i cut the blocks in the normal way .......been using a rossmore grab on a 412 jcb for 8 years and have not strained or warped the grab by doing it this way , i feed mostly silage .....wagon silage .....precision chopped silage would be easier to cut ..........as long as grab is kept sharp and not let get rusty in summer cant see any problems with cutting that way ........................
I cut top to bottom in columns left of the pit work to the right always done it like that I have whole crop sandwich in the middle to I can always get some that way I suppose
I normally start from one side of the pit an work my way downwards to the floor the do it again the whole way across but never really though of any other way for doing it, i do it that way cause then you have full grab fulls of silage and bot two wee half blocks form starting in the middle
Do ye notice any difference in performance with that silage cut later than normal. Would ye consider cutting later in future so ye get that bulk again.?
Weather is not good for maize here in Ireland, you can grow it but it would be nothing compared to the crops ye get out there I would think and by the time it is ready to be cut fields are boggy and you keep getting stuck
Have always only put on 2 sheets. As you said trick is putting in the time sealing it up when covering the pit . Also lining the pit wall's with plastic cover is a big help. I just start one side and cut from top to bottom and then move onto next row. Happy Christmas to you and your family Gerry.
Paul Finnegan I always put on at least two sheets. Having the plastic on the side walls is a big bonus it leaves it easier to seal. Taking the time to seal around the edges and making an airtight is the whole thing then just pop on the tires tight as you can. You should have very little waste. Happy Christmas to you too🎄
Neusa C were using about 3 tons per day. In the yard but that will increase went all cows return home. Happy Christmas. Hope you had a joyful and peaceful one
besides the grabber does anyone use a rotary shaver to cut the face of the silage pit? that way you always have a clean face and make it easier on the feed mixer. 10th generation dairyman has one if you want to check out his channel
Dont see it working too well on a grass silage pit tho cause he used it on whole crop whick is cut shorter but the grass silage would be tok tought... Only a guess cause ive never seen one in real life
Cardinal sin??😂😂 I do that at least once a week, safer than trying to climb up in the dark anyway!! Silage looks good, although you seem to have a decent portion of it used already despite having so much in the pit last June. I always use silage freshly stripped on the top & side slopes first where possible as the silage beneath it tends to hold for longer. Always tricky to handle the pit face from March/April onwards due to temperatures rising & usage beginning to taper off. Maize is even harder again to manage because no matter how tidy or neat you are with it the crows always arrive back looking for grains & making a mess in the process. Hope the new arrival is doing well & happy Christmas to you all
Great looking silage all of it looks good to me sheets are right pain could you pull top one then second and then three back separately 🤔 Merry Christmas
We cut only enough for one day only on our pit, keeps silage from going off, also we cut our pit with a shear grab and start from one side and work down then move over.
We dont have a walled pit so we get mould down the sides even when covered with tyres so we usually take the sides and top first when we roll back the cover and feed that to the older stock becuz they as u said aren’t as pick and take the cleaner blocks for the younger stock
We cut a block from each side of the pit and work inwards on the row alternating each side of the pit. Also is it worth trying to save the old sheets ? It’s a lot of hard dirty work in the winter to save max €100 of plastic. We cut the plastic every time. Makes stripping the pit very handy
This is my most hated job aswell. I roll back the sheet and every 15ft or so I cut the sheet as we use it for lining the walls of the pit the next year. We only have a time grab on a ford 4000 with a single ram on the grab but I go straight down from the middle outwards and it works better I think rather than straight across the top
If shes not blue she'll not do that one way of getting rid of the plastic and you can still use it as you say on the side walls . Yes everyone has a different way of cutting the pit/clamp by the looks of it and really it’s whatever works best for you
Went to all bales since 2013 1000 of them never want to see a pit again too much waste and a fine dirty job stripping the pit bales and a bale splitter much easier.cleaner less waste no mess 😎😎
Less waste? And no mess? What about the mountains of silage plastic and net wrap ye must have. Pit silage is normally much higher in quality I find as with bales nowhere for any water or effluent to go and it wastes a small bit. Whereas if a pit is sealed properly out of 200 bales worth of pit you might only have 1/4 or 1/2 a bale of waste in total
We done a full cut of bales 1 year and we said never again the hassle of drawing them and feeding them out even with a bale splitter isnt worth it for us
Have a box for the plastic that makes like a big square bale out of it .net goes into a 1tonne bag .drawing is no problem i have my own gear also do baling on hire 150 cattle fed for a day and a half takes 30mins and i dont make wet silage all my silage is tedded out and wilted for a day and a half to 2days so i have very little wet silage .bale splitter takes off plastic and net so no getting off the tractor when feeding most of the bales are stacked next to the sheds .
Most silage is cut after 6weeks weather permitting and quality is excellent nice leafy grass normally start first cut the 10th of may if weather is good try to get 3quality cuts done
