Rotten Bales of silage

6nationschamps

Hi,

Have about 28 bales of rotten silage around my yard and dont know what to do with them, there all from 5/4/3 years ago cuts.

I have been told to take the plastic and netting off them and just let them rot away but it will take some time.

Is there any way i can increase the time of these rotting as they are horrible to look at and i want my yard clean and tidy this year?

all i have is massey 135 so will be borrowing a neighbours tractor to do all this and would want to have it all done within one day whatever i do with them

any ideas lads?

mugsyy

i have the same problem to sort
neighbour told me to take plastic and netting off but to be sure to 'shake them out' otherwise it will take forever for them to rot

Bass Reeves

Take plastic and netting off. Use a dung spread to spread in fields

nellyg

Take the netting and wrap off and shake them out on a dung heap. The better shaken out they are the faster and better they will break down. Probably not an option for you but if you could mix it all up again after a month or two with a front loader would be best. Spread away then in a dung spreader.

6nationschamps

Grand cheers my neighbour has a shear grab so that would brake up and shake up large amounts of these he also has a front loader so would work.

i think i may do up a timeline for myself on how im going to go about it i have an area at the back of my slatted house which is wet and soggy i might use that as a dung heap (it isnt running into any watercourses)

22/4/16- I will take all netting and plastic off bales and break them down and shake them out into a dung heap.

22/5/16- i will again shake up the silage.

22/6/16- i will shake it up again.

1/7/16- i Will hire my contractor to bring his muck spreader and spread it on the land

what are your thoughts on this timeline and do you have any opinion on how ye guys might do it differently?

mugsyy

A time line to shake out a few bales??

Don't be taking it too serious lad

6nationschamps

mugsyy wrote: »

A time line to shake out a few bales??

Don't be taking it too serious lad

just thought it could be a guideline for the two of us 'mugsyy' to get rid of the f***ing things

nellyg

6nationschamps wrote: »

Grand cheers my neighbour has a shear grab so that would brake up and shake up large amounts of these he also has a front loader so would work.

i think i may do up a timeline for myself on how im going to go about it i have an area at the back of my slatted house which is wet and soggy i might use that as a dung heap (it isnt running into any watercourses)

22/4/16- I will take all netting and plastic off bales and break them down and shake them out into a dung heap.

22/5/16- i will again shake up the silage.

22/6/16- i will shake it up again.

1/7/16- i Will hire my contractor to bring his muck spreader and spread it on the land

what are your thoughts on this timeline and do you have any opinion on how ye guys might do it differently?

If it were me I would leave spreading them on land until later in the year. This way it wont affect your grazing rotation and it would have all winter to decomost down into the ground once spread. Just the way I would do it, others may disagree

49801

Throw some urea on when their in a heap. Suppose to accelerate break down

Miname

A 135 could handle them with a lifter. I'd take the net off and rattle them around a bit in a rough spot somewhere throw a bag of urea over them and rattle them up in a couple of months. If you'd a lad handy on a track machine he'd have them scattered in an hour.

Bass Reeves

49801 wrote: »

Throw some urea on when their in a heap. Suppose to accelerate break down

Not sure if I would put urea on them. Silage will be low ph If you intend to open the bales and make a clamp of it see if there is worms in it already if not and it was lowDM(dry matter) silage i spread a bag or two of burnt lime(rhyno or builders lime) on it. There will be plenty of N in it anyway

Milked out

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Not sure if I would put urea on them. Silage will be low ph If you intend to open the bales and make a clamp of it see if there is worms in it already if not and it was lowDM(dry matter) silage i spread a bag or two of burnt lime(rhyno or builders lime) on it. There will be plenty of N in it anyway

I think the urea works better with bark mulch afaik

mf240

Shove the whole lot into a corner and forget about it.

kay 9

Open them up, Shake them up a bit and cover loosely with polythene. Give it 2-3months and it'll be ready to spread

White Clover

Do not spread it on any field until it is fully rotten. Decaying material on any field will drive the ph south

Bass Reeves

mf240 wrote: »

Shove the whole lot into a corner and forget about it.

