Silage Maize Compaction and Storage

Best practices for storing your silage 

When it comes to storage, it’s important for optimal nutrition and longevity to properly store your silage. Silage conservation conditions, anaerobiosis and low pH protect your silage from the development of mould. Taking the time to prepare your silage-storage area and observing these best practices can help protect your cattle feed. 

Preparing the silage at harvest

• Survey grain maturity and water content as harvest time approaches – aim for 32 to 35% dry matter 
• Adapt your production rate to the time taken for the silage to settle, as this is necessary for good forage conservation 
• Clean harvesting equipment and the silage-storage location 
• Adjust chopping size 
• Fill the silage rapidly (limit the aerobic phase) 
• If there are weed-control issues, raise the cut to limit the inclusion of solanums, mercuries, amaranths and datura in the silage 
• Lay a utility sheet along the walls to prevent the entry of water and air

Storing silage

• Ensure that there is a rapid and stable anaerobiosis (no air entry) – good sealing and good settling 
• For difficult-to-settle forage (over 35 % dry matter), take the time to assist with settling – especially at the edges – and sufficiently fill the silage 
• For good settling, overinflate the tractor wheels and avoid wide tyres and low pressure 
• Avoid incorporating earth or dust into the forage, as this favours the development of butyric spores 
• Remove fluid from the silage 

Opening the silage

• Adapt the width of the front opening to the herd’s consumption levels, in order to allow a sufficient advance at the opening: 
• 10 cm/day in autumn and winter 
• 20 cm/day in spring and summer 
• Do not give visibly mouldy silage to cattle 

Optimising chopping size for conservation and consumption 

When chopping your silage, you will need to balance two seemingly contradictory objectives: 

• chopping the silage finely enough to improve its ability to settle 
• leaving the strands long enough for cows to chew on 

For the best feed aim for:

• 80% of particles measuring less than 10 mm 
• 10 to 15% of particles measuring between 10 and 20 mm 
• Large pieces (>20 mm) are not recommended because they prevent settling and animals refuse to eat them – keep these pieces to under 1% 
• Grain-shredding size should be adapted to the maturity of the crop. The glassy starch in maize with over 35% dry matter needs to be broken up to optimise digestion. This is the job of grain crushers, which can be found on most silage harvesters. 

During handling, silage unloaders and mixers will reduce the particle size further. The silage maize production process can eliminate a third of medium-size particles in five minutes (mixing cutter). 

Produce as many particles between 8 and 10 mm at the trough

Silage extraction:

Silage maize differs completely from one year to the next because the growing conditions are different. To better adjust the ratio of animals, a sample of the silage maize should be taken during harvesting to analyse the silage quality.  

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