Silage Up Close

A portion of the U.S. population thinks that milk comes from the grocery store.  In a way, that is correct, but first, the milk is produced by cows before it makes its way into plastic milk jugs and is available for purchase at grocery stores.  

 

The process is long.  It takes a pregnant cow to produce milk.  And, it takes plenty of high quality feed for that cow to get through the nine month gestation period and to the point of producing quality milk.

 

One such feed is silage, corn plants chopped when at about 35% moisture and piled to ferment.  This is one of several feeds that are fed to milk cows.  Milk cows require a higher quality feed than beef cattle and silage is a wonderful food source which helps promote milk production. The dairy farmer is always striving to increase the quality of his feed resulting in a higher quality herd and milk…all the better for human consumption and health.

 

I have never seen corn being chopped for silage; that is, until this week.

 

As mentioned in my previous blog, Glenn was helping a local farmer friend with the task of chopping his 2015 corn crop for silage.  Glenn was one of two truck drivers. Glenn mentioned to me that I should come by to see the process.  I was interested, so I did.

 

This year’s corn crop, as well as many other plants including those growing in my garden, benefited by an abundance of spring/early summer rain.   This corn was tall.

 

I watched as the chopper cut the rows, about 11 at a time, and blew the chopped vegetation out a spout aimed at a large hauling truck, moving alongside this chopper, which collects and hauls the chopped corn back to the barn lot to be stored and to ferment in concrete silage bunkers.  The actually chopping took place sight unseen within the huge silage harvester.

 

The huge truck filled fast.  A second truck was waiting to slip into line to collect the next rows. 

 

The filled truck drove back to the barn lot and unloaded.  This particular truck has a mechanism to push the contents out rather than raise and dump.  Then, a weighed tractor packed the chopped corn into the concrete bunker.  This chopped corn ferments and is stored until needed for feeding. 

 

I was fortunate, too, to be able to drive as a passenger in the truck and as a passenger in the chopper.  I saw the process from a front row seat.  Now, that was exciting!

 

There are many steps to the end result of silage. Preparing the soil, planting the corn seeds, hoping for and receiving adequate rain, cutting and chopping the entire corn plants (stalk, ears and leaves), and  storing and fermenting the chopped corn are the basic steps.

 

The cows are happy to have nutritional and tasty feed.

 

Milk consumers are happy to purchase their milk so simply.

 

Hurray for farmers!

 

Ok, Ok…I know I am a bit biased because my family is a family of farmers, but the sentiment does not change…hurray for farmers!