I kept using the method until I retired in 2002. The photo shows a newly opened clamp in 1991 that had zero waste, zero effluent and the sheep ate the lot.View attachment 927438

@DavidJLance What did it smell like on opening? Genuine question - the look of it intrigues me.

 

[som farmer]

at seale hayne, mid 70's, visited a farm using a horse, cant remember vac silage, but impressed when told, feeding cattle outside, was so much easier with a horse and putt, get off, open gate, tell horse to walk on, shut gate, and go on. Bit about turning circle, tractor would have to drive a distance, to turn, to go through gate, and vv. Probably was you, it's the horse i remember, was quite keen on a young horsey lass ! But saw the light.