Once you’ve invested in a high-quality, silage cover from BTL Liners, you don’t want to replace it every year or even every few years. It’s perfectly possible to get multiple seasons of use out of a silage cover without risking oxygen exposure due to wear and tear. However, you will have to invest some time into taking care of the cover, both during active use and in between the seasons. Try these maintenance tasks for helping silage covers stand the test of time.
Preventing Root Intrusions
Soil is a common weighting material used for anchoring silage covers in place. It’s free and easy for farmers to apply and remove without much extra labor or special equipment. Unfortunately, it also encourages weed proliferation that can lead to root intrusions through the cover material. Silage is rich in nitrogen, so roots that do make it through the cover will feed the plant to generate even more. Every root can potentially punch a tiny hole in the cover material that also lets in moisture and oxygen to spoil the silage. If you must use soil as a cover material, consider spraying a persistent herbicide that is safe for animal feed. It’ll keep weeds and grass from sprouting up without requiring you to mow or hand weed the pile.
Maintaining Tension
Unlike other types of covers, silage tarps are generally pressed against the surface of the pile and weighted down rather than pulled under tension. Automatic roller systems are the exception to this, since some tension is required to pull the cover back and forth. In these cases, silage covers are often held down by attachment to a frame instead of weights spread across the surface. Check the tension on the system regularly since a loss of connection could lead to an air leak. Make sure to choose a reinforced geomembrane that can handle being under constant tension as well. Thinner films tend to tear when used this way, especially after being exposed to years of UV rays.
Careful Handling
Silage covers are usually only in use for a few months out of the year. If you need to store them out of season, don’t just let your farmhands ball the material up and shove it in a corner. Brushing off silage debris and folding the material may take a few hours due to its size, but it’s worth the extra protection it offers the material during storage. Silage is highly acidic and will continue to wear away at the cover material if it’s allowed to sit against it. You don’t necessarily have to scrub the material down, but at least brushing off large chunks of corn or hay will extend its lifespan and prevent contamination issues between batches of feed. If a pile does go bad in a significant way, you may need to sanitize all the covers before using them again.
Inspect for Damage
Finally, always inspect silage covers and bunkers for damage before using them. Finding out a bunker is cracked and about to collapse after filling it is a safety risk. Alternatively, discovering a tear in a cover after applying could ruin the silage. If you need advice on how to prevent damage to your RPE silage covers, talk to our team here at BTL Liners.
