Filling the Silo

In June we planted the last field of corn, this was to be the silage corn. This corn is now dry enough to chop for silage.

The Massey Ferguson 1100 powers the blower which blows the silage up the pipe. The JD powers the auger and beaters on the wagon.

At the top of the pipe is a curve which shoots the silage down into the silo. You can also see the ladder beside pipe, the Farmer climbs it to make sure the silage is filling the silo evenly. Sometimes he needs to adjust the top of the pipe.

It’s a long way down from the top. The Farmers figures it normally takes 8 acres of corn to fill the silo.

The those straight looking “poles” are power take off shafts; they power the equipment.

A view of the blower from the other side. You can see the silage on the right side shooting out of the wagon into the blower hopper.

And a photo of the silage coming out of the wagon.

Close up of the chopper wagon.

There are chains on the floor of the wagon that pull the silage forward, the beaters knock it down into the auger which shoots the silage into the blower.

Now we are going out into the field. There 3 people involved in the chopping process. The owner drives the chopper, a neighbor and the Farmer are pulling the wagons up to the silo to unload. They keep 3 wagons going continuously.

There are different ways to chop the corn. This is a self-propelled chopper. It cuts the corn, chops it and blows it into the wagons.

Two close-ups of the chopper head.

 

A view of the silo from the north side. See the silver chute on the left side of the silo? There is a ladder on the inside that goes to the top of the silo. When the silo is full, the Farmer will climb up to the top and cover the silage with a heavy black plastic silage cover. This will help keep the silage from spoiling on the top while it is fermenting.

The silage will be ready to feed to the cows by the first part of November. They love it!