Three chances to cheer
Three chances to cheer
up your silage clamp by winning Genatex sheeting
Fed up with laying out
hundreds of old tyres on top
of the silage clamp each
year? Tired of birds pecking
holes in the plastic? Put a
stop to it all by winning
Genatex sheeting to cover
your clamp. Just read the
rules, study the text and
put the seven Genatex
features in their correct
order of importance
COVERING the entire silage clamp with tyres has always been everyones least favourite job. But for anyone with Genatex clamp covering sheet this is thankfully a thing of the past.
Genatex, which is sold in the UK and Eire by Bristol-based Livestock Systems UK, is a 200g polyethylene woven sheet that covers the normal polythene sheet in place of tyres. The structure of the weave and the density of the Genatex material means that the wind passes straight through it, leaving it sitting snugly on top of the clamp.
Both the Genatex and polythene sheet must be in close contact with the silage. In most cases this involves simply weighting down the edges and overlaps of the Genatex with sandbags or other suitable weights. This creates a good seal between the silage and polythene sheet ensuring good fermentation. It also greatly reduces labour and allows the clamp to be easily opened for additional cuts.
Silage sheeting is easily damaged, letting in air and spoiling the silage as a result. Birds, in particular, can put holes in the silage sheet by pecking it in search of insects or puncturing it with their claws.
The toughness of Genatex means they cannot penetrate it, and because the clamp is not covered in tyres collecting stagnant water (the perfect environment for mosquitoes and their larvae), the birds are less attracted to the clamp.
Genatex is manufactured in Holland and has been used on most clamps there for the last 20 years. Visitors to Holland will notice that tyres on silage clamps are rarely used now.
Another obvious advantage of Genatex is that it can dispense with the need for tyres (or at worst greatly reduce the number required) therefore reducing the risk of wire from tyres being ingested by cattle.
Genatex comes in a variety of sizes, so the right combination of sheets can be found to fit the clamp, and each sheet can be comfortably handled by one person.
Genatex can be used year after year and is guaranteed by the manufacturer for seven years against ultraviolet breakdown.
Genatex is part of the Syloguard range of products from Livestock Systems UK. The range also includes protective sealants and coatings for the repair and protection of concrete.
Now study the list of Genatex features and decide what you think is their correct order of importance. Then fill in the coupon and send it to us. The competition closes on Mar 27.
THE PRIZES
There are three prizes, each of 500sq m (5380sq ft) of Genatex protective sheeting
worth £1000.
PICK YOUR PRIORITIES
A Reduces risk of "wire"
B Protects the polythene
sheet
C Prevents bird damage
D No need to cover entire
clamp with tyres
E Labour saving
F Clamp can be reopened
for additional cuts
GGuaranteed for seven
years
Above and left: With Genatex protective sheeting the only tyres (or better still sandbags) generally needed on the clamp are at edges and sheet joins. So the danger of ingestion of wire by cattle, which
is widely acknowledged by vets
as a significant potential problem
with tyres, is greatly reduced.
READ THE RULES
1. How is the Genatex silage clamp protective material to be won? Skill, judgement and experience will decide your order of priority for the seven Genatex features listed.
2. Study these rules. Write in order the key letters of the seven
priorities in the blank spaces on the coupon that appears in the farmers weekly issues of Mar 6, 13 and 20.
3. There is no entry fee but each attempt must be made in ink on a coupon cut from farmers weekly.
4. All entries will be examined and the three prizes awarded to the competitors who have chosen the best order of importance for the seven features listed.
5. In the event of a tie, a simple eliminating contest will decide the winners.
6. The decision of the judges and the editor of farmers weekly in all matters will be final and legally
binding. No correspondence can
be entered into.
7. The competition is open to all readers in the United Kingdom and Eire, except employees of Reed Business Information and their
families, or Livestock Systems UK and its distributors, or of
farmers weeklys printers.
8. Data supplied may be used for direct marketing purposes.
9. Closing date for receiving
completed coupons is Mar 27, 1998. They should be addressed
to farmers weekly/Genatex Competition, Farmers Weekly, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS.