At Stockwell Farms our fall harvest season starts with chopping corn silage. Have you seen the big machines running through the fields followed by lots of truck, or the large white piles at dairy farms and wonder what is different about that corn from the corn that is harvested by combines? Lets talk about the difference and why corn silage is so important to the dairy farm. Most people know about harvesting corn for the kernel with combines. Farmers use these kernels in grain mixes to feed to their cattle or send it to processed into corn bi-products for consumers, like corn meal. We still run some high moisture corn later in the fall and put it in bins to mix feed for our cattle as well. However, the majority of our corn acres get chopped into silage. Corn silage is produced when we take the corn and it stalk, and ferment it to use as a high-moisture feed. It is a popular forage for cows because it is high in energy and easily digested. It is essential to have this process done correctly so we have a high quality feed to deliver to our animals year round. When the corn crop is ready to harvest, we use a custom harvest crew. They bring in a forage chopper to cut the stalks at a consistent, predetermined height (about one foot off the ground.) We need the entire corn plant: stalk, cob, husk and kernels. It is important that the stalk is chopped at a consistent length and that all the kernels have been broken. If this is not done correctly or consistently, our cows will sort the feed and not get the well balanced diet they need. Corn silage can be stored in a variety of ways. We ensilage some of ours but most of it goes into a large pile that is packed with heavy weighted tractors. The silage pile needs to be packed firmly and consistently to ensure proper fermentation. The other key part to proper fermentation is to cove the pile properly. This is why you see a large white pile at our farm. We place a white clear plastic on the first layer to inhibit oxygen then the next layer of plastic is black on back and white on top to help capture heat to create fermentation. To cover the pile is fun if anyone wants to help let us know! It is a complex equation of time. machinery and people to bring in the crop. However if you polled the employees of Stockwell Farms I think you would find, it is one of the most enjoyable times of the year! There is satisfaction in seeing a large feed pile being produced every September, knowing we will have healthy and happy cows year round
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 18:01:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015