Covering silage clamps and keeping silage sheets in place over the winter is not an easy job. Fortunately, silage storage specialists ARK Agriculture have a solution with their innovative Gravel Bag Belts.
“We already know that tyres are terrible for holding silage sheets in place on clamps, which is why we have so many customers who prefer to use our Secure Gravel Bags. However, the bags don’t always stay in place on the clamp, especially if the silage is piled high and the clamp has steep sides. This has resulted in a lot of interest in our Gravel Bag Belt solution.” Says Oliver Peck, Sales Director at ARK Agriculture.
The belts are made from a tough fabric like a seat belt and are 10.3m long with 11 gravel bag hooks and one connecting hook. This means multiple belts can be joined together for use on wider silage clamps. The belts have at least a ten-year lifespan.
“Once the belts are laid left to right, parallel to the silage face, you can attach the bags and be confident they will not slip on even the steepest slope”, says Mr Peck.
Because the belts do such a good job holding the bags and covers in place you don’t need to risk operator safety by sending people back on top of the clamps to rearrange the sheets and gravel bags after bad weather.
“The belts themselves also help to distribute the weight of the gravel bags along their length while still hugging the contours of the silage surface”, he adds.
Gravel bag belts have been particularly popular with farmers who store silage on flat pads or ‘field clamps’ that have no walls and steep sides.