Helping to make best use of grass and other forages is the objective of JF Hudson’s Silo Crab, a loader-mounted bucket with fold-out panels at the front to scrape and scoop up leftovers from along a feed barrier.

Drawing in the scraper panels hydraulically at the end of each run gets the scrapings into the bucket, replacing a job otherwise carried out by a hand shovel.

See also: Tips and advice for buying a used forage wagon

The collected material can then be weighed to calculate feed intake and costs, as well as more accurately make ration quantity and ingredient proportion adjustments that can increase intake and minimise waste.

It can also be returned to the clamp if appropriate and dispensed at the next feeding time.