Will I Save Money......

multi power

Member
Location
pembrokeshire
I was watching a sp starting off in a field with 4 trailers , the first trailer was under the spout and the other three drove around after him idle , got the full lap around to the gate in the first trailer , so the harvest and 4 tractors drove around that first sward , I was in the next field to them and I went around at the same speed picking the same size sward on my own and I brought more than two of their loads in one . So my one engine versus their five men and machines , you do t need a calculator to figure out which is more cost effective.
Sounds like a bunch of idiots on the trailers
If you are getting twice as much I'm your wagon as their trailers you will need a significantly larger tractor and it WILL use more fuel
Wagon silage is a far better chop length
 
The success or otherwise of wagon silage is directly related to how much the farmer and contractor ‘buy in ‘ to the system - if it’s just seen as cutting harvesting costs it probably won’t work. If it’s seen as a way of increasing profits by a combination of cost savings and benefits then it probably will be a successful exercise
Exactly
Many farmers cant get their heads around changing their silage system and then say it doesn't work
 

james ds

Member
Location
leinster
just the bulk of it, what power of tractor does the wagon need? do you sheet the pit for clients too?
The more power you have the bigger wagon you use bringing more grass , I have 270 hp on the jumbo now and it gets through some grass , I'm in the middle of buying a bigger jumbo now that will bring 22 ton of grass
 

james ds

Member
Location
leinster
image.jpeg
thats completely put me off the idea, will stick to bales no wasteage
Don't be fooled , that case doesn't represent silage made by wagons , there's not much waste here
 

aled1590

Member
Location
N.wales
How is wagon stuff to feed out? A cross between spfh stuff and baler with a chopper? I like the idea of the pit being filled slower hence more time for the shovel to roll
 

james ds

Member
Location
leinster
How is wagon stuff to feed out? A cross between spfh stuff and baler with a chopper? I like the idea of the pit being filled slower hence more time for the shovel to roll
Wagon silage for some reason doesn't go off as quick as precision chop. I sold a lot of wagon silage recently and lads commented on how long it was lasting over a week without starting to heat. Cattle leave none behind compared to precision chop as well. So from our experience we have less waste silage with the wagons compared to when we cut with a sp.
 

dowcow

Member
Location
Lancashire
We don't use contractors for silage, and switched from trailed forager to a wagon several years ago.

Fuel usage was definitely cut. With the forager I had to fill my tractor every day, sometimes twice. I can go for days with the wagon. Our diesel supplier actually phoned us during the wagons first year to ask if they had lost our custom to a competitor.

Where the forager chopped rye grass and stems up just fine, the stuff can be a bit hard work to handle in the clamp with the wagon. It will do it, but better to have some wetter leafy stuff on top to help seal it. We switched from making 3 cuts a year to making 4 cuts. Also switched some grass varieties during re-seeds to the sorts of things the cows would like to graze. Silo quality has gone up tremendously, but in recent years I have also switched to higher cutting heights on all ground with the mower. I prefer to leave stem in the field. The grass comes out of the clamp looking like leafy grass rather than the foragers chaff. Where you do put stemmy stuff into the clamp, you can see it at feed out time and certainly makes me agree with the 'Quality not quantity' approach someone posted earlier.
 

cousinjack

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cornwall
Slightly off topic, but has anyone tried baling grass with a big square baler and building it into a clamp to sheet down like a silage pit !?

Heard of the idea a couple of years ago but haven't had the guts to try it !! Surely it'd save on haulage and wrap ?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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