turning hay into silage

[TRR]

Around here the farmers & ranchers have been making round and square bales for years. This year it looks like they've added silage to the list. They cut the hay and pile it up and pack it down with the tractor. I've never seen it used for beef cattle before, but no reason I know of why it can't. What are the pros and cons of making silage, many years ago (last time I looked into silage) there were some concerns about the fermentation process and oxalic and prussic acids. Are there any guidelines for doing this to be sure it turns out right?

 

[MFRED]

It's been a while since we've done it here. I was young at that time and was just an operator. Usually pushing & packing the pile. When we did it, we piled it in the trench first and packed it just as we did the corn. Then piled corn silage righ on top of it when it was corn time. We aimed for about 45% moisture and packed, packed, packed. Getting all the air out & sealing it up was key. We have since switched to wrapped round bales as we have stopped growing corn as the feeding process has changed here but I think all the dairy farms around are still chopping grass & packing it in the trench.

Advantages were you could cut the crop when it was at its peak for value in nutrition and have less chane of spoilage from weather as opposed to dry hay. Better the feed, the less of the expensive supplements like grain you need. You could get started earlier in the year allowing more cuttings too. We chopped early & late in the year when drying was tough. But we had beef and had less concern with feed value. We just wanted to get to the better looking dry hay for square bale sales.

I guess it's a fine line between any gains in feed value & volume & equipment input costs and labor costs. Every farm is different and for some it just doesn't have the return.

 

[JasG]

Around here everyone I know does silage mainly for dairy cows, but some beef also. I know 1 farmer who has never put in anything but silage with his hay, chops everything. Many use bunk silos (store packed on the ground) many have switched from vertical silos to wrapped hay. Most use some kind of tube wrapper, some wrap each bale though and a few chop and use ag bags. Around here silage is an easy way to catch up if you fall behind due to weather, or if the hay won't make baling due to rain coming in. Years ago "harvestor" silos were popular for storing hay but it had to be almost as dry as baling.

The farmer who only chops his hay. They had some issues with the cows and rotted out a silo. They would mow in the morning and chop in the afternoon. It was just to high a moisture. Now they let the hay set for day then chop. They make quick work of it too. The have 1 dump wagon and a rear unloading hauling wagon, 3 tractors. One chopping, 1 hauling and 1 packing. They can cover a lot of ground in a day with just 3 people.

Many larger farmers around here though have huge 700 hp choppers and chop straight into dump trucks. They put up huge amounts in even less time. One guy I know fills a truck every 3 minutes or a tractor trailer in 7-8 minutes.

 

[HayDR]

Silage Guide Link

 

[flyingcow]

Silage or bailage is good for cows, but generally not good for horses. Matter of fact the horses could die from it pretty easily.

I haul milk from about 20 dairy farms. Most of the guys do silage, one form or another. One farmer sold a round bail of bailage to a young couple. He didn't know what they wanted it for, unfortunately their horse died.