Jaap de Jong, a clog-wearing Dutch dairy farmer with 430 Holstein cows in the province of Friesland, covers his silo in 30 minutes flat.

The silo is newly constructed, and 80m long by 22m wide. He completes the job by himself, at the press of a button.

Jaap has installed a new piece of kit from Dutch company EasySilage. A mobile gantry, incorporating a motorised roller system, spans the width of the silo and runs the length of the pit, laying out a heavyweight plastic cover as it travels along.

Once in place, the cover is weighted down by water-filled piping incorporated in the plastic cover.

The system requires 34 cubic metres of water, weighing 34t, which is more than the weight of the tyres traditionally used.

As with a hand-laid, black, plastic cover, Jaap has to be sure the water pipes at the edges of the silo are firmly in place to ensure a good airtight seal against the walls.

Silo cost

The cost for the EasySilage unit at Jaap’s silo was €75,000 for the travelling gantry and the heavy-duty plastic cover incorporating the water pipes and water-filling system.

The lifespan of the cover is estimated to be 10 years and rips and holes can be repaired.

The silo itself cost €90,000 for the hi-spec, prefabricated, free-standing concrete walls (set on to a pre-prepared site) which are 4m high; plus €40,000 for the asphalt floor.

This year, Jaap will take four cuts of grass silage and one of forage maize, all into the new silo, meaning that covering and uncovering the silo takes place on nine occasions.

The EasySilage system removes the big chunk of labour that would otherwise be required.

Lasagna silage

The ease of operating the cover means that Jaap spreads his grass from his first cut over the entire floor area of his silo and adds subsequent cuts on top, again over the entire area of the silo.

This creates “lasagna silage”, noted Jaap. It means that at feed-out time, each block of silage cut from the silo is identical – from the first block at the front, to the last block at the back.

It makes for a much more straightforward rationing calculation.

Labour

EasySilage is a Dutch company, based at Dearsum in Friesland, which aim is to take the labour out of covering the silo pit. At present it sells its equipment only in the Netherlands, but has plans to establish in other countries.

The company showed its product at Jaap’s farm to agriculture journalists from around the world during its annual congress held in the Netherlands.