News

Europe's largest outdoor event returned again to Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly. The National Ploughing Championships has once again achieved a record attendance this year in spite of severe rain and flooding on the second day of the three-day event.

The crowd numbers for the third day came to a figure of 92,000 giving an overall attendance figure of 291,000 – the highest number ever to attend the event.

With vintage displays, pony games, sheep shearing demos, craft and cookery demonstrations, a lifestyle village, funfair and innovations arena.

The National Ploughing Championships is Europe's largest Outdoor Exhibition and Agricultural Trade Show with over 1,500 delighted exhibitors.

The Durapak stand was buzzing as usual with people inquiring about our animal comfort products and crop packaging, with slatted rubber and cubicle mats taking the award for most popular products.

Durapak will be exhibiting again at this years National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore.

This years event is on from Tuesday 19^th to Thursday 21^st inclusive.

We would like to invite you to visit us on Stand No. 147, Row 6, Block 1.

Durapak will be exhibiting our Slatted Rubber and Cubicle Mat range.

Also, on display will be Durapak Hi-Tac, the Bale Silage Film which is heavier, thicker and stronger than most films on the Irish market.

In addition other crop packaging products on display will include Baler Netwrap, Silobags, Duranets, Silonets, tape etc.

In June the Irish Farmers Journal published a letter from Durapak Agri in their letter section. The letter addresses the misleading assumptions made by Barry Cassidy in his article dated Sat 27^th May “Silage Wrap Prices Reduced on 2016 levels”.

Price per Reel only is misleading

Dear Editor,

I refer to your article by Barry Cassidy in the Irish Farmers Journal dated Sat 27^th May “Silage Wrap Prices Reduced on 2016 levels”

As a specialist in supplying silage film (plastic/ wrap) to many of your readers over the last 30 years, I would like to expand on some of the points made by Mr.  Cassidy.

Firstly the key point for all your farmer clients is their objective to enisle high quality forage so that they obtain high levels of animal production on their farms.

In the case of bale silage the best quality silage is achieved by applying a heavier / thicker plastic or by applying more wraps of a thinner material.

The thicker the plastic the better the oxygen barrier which results in well preserved forage.

Inadequate amounts of plastic on bales can lead to mouldy silage and in some cases to the complete loss of forage.

Reel Weights

Decisions made by farmers based on price per reel of plastic only can be misleading as what appears at first glance to be a cheaper plastic can in fact be a more expensive product.

Farmers should be made aware of the reel weight differences and the plastic thickness differences.

On the Irish Market the vast majority of Silage wrap brands are all the same length at 1500m and are all the same height at 750mm in height.  The critical difference is in the thickness of the plastic.

As you can see from Table 1 a survey conducted in recent weeks shows a huge variation in both reel weights and in the thickness of the plastics.

Table – 1   Agri- Stretch wrap Survey 2017

So as you can see from Table 1 making a decision based on price between Brand A & Brand G is very misleading as there is a difference of over 17% in the Reel weight and the plastic thickness between the two materials.

Brand A is worth €14.00 to €15.00 more than Brand G!

And where the farmer applies Brand A over Brand G he/she would be applying 17% more plastic at all times irrespective of whether they use 4 layers, 6 layers or 8 layers.

The benefits will accrue in the form of better quality silage as the thicker plastic provides a better oxygen barrier all the time.

If one was to use a price only comparison (as was the case in Mr. Cassidy’s article) and assume Brand G could be purchase at €75.00 / Reel then Brand A is worth €88.00 per Reel.  So price comparisons on a per reel only basis are very misleading.
 
Finally a simple test which can be conducted at  farm level is to weigh the reels on farm.  Farmers can then make informed decisions  and establish which film brands are the heaviest are are likely to provide the best protection for their forage.

Yours sincerely,
 
Seamus O’ Callaghan
Managing Director
086 2577 222

Log in and read the article on Irish Farmers Journal here - 'Price per Reel only is misleading'

Magnapak is a protected fat with approximately 3 times the energy level of cereals such as barley, wheat & oats. 

Magnapak can be used as part of a balanced diet to increase the energy intake of dairy cows.  It’s particularly helpful after calving when the cows appetite is poor and her energy requirement is high as she produces more milk. 
It’s important that cows do not lose too much weight after calving, ideally less than half a kilogram per day.  Extra energy supplied in the form of Magnapak Protected Fat will help farmers to avoid such problems as Ketosis, acidosis and poor fertility . 

Extra energy help the cows to go back in calf faster while maintaining high milk yields and flatter lactation curves.

Find out more about Magnapak Protected Energy

For Further Information call Seamus on (086) 2577 222

The Busy time for Biocell Lac is fast approaching according. We sell most of our Biocell Lac in the period Feb to April each year.  Biocell Lac is a live yeast immersed in lactose and MOS and is specifically developed for feeding  in liquid milk or milk replacer.  Biocell Lac increases the number and activity of specific beneficial bacteria and keeps the gut wall clean thus allowing the calf to absorb materials more efficiently.  As a result calves will grow faster and build up their immune system quicker.  Biocell Lac come in a 5kg plastic tub which is enough to treat 24 calves for 6 weeks.

