BURYING silage has gone a long way to drought proofing properties in the Cowra area.
Peter and Janet Johnstone, and their sons Ben and Tom, "Illinois", Woodstock, have been burying silage every year since 1984.
Each pit can hold about 140 to 150 tonnes, making them a valuable source of feed during dry times.
"At the moment we've got 14 pits and about 3000 bales in the ground," Peter Johnstone said.
The family also does contract work for other farmers in the Cowra area.
"One year we did 49 pits, and there's about 200 bales to a pit - that's a lot of silage," Mr Johnstone said.
"Early in the piece a lot of silage went down and it's more of a maintenance thing now."
Establishing a bunker for silage is the big job.
From there it's a matter of topping up the storage every year.
Dry seasons have resulted in less demand for new bunkers.
"In the last 10 years it's been a bit slower. We haven't got as much feed," Mr Johnstone said.
"It costs money to put it down and agriculture hasn't been that brilliant.
"People haven't had a lot of spare money so they only put down what they need."
The Johnstones run cattle and sheep on five properties between Woodstock and Cowra, usually opening pits on each property every year.
At the moment they only have two pits open due to such a good winter.
"This year we only fed for two weeks early in the year," Mr Johnstone said.
"We thought we were going to be in for a big feed then it rained and never stopped.
"It's been one of the best seasons we've had for years. The crops are probably not as brilliant as I have seen but pasture-wise it's one of the best winters we've had."
Since they have so much silage in storage, the family's lucerne crop will be cut for hay this year.
"I don't think we'll need to bury any this year," Mr Johnstone said.
"We think we could feed stock for two years with what we've got in the ground so we'll make hay instead."
Burying silage has already paid off during drought, with the Johnstones never having to sell stock.
It has also meant they don't have high restocking costs once a drought breaks and they're not forced to sell stock when the market is down.
Woodstock wonder-feed
STORING silage ensures quality, nutritional stockfeed in dry times, and it’s been a great help for Peter Johnstone, “Illinois”, Woodstock.
“We’ve seen silage come out of a bunker 15 years after it was buried and it’s fine, but it’s all about how it’s buried,” he said.
A large pit is dug in the ground, usually on the side of the hill, before being filled with feed.
“We stack the baled silage in, cover it with plastic then cover it with about a foot of dirt,” Mr Johnstone said.
“The more dirt the better but if you put too much on top then there’s more trouble getting it out.”
The most important step in burying silage is ensuring the pit is airtight.
“If you don’t put enough dirt on you’ll get air in there. It needs to be airtight so the silage doesn’t deteriorate,” Mr Johnstone said.
A mixture of grasses and legumes are used in the silage.
The Johnstones use first cut lucerne, while other farmers mix ryegrass with lucerne and clover.
“The better the quality going in, the better the silage will be,” Mr Johnstone said.
“Cutting it at the right time is also important because the sugars in the plant are optimum at pre-booting stage.”