What is silage?

Last weekend, Double D's was a busy place.  We were harvesting silage and putting it in our silo.  So what is silage and how is it made?

Silage is a form of feed for cows.  It can be made from many different types of forages, or plants, such as corn, oats, sudan grass, and alfalfa.  At Double D's we usually harvest alfalfa silage.

Alfalfa field ready for harvest at Double D's

Silage can be most closely compared to sauerkraut.  It is anaerobically fermented to preserve the nutritive value and taste of fresh alfalfa.  For anyone that has ever made kraut before, this process of feed harvest and preservation will make perfect sense.  The overall goal of making silage is to encourage certain types of bacteria to digest the silage and produce acidic byproducts.  These byproducts lower the pH of the silage until the pH is so low that no bacteria can survive.  This effectively preserves the silage and provides Double D's cows with nutritious food throughout the year.

The first step in producing high quality silage is mowing the alfalfa just before it is ready to blossom.  At this time the alfalfa is very high in nutrients like protein.




Rob Laibe mowing an alfalfa stand.

The second step is to let the alfalfa dry slightly in the field until it reaches 60-70% moisture content.  The alfalfa looks wilted when it is ready.

We then chop the alfalfa into small pieces using a tractor and chopper.  The chopper blows the chopped alfalfa into a wagon.



Kim running the tractor and chopper.  Notice the chopped alfalfa being blown into the wagon.

When a wagon is full it is shuttled down to the silo where it is blown up in to the silo.  While the silage is being blown up the silo, we sprinkle an inoculant of beneficial bacteria onto it to facilitate the fermentation process.



Katie enjoying the view while shuttling wagons.

Rick and Dewey unloading chopped hay from the wagon. The silage
blower is a giant fan that literally blows the chopped hay up a chute to
the top of the silo.

Once the chopped hay is in the silo, it begins the fermentation process.  The sheer weight of the silage on itself causes so much compression that oxygen quickly disappears.  Fermentation is usually complete after a few weeks and silage can be fed to the cows throughout the year.

Our silo, which is 50 feet tall, can hold 200 tons of silage!