Find out more about Biocell Lac >

Call us on (021) 487 5511 for a quote or to arrange one of our Sales Reps to call out to your premises.

Johnny Sheehan of the Farm Relief Services in Waterford expressed his delight with securing  an order for over 200 metres of Durapak Slatted Rubber. 

The shed belonging to a local farmer and butcher was just newly constructed and had two 16’6 slats back to back.

"We had a crew fitting the job for two days and were delighted how easy they were to fit. The rubber is soft warm and comfortable and I’m sure the animals will perform very well on the Top performing rubber which came out on top in Teagasc Beef Trials” concluded Johnny.

Stay in touch with Waterford Farm Relief Services on Facebook.

And visit their website on www.waterfordfrs.ie.

The 85th National Ploughing Championships will take place in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from Sept 20th – 22nd 2016

Food, fashion and farming were the flare of the day as ploughing enthusiasts, public representatives including the Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and photographic journalists got a flavour of all that “Ploughing” has to offer.

Over 200,000 visitors are expected to descend on the 800 acre site with over 1,500 stands.

Find out more here: http://www.npa.ie/

Come and visit the Durapak Stall

Durapak will be displaying and discussing our Durapak Slatted Rubber which came out on Top in Teagasc Beef Trials delivering an additional 14 Kg of carcass weight over and above concrete slats. Durapak Slatted Rubber also lead to an increase in carcass confirmation and resulted in over €50 extra value per beef annually in comparison to animals finished on concrete. Durapak Slatted Rubber also outperformed all competitors.

Durapak will also be exhibiting their Continuous Rubber for Cubicles and for open areas as well as their extensive range of cubicle mats.

Call by and say hello to the team - we''ll be at stand number is 72, Row 5, Block 1.

Hope to see you there!

The National Ploughing Championships, Europe's largest Outdoor Exhibition and Agricultural Trade Show, saw the most successful Championships ever this year (2015) with 281,000 attendees and over 1,500 delighted exhibitors. The 85th National Ploughing Championships will take place in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from Sept 20th – 22nd 2016.

The Durapak stand was buzzing as usual with people enquiring about the our animal comfort products and crop packaging, with slatted rubber and cubicle mats taking the award for most popular products.

Durapak are advising farmers to be on the lookout for three things when purchasing continuous rubber:

1. Width: Please ensure when pricing jobs that you have the correct information in relation to the roll width. The Durapak cubicle mat product is 1.8m wide. There are a number of competitor products in widths varying from 1.7 metres down to 1.65 metres & 1.6 metres. The wider Durapak product will allow you to use a brisket board either at the initial installation or at a later stage. The wider product increases comfort and reduces stress for the animals.
    
2. Nylon Inlay: Durapak continuous rubber has an inlay incorporated in the product unlike many of the competitors. The advantage of a nylon inlay is that it enhances the strength of the product and prevents spreading and tearing of the rubber.
    
3. Massive/ Solid End: The Durapak cubicle continuous rubber has a ‘massive’ or ‘solid’ piece at the end of the rubber to increase the strength of the rubber at the back of the cubicle.

 
In summary, when doing your research, do look out for variations in roll width, whether the product has a nylon inlay and that the part at the channel end has a solid piece of rubber.

Durapak will be exhibiting at the National Ploughing Championships this week in Stradbally in Co Loais from Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th  of September.

On the stand you be  able to see the top performing Durapak Slatted Rubber which came out on top in Teagasc Beef Trials with an extra 14kg of  carcass weight over and above bare concrete slats.

Also on Display will be the Durapak range of cubicle mats including standard EVA mats, two and four sided Interlocking Link mats, Continuous Rubber for cubicles & for open areas, milking parlour mats as well as rubber mats for cubicles.
In the crop packaging area will be Durapak Hi-Tac and Megawrap stretch films for round bale silage and a range of netwraps including Durapak’s 3000m and 3600m products as well as 3600m Tama.

Duranets, Silonets and Silobags will also be on display. Duranets are used as anti –bird netting to prevent damage taking place at clamps and stacks of round bales .Silobags can be used along the sides of silage pits to keep the polyethylene in  position and prevent air entering the clamps thus ensuring  well preserved silage all the time.

Biocell lac is a live yeast immersed in Lactose and MOS for addition to milk or milk replacer for calves.  It increases dry matter intake and leads to an increase daily liveweight gain in calves of the order of 8% has been recorded in trials. Biocell lac is available in a 5kg tub which is enough to treat 24 calves fir six weeks  (1000 treatments).

Elephant Baler Twine including fine, medium and heavy twines for round, small square and large square baling will be on display . In general Durapak twines are between 15% and 20% heavier  than other twines on the market.