Probably many readers have heard of silage. Most people even know that corn silage is a valuable feed containing a large amount of nutrients, proteins and vitamins, which makes it a good choice for feeding cows, rabbits, piglets, chickens and many other animals and birds. That is why it will be very useful to tell more about the procedure for obtaining silage - from growing corn to harvesting.
Silo Benefits
Before talking about harvesting silage for fodder, it is worth briefly describing what advantages it has. They are quite numerous.
To begin with, the silo contains a large amount of amino acids and vitamin C. Organic fats and carbohydrates are also included in the composition - easily digestible and therefore especially valuable. Corn is rich in starch, which promotes rapid weight gain. In addition, a large amount of glucose significantly increases the milk yield of cows.
When mixed with other feeds, such as hay, silage improves their digestibility. This further improves feed consumption while providing significant savings.
Finally, wet food improves digestion in herbivores. With constant feeding with one hay, cows may well have problems with stools. Regular use of silage can solve this problem.
Corn growing technology
It would seem that it makes no difference why this crop is grown - in order to get high-quality ears of corn, or to prepare silage. However, differences in cultivation technology are present and they are quite noticeable. At least in the fact that in the first case, the goal is only grain, and the content of nutrients and moisture in the stems and leaves is not important. And in the second case, just the grain is not important at all. But high-quality nutritious green mass is the main goal. Therefore, it is right to choose growing conditions so as not to be disappointed with the result.
For example, sowing corn for silage begins when the soil has warmed up to + 8 ... + 12 degrees Celsius. The optimal depth is 8 centimeters. The density of crops depends on the fertility of the soil, its moisture and the variety of corn. If the conditions are unfavorable, then the sown area is increased by 10% of the planned to compensate for possible losses.
The use of herbicides and pesticides in the field of corn, which will be used for the manufacture of silage, is recommended to be reduced to a minimum. After all, the whole green mass will go to feed - an abundance of poisons will lead to the fact that animals that use feed will receive a serious blow to health. And meat, milk obtained from cows and other animals pose a potential danger.
Maize harvesting
Nowadays, reapers are most often used for harvesting corn - special devices installed on the combine. The special structure allows to cut the stems at the very base, which reduces losses in the green mass. Reapers also carefully chop the stems and leaves, turning them into a practically uniform mass.
However, there are agrotechnical requirements for harvesting corn for silage. It is very important to choose the most suitable time for this in order to get a really high-quality feed.
Experts recommend collecting corn for silage when it reaches milky-wax courage. It takes about 40-50 days from sowing to harvesting - depending on the abundance of sun and heat in the area. In this case, the average moisture content of the mass (stems, leaves, ears) reaches 60-70%. Such an indicator is considered optimal, since during it the fermentation process is most active, ensuring a good silo. If you skip this point, the quality of the silo decreases, as the amount of moisture decreases. But one should not rush - in this case, the amount of raw materials for preparing silage is reduced. In addition, the cobs contain a large amount of sugar, which leads to the appearance of a large number of harmful bacteria that reduce the quality of the feed.
If early frosts hit in the fall, then you need to act quickly. Corn should be removed from the field no later than four days after frosts. Yes, perhaps the amount of raw materials will be significantly less than the owner planned. But if you do not do this, then the stems will begin to rot from the roots, the leaves will turn yellow and begin to dry. As a result, not even a little can be saved.
Raw material processing
As mentioned above, modern reapers allow you to immediately harvest the green corn mass, while crushing it and pouring the finished raw materials into the back of a truck moving in parallel with the combine. However, such equipment is not available in every household; therefore, it is often necessary to look for other processing options.
A conventional walk-behind tractor with a special function of chopping branches and foliage can become relatively inexpensive and effective. For the private economy, such an adaptation will be quite enough.
The question remains - what is the optimal size of the finished fraction. Most agricultural workers believe that it is best to choose a size of about 10-20 millimeters. This ensures compact styling and good fermentation.
