FEW farmers have heard of wires disease let alone witnessed the crippling effects it can cause to adult cows following the ingestion of sharp metal objects – particularly from tyre wire – but it can be avoided.

Wires disease or tyre wire disease in dairy cattle can significantly reduce milk yields as once wire, either found in pit silage from old tyres, or less commonly, fencing wire, or nails is ingested, it can penetrate the wall of the reticulum and from there, can go into the peritoneum (abdominal space) and cause peritonitis. Or it can go through the diaphragm and affect the heart and lungs.

Clinical signs of the disease often include an increased temperature, arched back and raised jugulars with pulses extended all the way up the neck. Animals with wires disease are often slow moving, have a reduced appetite and are constipated, grunting when defecating and urinating.

With no test for this debilitating condition, diagnosis is based on clinical signs and ruling out other diseases. If suspected, a long course of broad spectrum antibiotic and the administration of a ruminal magnet bolus can improve the clinical picture of the cow. However, some will not respond and will need to be culled.

Prevention is of course better than cure, and by considering a different silage cover option not reliant on tyres to hold down the plastic, not only is the risk of wires disease curtailed, but the amount of silage wasted is also significantly reduced.

Silostop oblong-shaped gravelbags are a convenient and effective solution for sealing silage bunkers and piles, according to Jennifer Hitchman, technical manager at Silostop, who said their filled weight and shape ensures that covers are held securely in place. Easily handled and environmentally friendly, these robust woven netted gravel bags with a lifespan of at least five years, are also easy to stack when not in use.

“Handling and disposing of waste silage, in terms of both labour and lost dry matter, should not be ignored. Add to that the effect of feeding poor silage on animal performance, and it quickly becomes apparent what a financial drain this inferior feed has on a business,” said Jennifer.

Add to that the Silostop Max silage film, which claims to be 'the ultimate oxygen barrier film', and the amount of spoilage on silage due to air penetrating the clamp, is also significantly reduced.

“You can save more than £3000 in dry matter value in the top 1m of a typical maize silage clamp, using a value of £60/t, simply by adopting to use one layer of Silostop barrier film over a layer of clamp film and regular plastic,” she said, pointing out that surface spoilage is virtually eliminated.

This, she said is because the Max film is an impermeable orange on black film that stops the entry of oxygen into silage. At 80 microns thick, this multilayer, light, yet strong silage film, has been proven in trials to be more than 100times more effective than conventional silage sheeting. As a result, aerobic stability is increased by up to 2.5 days, so silage on the face and in front of cows stays fresh and nutrient rich for longer.

Outwith the initial spoilage savings, other cost benefits associated with the aerobic stability include improved hygiene of the forage such as reduced yeasts, moulds and mycotoxins and the reduction in the inedible silage that is thrown.

“The saving in dry matter alone equates to a return on investment of roughly 9:1; which highlights how simple measures can make a tremendous difference to the bottom line,” said Jennifer.

“Acceptance within the industry that you typically have huge dry matter losses and a layer of waste silage on your clamp has to be changed. It's incredibly costly to livestock farmers, and can be significantly reduced with a change in the silage storage management system.

“It’s widely understood that reducing the oxygen that enters the silage, results in reduced dry matter losses and deteriorated silage. Therefore, farmers should look to invest in systems that protect the silage from oxygen.

“Forage is a huge financial asset to livestock farmers. It makes sense to maximise its potential by paying attention to the details. Using the best plastic film for the forage will ensure you reduce waste and save on the additional costs occurred due to removing that waste,” Jennifer adds.

“A notable cost incurred by reduced efficiency of home grow forage is that of increased bought in feed. Milk and meat production from home grown forage is far more profitable than produced from bought in feed, giving yet another reason to focus on clamp management," concluded Jennifer.