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Disposable Net Wraps
ELDON COLE
MT. VERNON, MO.
I’ve written about the need for a way to get rid of bale wrap plastic since conventional recycling measures aren’t able to use it. Secretary, Janet, found an item on my email recently that featured three graduate students in London who have developed a biopolymer specifically to wrap hay and silage.
The students claim they’ve even eaten the material and fed it to some cattle. Their long-range plan is to lace the product with nutrients or probiotics to enhance its nutritional value. They feel it could be market-ready in 3 to 5 years in Europe.
I imagine it would be longer before it could pass all the tests necessary to get it on the market here. Some of you remember Missouri researchers and extension were optimistic about spraying big bales with a tallow mixture. My fellow livestock specialist, Dale Watson, gave many demonstrations around the state. The process seemed to work but was messy and involved individually spraying the tallow mixture on the bales. Some joked that the coyotes and buzzards were attracted to the tallow smell and their presence around cattle is not necessarily a good thing. We’ll see what develops with the London research. ∆
ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri
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