Mini-revolution in Fair Isle agriculture

by Dave Wheeler

Always progressive, the crofters of Fair Isle have this year (1997) got together in yet another communal project - this time to produce baled silage rather than the hay traditionally made for winter keep.

With the aid of grants, a generous anonymous donation and their own money, the 18 crofters have paid 15,000 pounds for a mini-baler, mini-bale wrapper and spares from importers Nutri-Mech UK.

Because of the island's damp climate - this summer, despite some gloriously warm and sunny days, has been the foggiest ever - making good hay has always been a prolonged and frustrating process.

Hay can never be baled straight from the windrow, but must be gathered into 'coles' - being thrown down again for further drying whenever the weather allows. Eventually, after several airings, the hay can finally be baled. While this lengthy and laborious process is going on, the aftermath - valuable clean grazing, cannot be used by any but tethered stock.

This year, with the advent of baled silage, the fields are being cleared in record time. But modern methods do not mean the end of tradition, several of the older crofters commenting that this silage making is 'just like the old days' - very much a communal affair!

The mini-baler, designed for use in the hills of Italy, is not only proving its worth in the small and confined fields of Fair Isle, but is also quick and efficient on the 'larger' silage fields here.

The bales, some 65 cm long and 60 cm in diameter and weighing between 40 kg and 60 kg (depending on moisture content), can be rolled around and lifted by one person. However, to avoid back strain, it is perhaps advisable for two people to lift the heavier bales. After wrapping with 5 layers of plastic, the bales can readily stack up to 3 high.

The number of bales produced varies from around 50-60 per acre for a thinner crop to around 70-80 for a heavier one. Experience on Fair Isle shows that it is possible to bale and wrap (concurrently, with two tractors and sufficient manpower) at the rate of about 50 per hour.

With six small bales - each costing around £1.50p to produce - equivalent to one big bale, there is no doubt that the small bale is more expensive to produce than big bale silage. However, for a croft or small farm there are definite advantages in the new system. Smaller machinery takes up less storage space, while small bales need less horsepower to produce and move around. Transporting the lighter bales from storage area to feeding site in winter should result in little damage to the ground - after all, a wheelbarrow only leaves a small 'footprint'!

Having made silage in a variety of ways during the past 20 years, the mini-baler and wrapper seem to me most promising innovations. No more hand spreading silage in the pit, no more billowing sheets of plastic in a near-gale, no more throwing spiteful tyres around, no more shifting sandbags, no more hand cutting blocks of silage, no more .....

'Small is Beautiful'!

© Copyright Dave Wheeler, Fair Isle, 1997