That was grand when you could let dung over a winter, Bot now with cross compliance if it is there next winter anf you get a visit you get a fine. It all depends in what sate it is in. If it is a wet soggy mess then lime will rise the ph and start it decaying. If it is dry mouldy silage you need to wet it and cover it, urea would be an addition in this case. More than likely it will be broken up enough to spread in the autumn anyway. However OP talked about a boggy field if you are on wet land and want it spread before September you may need to accelerate the decaying process. It is a matter of knowing what to do with different types of material to make them decay faster

farawaygrass

White Clover wrote: »

Do not spread it on any field until it is fully rotten. Decaying material on any field will drive the ph south

What about this springs dung? Have half the sheds cleared out only. A lot of straw used this year so dung is a bit more strawy.

MF290

Milked out wrote: »

I think the urea works better with bark mulch afaik

Works on straw too. Something to do with the decomposing bacteria needing nitrogen. Silage is preserved because it's acidic so I'd say the lime suggestion is the best bet. I'm only guessing here though...

Bass Reeves

farawaygrass wrote: »

What about this springs dung? Have half the sheds cleared out only. A lot of straw used this year so dung is a bit more strawy.

This should decay very fast over the summer it has the N in the dung will compost the straw very fast just put it in a heap

rangler1

farawaygrass wrote: »

What about this springs dung? Have half the sheds cleared out only. A lot of straw used this year so dung is a bit more strawy.

If you have your own loader turn the dung twice during the summer and it'll be easy spread by October....make sure to tease out the lumps a bit to ensure the air gets through it

risers

Hi folks
to change the topic slightly, i'm thinking of purchasing a bale slicer for front loader for feeding out round bales in winter. Sick of pulling plastic and netting off manually. We normally leave bales open (no plastic) for 24 hours prior to feeding due to aparent gasses affecting cattle's eyes! Father is convinced of it.

Do any of ye have once of these machines?

Did ye ever experience issues with gases from the freshly opened bales affecting cattle's eyes or is it a myth?

- What machine would you recommend? Mchale / Tanco ??/

Cheers

X6.430macman

Gases??? Never heard that one.
If there is gases in the bale as soon as you open the plastic it will all go away on the air and when you break it up it will just go so I wouldn't believe in that.

Dawggone

risers wrote: »

Hi folks
to change the topic slightly, i'm thinking of purchasing a bale slicer for front loader for feeding out round bales in winter. Sick of pulling plastic and netting off manually. We normally leave bales open (no plastic) for 24 hours prior to feeding due to aparent gasses affecting cattle's eyes! Father is convinced of it.

Do any of ye have once of these machines?

Did ye ever experience issues with gases from the freshly opened bales affecting cattle's eyes or is it a myth?

- What machine would you recommend? Mchale / Tanco ??/

Cheers

If it was you that opened the bale...how were your eyes affected?

Kovu

I expect he means pinkeye or silage-eye. Although not caused by gases, a lot of people do leave the silage open for a few days to kill the live fungus or something like that.

Dawggone

Kovu wrote: »

I expect he means pinkeye or silage-eye. Although not caused by gases, a lot of people do leave the silage open for a few days to kill the live fungus or something like that.

You just gotta love the science.

Edit. That is the same 'science' that focuses on water charges and not on the estimated €2.5bill already spent on water.

Vapors...evil!

Bass Reeves

Kovu wrote: »

I expect he means pinkeye or silage-eye. Although not caused by gases, a lot of people do leave the silage open for a few days to kill the live fungus or something like that.

It is caused by an stab from the stem of the grass. Not a huge issue if you make fairly decent silage. Also when you see cattle with a tear in the eye give them a spray with Terramycin (blue) spray into the eye. If you catch it early enough you will not have to remove them from the pen.

JohnHolland

I have a cashels bale slice for the past few years. I only feed round bales. I wouldn't be without it now. I dumped 18 old bales onto the dung heap yesterday and it was a very quick and easy job. I dont do it often but found it great for putting a bale into a round feeder out in the field aswell. I always feed the bales immediately after opening and no issues, making sure to remove any mould from the bales. I use it to put in bales of hay now as well. Saves me breathing in hay dust when removing netting from them.

topmanamillion

I would just take the netting and plastic off and just use them to fill a hole in a hedge.
Where do you usually put waste silage?

risers

thanks Bass and John H

Capercaillie

I have 20 rotten bales (not fully rotted), with no plastic wrap. I want them to fertilize a small patch in corner of field for next March. Should I break them up now or leave them as they are now?