Forage Services – Grass

C G Shaw Contractors offer complete or part job for grass silage, our modern high output machinery allows us to ensure quality silage is made at the correct time. We run 9m and 6m mower combinations both equipped with grouper belts. Having two sets of mowers enables us to make use of short weather windows and aim to cut dry standing crop.

The groupers enable us to swath up to 9m of grass in a single swath straight from the mower producing very clean silage free from soil and stone contamination even in rough conditions, in thin later cuts grouping the grass prevents the crop from drying out too much. The groupers are perfect for harvesting delicate crops such as lucerne where a rotary rake cannot be used.

We use a Kuhn Merge Max 950. This offers many benefits over a traditional rake. The belt concept produces very clean windrows ensuring a lower ash content in the finished silage. In crops such as lucerne and clover the gentle pickup results in lower leaf losses, resulting in a silage with a higher protein content.

Three or four trailers are generally supplied depending on the distance of the fields. Our KTwo push off trailers can compress the load, in dry grass this allows the trailers to still carry their rated capacity. In order to provide more accurate totals at the end of the job, we use one trailer with a weighing system, which is used to regularly calibrate the yield meter as the job is being completed.

To ensure maximum clamp consolidation, we use both an Albutt buckrake on the front of a Fendt tractor, as well as an Holaras Silagepacker. This results in a better fermentation, reducing dry matter losses and increases clamp capacity.