Adding Spuds to Silage Pit

50HX

talking to a contractor today who showed me a pic of pit silage he did last week where the farmer added spuds into the pit as it was being filled

they came from farm next door where the grower said 30% of what he produces doesn't meet the supermarket spec

anyone come across this before??

lough135

A neighbour feeds spuds to cattle that he fattens indoors during the summer, they are the left overs from the earlies, and the rest of the feed is lawn cuttings.
I never saw them being put in a pit but saw it before in the IFJ

Water John

They'd want to be clean, no soil IWT.
Fierce waste in the food industry. At least these are going to some use.
Not so long ago, waste potatoes were boiled and fed to pigs.
Waste worldwide of food produced is put at 30%, mostly to do with spec. We wonder that we won't be able to feed the world.

ganmo

Water John wrote: »

They'd want to be clean, no soil IWT.
Fierce waste in the food industry. At least these are going to some use.
Not so long ago, waste potatoes were boiled and fed to pigs.
Waste worldwide of food produced is put at 30%, mostly to do with spec. We wonder that we won't be able to feed the world.

70 acres of cabbage had to be ploughed back in on the northside cause they didn't meet spec...

Water John

Have not researched it but I think they are some outlets, maybe UK only, for 'unloved fruit and veg'.

Sam Kade

Water John wrote: »

Have not researched it but I think they are some outlets, maybe UK only, for 'unloved fruit and veg'.

The consumer supposedly wants perfectly shaped carrots and spuds but somehow I'd imagine it's the supermarkets that are at fault. If they displayed the ugly veg for a cut price I'd imagine they'd be snapped up.

farmerjj

Sam Kade wrote: »

The consumer supposedly wants perfectly shaped carrots and spuds but somehow I'd imagine it's the supermarkets that are at fault. If they displayed the ugly veg for a cut price I'd imagine they'd be snapped up.

Feck cutting the price, raise the price of the pretty fruit and veg,make people pay for there perfect looking f & v

Tail painter

50HX wrote: »

talking to a contractor today who showed me a pic of pit silage he did last week where the farmer added spuds into the pit as it was being filled

they came from farm next door where the grower said 30% of what he produces doesn't meet the supermarket spec

anyone come across this before??

I have done this before. The spuds cook with the heat in the silage pit. Cattle love them. But the spuds MUST be spotless or there will be rotten silage around them.

Snowfire

If spuds are coming from a cold store, they need to go direct to silage pit same day, not tipped in the yard in hot weathe for few days, they'd just rot.

farmerjj

farmerjj wrote: »

Feck cutting the price, raise the price of the pretty fruit and veg,make people pay for there perfect looking f & v

Then the customer will go next door where all the pretty, but imported, food resides.

There was a Wonky Veg thing starting where varied shape veg was slightly cheaper but it wasn't given enough encouragement

Farrell

ganmo wrote: »

70 acres of cabbage had to be ploughed back in on the northside cause they didn't meet spec...

That's a waste & I suppose the farmer was not reimbursed.
Can the cabbage be used as a forage to livestock? and we farmers can help each other

Username John

Farrell wrote: »

That's a waste & I suppose the farmer was not reimbursed.
Can the cabbage be used as a forage to livestock? and we farmers can help each other

Cabbage is savage feeding...

But maybe the price you get for it from a farmer (incl harvesting cost) vs loss of nutrients against ploughing it in...
Ploughing in it might have been the better option for the farmer... Maybe... ?