Home
>
Small Business
>
The Wrap on Ag Plastic

The Wrap on Ag Plastic

While driving through Pennsylvania farmland, you have probably noticed an increased amount of white plastic bundles stacked in lines or piles along farm buildings or edges of farm fields. Sometimes referred to as "marshmallows" or "long white tubes", etc. these objects are increasing in farmer popularity and represent a changing trend in harvesting of farm livestock feeds.

The feeds stored in these units are of a high moisture quality, and would quickly mold and spoil within 48 hours if exposed to oxygen in the air. The air-tight capability of these plastics enable feed storage of wet hay bales, chopped hay silage, chopped corn silage, or high moisture corn grain for as long as two years. Silos have been doing the bulk of wet feed storage for nearly a century on some farms, but the new plastic technology offers some very palatable advantages to the livestock farmer. On the average, feeds stored in plastic are of a higher quality than their silo counterparts, due to plastic's ability to eliminate 99% of the air leaking into the storage area. Silos are exposed to the full area of feed on top, and to cracks and door leaks in the areas between damaged staves on the sides of the silo unit. A few silo companies have reduced air input by producing glass lined, air sealed units such as Harvestore and Sealstore, but such units are quite expensive to purchase.

Today's feed grade plastics offer sun-blocking technology, which can normally break down standard plastic covers in a few months' time. Feed grade plastics can resist the sun's rays for 12, 18, or 24 months, depending on the quality purchased.

One of the most recent additions to the farm feed storage is that of round bale wrap. Similar to common "shrink wrap" used in packaging goods worldwide, bale wrap is applied with a specialized piece of equipment called a "round bale wrapper", and produces the marshmallows often seen in farm fields. In-line wrappers are now available as well, that can wrap one round bale after another into a continuous long line.

Round bale wrapping is an important breakthrough to farmers in the fact that baling is a lower power requirement than chopping as silage, and offers the quickest way to remove feed from a field and stay ahead of the rainy weather. Instead of waiting another day or two for hay to get dry, it can be baled wet, and then wrapped. The ability of feed to ferment quickly and properly inside of plastic wrap is superb, adding to the popularity of the system.

As with any new technologies, there are drawbacks as well. Feed is often stored a considerable distance from the buildings, typically due to the desire to limit clutter around the house and barn area, or because of the speed and convenience of wrapping feed next to the field it was harvested in. During Pennsylvania winters it is sometimes difficult to get to the feed, requiring the clearing of snow from farm access lanes just to reach the feed, and then daily hauling what is needed to feed the animals. Mud in thawing fields also provides an obstacle in spring-time.

Plastic disposal also can pose a problem. Plastic remnants do not rot down for years, and must be gathered carefully, or they will be left to blow in the wind to neighboring properties. Burning is not recommended, because of the toxic gases produced when the plastic is burned. The best present option is to the garbage truck and then landfill. However, as plastic usage increases it may become viable to recycle this plastic through a community collection system. Some Lancaster farms are now part of such a program, where the plastic is collected and baled into large, 1,000 pound square bales, and then trucked to a recycling plant in the southern United States that can recycle ag plastic into a number of other products.

Tom Clouser http://www.clouserfarm.net

Tom Clouser is a 38 year old farmer in Madisonburg, PA. This article is a reproduction of his editorial in the monthly news publication of "Trees 'n' Turf", published by him and his father Ken. View their archives at http://www.clouserfarm.net

quick home cleaning Glenview ..

In The News:

Instagram's new 'Your Algorithm' tool lets you control your Reels feed in real time. The app now gives you power to customize what videos you see.

Major Marquis fintech breach exposes 400,000-plus Americans' data through unpatched SonicWall vulnerability, with Texas hardest hit at 354,000 affected.

Free up iPhone storage fast by clearing large photos and videos from Messages app. Simple steps for iOS users to delete attachments without losing chats.

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

The Wrap on Ag Plastic

Small Business