Silawrap, based in Gorey, Co Wexford, has launched a net replacement film (NRF) and a silage management app for smartphones for this year’s silage harvest. While the app is geared towards farmers, the new NRF product is of special interest to farmers and contractors who are using the new type of balers where film is used instead of netwrap.
Maurice Keady of Silawrap says that the NRF product adds an extra layer of film to the bale and provides an enhanced oxygen barrier for better silage preservation. He believes that the system, while still relatively small in terms of overall usage, will help to reduce the level of mould growth so often seen in silage bales.
He believes that the NRF system compresses the bales even tighter than using netwrap and this keeps the bales in better shape during storage. Silawrap tested a number of bales last season, working with Irish contractors and McHale Engineering, the makers of the Fusion 3 Plus wrapper baler. This film was also tested by Silawrap and McHales in New Zealand and Sweden.
The new Silawrap NRF works on a range of machines, including the Orkel HiQ and the New Holland Combi machines, also an Orkel design. Maize balers that can also use this film include Orkel and Goweil, according to Silawrap.
This NRF is different to the usual Silawrap film. It feels stronger and has less stretch, giving it more strength to hold the bale together. It is important that the roll of NRF is positioned properly on the machine. This is because the film must wrap over the edge of the bale before it gets a layer of the usual wrapping film on the wrapper unit.
Silawrap app
The new Silawrap app, which is free to download on smartphones, allows farmers to link fertilizer spreading days with harvesting days more accurately. The app provides a planning tool and diary to aid quality silage production.
It informs the user when to apply fertilizer and herbicide, based on the planned harvest date and when to harvest based on the date of fertilizer application. Just plug in your fertilizer spreading date and it will give you the optimum harvesting date to achieve the best quality silage, whether harvested in bales or clamp silage.
The app also includes three videos that were filmed last summer in Co Tipperary. The videos cover areas such as setting up the bale wrapper for best results. A second video shows you how to identify if your bales are wrapped properly, while the third one explains the benefits of wrapping bales with six layers.
The Silawrap app works anywhere once downloaded. Ken Higgins, European sales and marketing manager at Silawrap, says that you do not need to be connected to the internet to use it once downloaded.
The app has a unique GPS locator to allow farmers to locate their nearest Silawrap supplier.
Standards
A visit to the Silawrap plant at Gorey gives a good idea about how the silage wrapping film is made and the levels of quality standards that are in place. The company produces Silawrap silage wrapping, along with plastic for sowing maize and, now, the new NRF on a 24-hour shift that works for almost 11 months of the year.
The laboratory at Silawrap carries out regular quality tests of factory output. The film is subjected to three tests – puncture, tear and elasticity. Each batch of film is tested and the results are retained for quality control.
Naturally, the Silawrap team also tests the competition and some have come up short in respect of one or all of the three tests. The standard length of a roll of Silawrap is 1,500m and tests on the competition indicate that some are as low as 1,410m long.
Bale silage wrap is a product that should carry a nationally approved standard in order to protect farmer customers. This would protect those farmers who spend over €35m a year on film who may be tempted by silage wrap value that may not come up to the Silawrap standard testing in terms of length, strength and thickness and in terms of tear resistance.
Some key features of the Silawrap brand:
12 months guarantee on the bale.No recycled raw materials are used.Minimum of 1,500m per roll.Silawrap is at least 25 microns thick.Silawrap comes on a light cardboard core wrapped in a plastic bag.Core end marking for ease of loading.All Silawrap is manufactured in Gorey.Complete traceability in the production process.More than 160m bales wrapped with Silawrap.
Silawrap, based in Gorey, Co Wexford, has launched a net replacement film (NRF) and a silage management app for smartphones for this year’s silage harvest. While the app is geared towards farmers, the new NRF product is of special interest to farmers and contractors who are using the new type of balers where film is used instead of netwrap.
Maurice Keady of Silawrap says that the NRF product adds an extra layer of film to the bale and provides an enhanced oxygen barrier for better silage preservation. He believes that the system, while still relatively small in terms of overall usage, will help to reduce the level of mould growth so often seen in silage bales.
He believes that the NRF system compresses the bales even tighter than using netwrap and this keeps the bales in better shape during storage. Silawrap tested a number of bales last season, working with Irish contractors and McHale Engineering, the makers of the Fusion 3 Plus wrapper baler. This film was also tested by Silawrap and McHales in New Zealand and Sweden.
The new Silawrap NRF works on a range of machines, including the Orkel HiQ and the New Holland Combi machines, also an Orkel design. Maize balers that can also use this film include Orkel and Goweil, according to Silawrap.
This NRF is different to the usual Silawrap film. It feels stronger and has less stretch, giving it more strength to hold the bale together. It is important that the roll of NRF is positioned properly on the machine. This is because the film must wrap over the edge of the bale before it gets a layer of the usual wrapping film on the wrapper unit.
Silawrap app
The new Silawrap app, which is free to download on smartphones, allows farmers to link fertilizer spreading days with harvesting days more accurately. The app provides a planning tool and diary to aid quality silage production.
It informs the user when to apply fertilizer and herbicide, based on the planned harvest date and when to harvest based on the date of fertilizer application. Just plug in your fertilizer spreading date and it will give you the optimum harvesting date to achieve the best quality silage, whether harvested in bales or clamp silage.
The app also includes three videos that were filmed last summer in Co Tipperary. The videos cover areas such as setting up the bale wrapper for best results. A second video shows you how to identify if your bales are wrapped properly, while the third one explains the benefits of wrapping bales with six layers.
The Silawrap app works anywhere once downloaded. Ken Higgins, European sales and marketing manager at Silawrap, says that you do not need to be connected to the internet to use it once downloaded.
The app has a unique GPS locator to allow farmers to locate their nearest Silawrap supplier.
Standards
A visit to the Silawrap plant at Gorey gives a good idea about how the silage wrapping film is made and the levels of quality standards that are in place. The company produces Silawrap silage wrapping, along with plastic for sowing maize and, now, the new NRF on a 24-hour shift that works for almost 11 months of the year.
The laboratory at Silawrap carries out regular quality tests of factory output. The film is subjected to three tests – puncture, tear and elasticity. Each batch of film is tested and the results are retained for quality control.
Naturally, the Silawrap team also tests the competition and some have come up short in respect of one or all of the three tests. The standard length of a roll of Silawrap is 1,500m and tests on the competition indicate that some are as low as 1,410m long.
Bale silage wrap is a product that should carry a nationally approved standard in order to protect farmer customers. This would protect those farmers who spend over €35m a year on film who may be tempted by silage wrap value that may not come up to the Silawrap standard testing in terms of length, strength and thickness and in terms of tear resistance.
Some key features of the Silawrap brand:
12 months guarantee on the bale.No recycled raw materials are used.Minimum of 1,500m per roll.Silawrap is at least 25 microns thick.Silawrap comes on a light cardboard core wrapped in a plastic bag.Core end marking for ease of loading.All Silawrap is manufactured in Gorey.Complete traceability in the production process.More than 160m bales wrapped with Silawrap. 
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