Silage Film

What is silage film?

Silage film is a cover film made from the polyethylene (Low Density Polyethylene, LDPE). Silage films are produced on extruders using the so-called blow moulding process. Silage film is a very strong, stable film that is intended for outdoor use for a period of at least 12 months.

Silage film - Product information

What can silage film be used for?

Silage film is mainly used in the agricultural sector. Its sole purpose is to protect silage (maize silage, grass silage), usually in so-called silos or bunker silos. The silage film forms an oxygen barrier and thus enables corn and grass to be preserved for many months. The silage film also protects the valuable animal feed from wild animals, precipitation and other external influences. The silage is mostly used as feed for cattle, cows, horses and other farm animals. However, silage film is not only used for feed silos. Biogas plant operators also use these agricultural films to cover silos. Simple silo piles and sometimes even high silos are also protected and sealed with our high-quality silage tarpaulin.

If you have mistakenly "landed" here because you are looking for silage wrapping film for bales, you will find the right film in our agricultural stretch film category.

Design, quality and thickness of silage film

Silo tarpaulins are available in different thicknesses, qualities and designs. Basically, these are the most common versions:

• Standard silage film 150 my
• Standard silage film 200 my
• Silage film 150 my, DLG-tested
• Silage film 120 my with metallocene
• Combi silage film 2 in 1 (silage film and underlay film combined in one roll)
• Sunreflect (heat-repellent silage film)

We do not offer you all of the above-mentioned qualities of silage cover film in our shop, as this variety would be somewhat "beyond the scope" and the overview would be lost. However, we can offer and supply you with all silage film in these qualities and designs. Contact us now.

Table of thicknesses and conversion from millimetres (mm) to microns (µ/my):

What is the UV resistance of silage film?

Silage films are all UV-stable (UV-resistant) for at least 12 months. This property is absolutely essential, as the maize or grass in the silo is stored outdoors for many months. It is therefore essential that the film is guaranteed to be weather-resistant or weatherproof for one year. When buying silage film, make sure it has a UV guarantee of at least 12 months. Incidentally, silage films are sufficiently cold-resistant and frost-proof for our latitudes in Europe.

How is the UV resistance achieved in silage film?

To ensure adequate UV protection, so-called additives or masterbatches are used in film production. These additives are mixed into the standard granules in percentage form during production. The durability (UV stability) of films can be determined relatively precisely by the quantity of additives. However, since these additives are relatively expensive compared to standard raw materials, it is precisely coordinated how long a cover film should last outdoors. Silage films are manufactured for 12 to 15 months of outdoor use and are therefore UV-stabilised for 12 to 15 months during production.

How long does a "non-UV-resistant" film last?

Normal, non-UV-stable film can become brittle and fragile after just a few months of exposure to UV radiation and completely lose its tear resistance and puncture resistance. Such film is therefore not suitable for long-term outdoor use. You should only use UV-stable films for your silage.

Colours of silage film

Silage films are mainly available in the following colours and colour combinations:

• white
• black and white
• black
• green-white
• green-black
• green

Some dealers offer bright colours such as blue, yellow, red or pink cover films for marketing reasons. We advise you to avoid this, as agricultural silage is a very serious and technical process and safety is definitely a priority. We therefore do not think much of this nonsence. Our focus lies more on the continuous improvement of the quality. Bright colors often disrupt the view of the landscape.

Two-colour agricultural film is also known as coex film. The abbreviation coex stands for coextrusion and means multi-layer film. Coex film has a higher gas density, a higher dart drop, a higher tear resistance and a higher puncture resistance. Silage films are of course completely impermeable or waterproof. They are opaque and relatively light-tight.

Which colour should be on top?

Which colour should go on top? We normally recommend putting light colours on top. However, as most silos are also covered with silo protection grids, this doesn't really matter too much. So that's completely up to you. The dark colour is often placed on top, as black or green blends in better with the landscape.

Regenerated and recycled material for silage film

If possible, silage film should be made from 100% new material (1A material, granulate), as the technical values of the film are affected by using too much recycled material. All values such as gas permeability, tear resistance, dart drop and puncture resistance are significantly reduced when too much recycled material is used.

Covering and laying silage correctly

In order to achieve optimum feed quality, it is essential that the silo is set up and covered in the correct way.

We generally recommend the following procedure:

Before filling the silo, the concrete floor should be coated with our silo paint or silo bitumen in accordance with the processing instructions. Our silo coating protects your concrete silo from aggressive silage juices. You can also protect the side walls of your silo with our side wall film. Sidewall film is being used more and more, as it is easier to handle and the work speed is significantly higher.

After filling the silo, use our underlay film or suction film as layer number one before applying the actual silo film. With our combi-silo film, you can combine these two steps and lay the silo film and underlay film all in one go. After laying the suction film and silo cover, use our silo protection grid to protect the silo from wild animals and other external influences. Finally, weigh down the silo grid with sandbags. If you have a large slope, our products Quick ´n´ Fix or Silogurt will help you to secure the silo bags.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require more detailed guidance. Contact us now.

