Silage Insights - Trends and Developments
Development of bale silage in France

Within a few years, bale wrapping has carved out a sizeable role in forage harvesting techniques in France. The potential market for bale wrapping in France was estimated at four million bales in the early 1990s. While the principle of bale wrapping has not changed, the efficiency of bale wrapping machinery has increased sharply through integration into the press of equipment to carry out wrapping at the same time, which requires only one person for both functions. In addition, the use of a 750 mm wide film and the presence of two wrapping arms and remote control for certain bale wrappers reduce wrapping time considerably.

This increased efficiency should result in an increased market share, but the external environment has also changed. There are two really major developments: the improved efficiency of fodder harvesting sites with self-propelled fine cutter harvesters, and the banning of silage in certain dairy-farming areas. Moreover, the cost of bale wrapping can become prohibitive if poorly used, for example to do the same thing in round bales as was done in fine cut silage, without advancing the interests of the bale wrapping technique. Despite this competition, bale wrapping will develop if farmers put its advantages to best use.

The advantages include traceability, which is a major asset of bale wrapping. It is the only silage technique that allows such precise traceability, because bales can be identified individually. The second advantage derives from a handicap: the apparent high cost of individual bale wrapping, particularly due to the cost of plastic. This cost has to be compensated by harvesting rich and therefore young fodder, of impeccable health quality (cut high to avoid including soil and plant waste) and with perfect storage quality (monitoring of stores, protection from animals, etc.). This early cut guarantees quality, at the expense of a slight fall in production. Quality control will open the doors to sell to a new market: the horse family.

The third advantage relates to the role that bale wrapping can play in controlling the quality of the forage when used in conjunction with other techniques, rather than systematically producing sizeable stocks of average quality. Bale wrapping will allow risks to be taken by cutting early (high forage value). If good weather conditions last, excellent quality hay will be produced at minimum cost. If bad weather arrives, the young forage will be baled. The plot will be cleared fast, and a new cycle can start without waiting.

The bale wrapping will improve the fine cut, because certain plots can be reserved for an independent harvest in wrapped bales without having to put everything in the same silo and obtain silage of average value. Harvesting in bales will be carried out before or after harvesting in fine cut depending on the vagaries of the weather, the growth stage of the plot, etc. Bale wrapping contributes to managing pasture by harvesting excess production or by distributing bales in certain periods of low production. The possibility of managing the harvest means that carry-over stocks of fodder can be limited, thus limiting the costs of feed. Bale wrapping meets the requirements of many situations where it can become a source of profit because this can have a spin-off effect on the whole annual forage production of the farm.

However, there is some way to go to achieve even better storage life, bales that withstand handling and storage better, to open up certain markets, without significantly increasing the consumption of film per bale. Traceability has still not been sufficiently adopted by livestock farmers, yet it is the major source of savings. Furthermore, bale wrapping of a reasonable number of bales enables farmers to have complete control of the whole annual forage harvest. So, in some regions, wrapped bales are reserved for animals that are not “high-risk”, while excellent quality hay is used to feed dairy animals. The recognition and adoption of these various benefits by livestock farmers should mean that bale wrapping will be around for a long time.

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