But if you work with cows, it makes sense to choose a larger size - cows like the ability to chew food, rather than swallow it. For rabbits, you can choose a smaller fraction so that they can comfortably bite the feed. The smallest, almost trash, is suitable for various birds - from geese and hens to turkeys and guinea fowls.
Silage
Now we go directly to the process of preparing corn silage. This is a really important and crucial stage.
In fact, the most important thing here is simply to ensure that oxygen is not available in total with a high density of the entire mass - otherwise, the fermentation process cannot be started. Therefore, for this purpose, they use different methods of siloing - we will tell you more about them in more detail.
Trench storage
The simplest option, proven over decades, allows you to harvest a really huge amount of silo - a trench.
It was actively used in the USSR, where almost every collective farm had a trench silo, as well as in many other countries with developed agriculture. The trench is a huge pit up to hundreds of meters long, tens of meters wide and three to six meters deep. The crushed corn is put in a pit, and then rammed with tractors - heavy machines weighing several tens of tons pass through the green mass, thoroughly mixing it, squeezing out the first juice, which will quickly start the fermentation process.
After ramming, the corn is simply covered with earth - a layer from 50 centimeters to a meter - and re-rammed to reliably block the access of oxygen to the green mass and evaporation of moisture. After this, the trench is left to "ripen". The fermentation process is accompanied by heat, and a thick layer of earth provides good thermal insulation. Due to this, even when the temperature in the street drops significantly below zero, the ready-made or near-ready silo does not freeze and can be used.
Silo sleeves
Today, huge volumes of corn silage - thousands and tens of thousands of tons - are not especially needed by anyone. Small farmers need much less feed. Therefore, quite often, instead of trenches, ordinary sleeves are used. They are a thick plastic bag with a volume of hundreds of cubic meters.
With the help of special devices, raw materials for silage are placed in them. The dense material excludes not only wetting of the greenery from rain or snow, but also the penetration of air inside. Therefore, you can leave the sleeves in the open air - the fermentation process will actively go, turning chopped greens into high-quality feed for almost any herbivores.
It should be remembered that corn must be laid with a layer of at least a meter. Otherwise, butyric acid will be released, and the fermentation process will not start. As a result, the raw materials will be hopelessly spoiled - all that remains is to use it as compost.
Fermentation time
Under normal conditions of fermentation and without the use of special reagents, fermentation takes at least 3 weeks. However, experts recommend not opening the sleeves (or trenches) without urgency after this time. The fact is that if you start collecting silage already after 21 days, then the remaining food when contacted with oxygen will begin to deteriorate quite actively. If you leave the food for a few more months, then subsequently the shelf life will increase significantly.
If you work with sleeves, then it is easy to notice a characteristic gas bubble appearing in their upper part. Judging by it, it is safe to say that the fermentation process is proceeding successfully, while carbon monoxide is released, which provides a significant service life for silage. In no case can it be removed by punching the film. If he leaves, the fermentation process will be disrupted - the process of decay will begin. After all, it is carbon monoxide that does not allow various microorganisms to multiply, leading to rotting organics. Therefore, in this case, despite the unpleasant odor, he is a loyal assistant in the conservation of valuable feed.
Proper use
When removing corn silage from a trench or sleeve, it is very important to remember one simple rule - you need to remove it in an even layer, starting from the top. Do not first choose one corner to the ground, and then continue to work. This will cause the entire volume to come in contact with open air. As a result, in a matter of days (at best weeks), all feed will be spoiled.
Using
Thanks to its high nutritional value, corn silage is ideal for feeding most herbivores and almost all birds.
For example, if you feed cows with silage, then about 70 percent of the total feed mass can be allocated to its share. Also in the diet you need to include hay, straw, oilcake, bran and other additives, but it will receive most of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals from silage.
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. Now you know more about such a valuable aid in agriculture as corn silage. High-quality raw materials are relatively easy to procure, and therefore can be a good choice for many farm owners.