Small silage film rolls

The well-known "small rolls" are available from 4 to 20 m in width and in four different roll lengths: 25 m, 30 m, 35 m and 50 m. Here is a table to give you a better overview.

Large silage film rolls

Of course, we also offer a wide variety of large 300 metre rolls for large bunker silos and biogas plants. All rolls are provided with running metre markings. Here is an overview of large silage film rolls.

We can also offer large rolls of 400 m and 500 m on request. Contact us now.

Silage film by the metre and cut to size

Our company dm-folien gmbh also helps small customers. We have decided to offer you the silage films in a width of 10 m by the metre. This means that you can also conveniently buy silo film cuts with smaller dimensions such as 5 x 10 m, 10 x 10 m or 10 x 12 m in our shop.

Here is a table of possible silage film cuts in our shop:

Packaging of our silage film

To protect the Silo Cover from damage and UV radiation during transport and storage, all rolls are individually packed in extremely sturdy, thick, opaque and UV-resistant packaging film. The packaging is welded to be waterproof, so that no moisture can penetrate the packaging and the Silo Cover can also be stored outside. Complete pallets are neatly and cleanly covered with a sturdy cover sheet film and wrapped very generously with stretch film so that the rolled goods are sufficiently protected against transport damage.

Folding the silage cover film

All rolls are folded several times in width to facilitate handling and transport. This is of course inevitable, since silo film is produced in widths of up to 20 m. If the width of the rolled goods is important to you, please contact us so that we can help you with this issue. Contact us now.

Buy silage film

You have many options for ordering silage film from us. You can conveniently order single rolls and goods sold by the metre here in the online shop. If you require larger quantities, other dimensions or qualities, please send us your enquiry. We are also happy to make individual offers to collective buyers, purchasing groups, machinery rings, resellers and dealers, as well as agricultural traders and cooperatives. Please contact us by telephone, email or enquiry form. We will be happy to advise you and provide you with a free quote. The goods will be sent to you by a forwarding agent, without freight or shipping costs. Pick-up in Reutlingen is also possible. If you pick them up by yourself, we will refund you the shipping costs.

We are happy to send you our up-to-date price lists in spring and for maize silage as well. So you don't have to worry about a thing and you will automatically receive an offer from us when the time is right. Call-off orders for the whole season are also possible. We can promise you one thing now: you will always get the best price from us for silo cover film. Our products are not only affordable, but always guaranteed to be of the best quality.

Why should you buy silage film from dm-folien?

We have over 45 years of experience working with silage film. Mr Dieter Mühlinghaus Sr. was involved in the sale of silo cover film at Polydress (now RKW Michelstadt) and was responsible for Raiffeisen markets, Baywa, private wholesalers and resellers at the time. There is hardly a supplier in Germany that has such an experience. We have a very large stock of silage films, combined with affordable, super-fast and reliable logistics. And we're sure you'll also be pleased with our favourable prices. Get in touch now.

Disposal of cover film

The disposal of silage film has always been a widely discussed topic. First of all, however, we would like to point out that all silage film worldwide is made of the polyethylene. Polyethylene (PE, LDPE) is completely non-toxic and does not contain any plasticisers, toxins or heavy metals. Polyethylene is completely sustainable, environmentally friendly and harmless. Polyethylene is a so-called thermoplastic, which can be recycled an infinite number of times. However, if the plastic film is too dirty, recycling is no longer possible. This is where the next advantage of PE comes into play. Polyethylene is a preferred material for incinerators because it is a by-product of oil production. It has a very high calorific value and burns completely without leaving any residue, producing only carbon dioxide and water.

But let's get back to the original topic. What should you do with used silage film? Nowadays, you have the following two options:

1. Private disposal companies
   Depending on the region, prices for 1 tonne of plastic film are around 100–250 EUR.
2. ERDE collection system
   It is a company that was founded specifically for recycling of agricultural film, netting and yarn. It specialises in the collection and recycling of plastics from the agricultural sector. Fees for this service can vary though. For more information about the ERDE recycling company, visit the website at erde-recycling.de

Accessories for silage film

• Underlay film
• Silo protection grid
• Silo sandbags
• Side wall film
• Silo paint
• Clamps for side wall film
• Adhesive tapes for silage film
• Fasteners and sealing wires for silo sandbags

Misuse of silage film

Silage films are often used for other purposes, as they have very good technical values, they are UV-resistant and can be supplied promptly from stock in a wide range of dimensions. Here are some examples we know of:

• For packing wood (industrial)
• For covering wood and firewood
• For covering on construction sites
• For covering all kinds of outdoor products
• For darkening rooms
• As a temporary projector screen
• Temporary roofing and tents for parties, events and performances
• For choreographies in stadiums
• Weed film for weed suppression
• Protective film for swimming pools and also as a pool cover
• Protective film under tents during camping
• Temporary water basin / pond

Customs tariff number for silage film

The customs tariff number for silage film is 39 20 10 89.

Related agricultural products

• Agricultural stretch film
• Bale net wrap
• Baler twine
• Straw fleece