We have a close cooperation with researchers at SLU that help us test and evaluate our products.
Independent research
Tested in field
It is a long process before one of our products is launched on the market.
As we want to offer crop baling solutions that bring real benefits, we need to make sure, that they provide maximum reliability during the wrapping process, but also secure the forage in the best possible way.
We have a very close cooperation with contractors and farmers. The exchange of experience between our product specialists and the people who use our products daily plays a very important part in our development process. Each season a number of selected co-developing customers help us to evaluate and verify our products. This partnership provides continuous feedback and guides the development of our next generation of products for reliable protection of forage.
Additionally to this we have developed and tested products in cooperation with SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) since the 1990's.
Tested in the laboratory
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences has conducted several studies over the past few decades that prove effectiveness of Tenospin bale wrap in terms of silage quality.
If you want to learn more about SLU, click here.
For you this means, if you choose a Tenospin product, you'll get a scientifically proven bale wrap. For example, SLU has performed a study where Tenospin (25μ) and Tenospin+(21 μ & 19 μ) were evaluated regarding silage quality and losses in
round bales. In the study it was confirmed that Tenospin and Tenospin+ give high airtightness, great silage quality and low DM-losses. DM-losses were down to 1 % which is very low compared to earlier independent market studies.
Read more about the study results
Study of silage quality
What exactly does that mean, when we say, a product is tested and how is it done?
Step 1: The very first step is to find a suitable field with a homogenous crop so that later measurements are not affected by differences in maturity, composition, moisture or similar. After being cut, grass samples are now taken either from various spots in the field or out of the bales before they are wrapped. These samples are sent to the lab and the results from their evaluation serve as base data for comparison.
Step 2: Before the bales are wrapped, it is very important to mark each bale individually. We do this by clearly numbering the bales firstly on a ribbon which is tied to the net or fixed to the net replacement film and then additionally by writing the numbers on the bale wrap. Only by doing so, we will later know exactly which bale we are looking at.
Step 3: Then, for each bale the weight is noted down and after storage time, each bale is weighed again. The weight difference is the main indicator for defining DM-losses.
Step 4: After the bales have been weighed, they are stored on a clean sandy bare soil in a single layer under a bird net. During storage, bales are checked twice a week for eventual damage. The storage period is at least 12 weeks long to make sure that the fermentation process is finished.
Step 5: After the storage time, the seal integrity is checked; by measuring how long it takes for air from the outside to leak back into the bale.
Step 6: Now the bales are opened and before moving them or taking samples, the surface is checked for the presence and area covered by yeast and moulds. We inspect both top, side and bottom of the bales.
Step 7: Then it is time to collect ensiled forage samples to analyze and compare with the previously collected green matter. For that we use a special drill tool, to be able to take mixed samples from the whole bale down to its core and not just from the surface.
Step 8: All taken samples are analyzed for various quality indicators as for example dry matter, lactic acid or ethanol and results are evaluated.
All our studies are done by or in cooperation with independent institutes. We use the final the results to assure that our new developed and existing products are in fact enabling a good silage quality. In many cases the silage tests we have done have led to official publication as the findings were a step forward within baled silage.