Chop, ferment, and preserve: HOW SILAGE IS MADE

摘要

What goes in the silo green is now brown. So, what happened underneath that sheet of plastic to cause this mysterious transformation? ON FARMS, forages are a staple ingredient in rations. When fresh (green chop) or dried (hay) for-j**^|r ages are made, it's pretty easy to see what happens out in the field; it's either fed immediately or allowed to dry before baling. But the formation of silage is slightly puzzling. What goes in is green and fresh. Yet, when we peel back the plastic months later, and if everything has gone according to plan, we find a brown nutrient-dense forage ready to feed.Silage gets its start out in the field, most commonly, as corn, alfalfa, grass, or sorghum. Depending on the weather and plant maturity, the crop will be chopped anytime from late summer to midfall. Chopped forage is packed, covered and sealed, and thenallowed to ferment.