“NOT A SPOONFUL OF WASTE ON BOTH PITS” Brendan Hickey, Millbrook, Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny
Brendan Hickey farms in Millbrook, Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny with his father Tom. Together, they farm approximately 90 dairy cows producing an average yield of 7,000 litres of milk per year. On farm, all male calves are reared for beef, while, also rearing their own replacement cows.
Producing a good quality silage is important to Brendan as it is the mainstay of his winter-feeding requirements. Therefore, a lot of work goes in to ensuring he has an excellent crop of quality silage to feed his replacement stock and finishing animals on farm.
Liam Lacey from Inform Nutrition met with Brendan Hickey recently to discuss his use of SilaSave. Brendan has been using SilaSave for 2 years now and is delighted with the results he has received. “I hadn’t a spoonful of waste on both pits and this saved time, labour and money on the farm.”
Due to conditions in 2018, Brendan was concerned that he would have more silage waste then previous years. Brendan was frustrated that every year he had a skim of waste on his pit. As silage is expensive to produce, he wanted to reduce the amount of surface waste. This led to the use of SilaSave after seeing it being advertised.
SilaSave, a silage protector, developed and manufactured by Inform Nutrition Ireland, is applied to the top, sides and front of the clamp after rolling and just before covering. The application of SilaSave at the recommended rate (500g/yd²) results in a reaction between the grass, the SilaSave and the water vapour under the cover of the pit. As the reaction occurs, the product seeps down through the top 18in of the pit. This preserves the top layer of the pit and inhibits the growth of harmful yeasts and fungi at the surface – thus, reducing the quantity of waste silage produced.
Liam Lacey added “SilaSave reduces surface waste that occurs during the fermentation period when the pit is sealed. It also helps reduce surface waste from occurring after the pit is opened which is a problem on many farms.”
Despite his best efforts, Brendan discovered that even with covering both his pits perfectly immediately after harvesting and tightening the plastic a week later he still had waste. However, this is now a thing of the past with the addition of SilaSave.
As Brendan requires a high quality of silage on farm, he was delighted with the results of using SilaSave, “I had no hesitation in using it on both pits and will continue to use it going forward. I should have used it years ago.”
Liam further added “Brendan is extremely satisfied with the results that he has received from using SilaSave and will continue to use this product in the future.”
Help protect against Silage waste this year with SilaSave!
- Liam Lacey – Leinster – 086 770 2570
- Kevin Conroy – Connacht – 083 159 1892
- Tom O Dwyer – Munster – 086 855 0759
- Robert Mollan Eringold Enterprises, N. Ireland – 07770 77 5 212
- Chris Mollan Eringold Enterprises, N. Ireland – 07739 06 1 672
