Making Silage

Corn silage is a nutritious and affordable feed product for beef cattle during the winter months.  The pastures will be out of grass and often times, our hay supply begins to run low.  Corn silage provides cattle with plenty of energy as well as protein from the corn.  We feed corn silage on a daily basis to all of the cows in our herd through the winter months.  The following steps provide a short summary of the process:

Step 1: Preparing the ground

Our corn silage is kept in large plastic bags.  The material is very tough and protects the silage from all outside weather.  The bags must be placed on a level surface and we lay down rock to prevent mud come winter.

Step 2: Cutting the corn
A corn chopper is attached to an enclosed wagon.  The chopper cuts one row of field corn at a time and has a large spout that 'shoots' the corn into the wagon. This past summer, during August we began chopping corn.

Step 3: Filling the bag

The above machine has a rubber auger that receives the corn.  The wagon pulls up beside the auger and unloads the corn.  The auger then shoots the corn into the white plastic bag, slowing lengthening the bag.  Making the bag longer and longer..


Step 4: The finished product!

On December 1st we cut open the first bag of silage to begin feeding to the cows.  After 4 months of fermentation, the corn silage still has plenty of moisture, is highly nutritious, and the cows love it :)