Header Link Map

Image Map

Friday, September 16, 2011

Chopping Silage...

When I was younger, silage chopping time was one of my favorite happenings on the farm.  The farm was always abuzz with activity year round, but this added a little more activity to the scene.  There was always a tractor and wagon heading in or out of the driveway.


We finished chopping silage a little over a week ago.  Before any equipment goes to the field, there is work that needs to be done such as, sharpening the knives (or blades).  This is what chops the corn stalk into tiny pieces and thus creates a great entree for the cattle!
Several things need to be greased as well to make things run smoothly...

We no longer fill the big silo...
Instead we fill two ag-bags every year....
They are each 200 feet long. It keeps the silage nice and fresh as did the silo, but this is more convenient for us. You just want to keep critters and kids...big and little off of it because if you poke a hole in it it will go bad. That is grounds for paddling. ;)

The process is pretty simple.
You pull up next to the "bagger" with a full wagon and unload the wagon into the blue chute that you see in the photo below.  A conveyor system carries the silage up the blue chute and into the bag...






At the bottom of each wagon are chains that serve as a conveyor that helps push the silage to the front of the wagon.  The beaters, seen below, help loosen the silage...


As the bag fills the tractor hooked to the "bagger" automatically pulls forward and the bag expands...

The tractor that is unloading the silage pulls up also...


This is the chopper that we use to open the fields that way we don't have to knock down any corn in the process...
Once the field is opened up, we hit the field with this bad boy and make some serious cow chow!

3 comments:

  1. that is so cool....I learned something new today...

    ReplyDelete
  2. i always liked the smell of fresh cut silage as a kid in Wis. when i visit home now, i see the ag bags lying like giant earthworms. i'm guessing they're a lot safer than silos too (my brother succumbed to the fumes inside the silo once and fell - luckily was discovered before permanent damage...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I learned something new today too. I never even heard the word silage before now. I also was enlightened to why I probably see so many empty falling down silos when I am lucky enough to take a drive to the country. They aren't being used anymore. I live in the northeast (bout 30 miles north of NYC) and envy your lifestyle. Its hard work no doubt but I imagine its not a rat race like it is here. I don't like it anymore and hope one day to live in a place like you. God bless you and your family!

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy reading every comment and I respect all of your opinions. However, I ask that your comments be respectful as well. I reserve the right to delete any offensive comments.

Web Statistics