Effective Strategies for Storing Forage in Silage Piles

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Explore the advantages and disadvantages of silage piles for short or long-term storage, including tips on proper siting, management, and drainage. Learn about the optimal filling process and key considerations for maintaining quality forage. Discover phased plans for long-term feed centers and best practices for minimizing dry matter losses.


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  1. Storing Forage in Silage Piles Jerry Clark UW Extension Educator Chippewa County Dr. Brian Holmes UW-Extension Dept. Biological Systems Engineering

  2. Silage Piles-advantages Short or long term storage Inexpensive Filling through Feedout Dry Matter Losses Less Than 21% with Good Management

  3. Silage Piles-disadvantages Dry matter losses greater than 50% without proper management Space requirements Possible distance from feeding area

  4. Siting Need all weather access Macadam Drive Best is concrete or asphalt slab Macadam surface can work Bare ground or macadam may lead to feed contamination

  5. Siting 2% slope to allow rainfall and seep drainage More than one pile May form feeding center

  6. Silage Piles Long Term Feed Center Plan N 100- 120 Commodity Shed 260- 300 60 100- 120 Commodity Bins Dispose of Drainage Properly

  7. Silage Piles Phase I N 100- 120 Commodity Shed 60 Commodity Bins Dispose of Drainage Properly

  8. Silage Piles Phase II N 100- 120 Commodity Shed 260- 300 60 100- 120 Commodity Bins Dispose of Drainage Properly

  9. Silage Piles Long Term Feed Center Plan N 100- 120 Commodity Shed 260- 300 60 100- 120 Commodity Bins Dispose of Drainage Properly

  10. Siting -Wells Effect of Seepage Locate > 100 feet from well Down slope from wells Settled Solids Screen Lighter soils distance may be greater Tank Inlet Collect leachate and dispose properly

  11. Filling 3/8" to 3/4" theoretical length of cut Effluent vs Silage Dry Matter Better fermentation if cut short 55 15 50 45 40 DM Loss (%) Effluent (gal/T) 10 35 30 25 20 5 15 Whole plant moisture 65-70% corn silage 60-65% hay silage 10 5 0 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Silage Dry Matter (%) Effluent Liquid Effluent DM Loss Bastiman 1976

  12. Surface Exposure Silage Layers Filling Steep Layers Minimize Surface Exposure Progressive wedge technique 6 layer maximum Side slope of 3:1 (horizontal:vertical) Triangle cross section for small piles Trapezoid cross section for larger piles Pile height limited by reach of unloading equipment ( P l a s t i c & C o v e r e d S T i r e s ) i l a g e P i l e s 31 1 0 0 6 1 0 M a c a d a m B a s e ( $ 0 . 5 0 / s q f t ) S t o r a g e Needs Shallower Side Slopes

  13. Packing Pack! Pack! And Pack some more!!!

  14. GO PACK!

  15. Packing Packing Tractor Shuttle shift Roll over protection & seat belts As heavy as possible Duals add safety not necessarily better packing

  16. Packing Packing time _ Multiple passes/multiple directions 5 minutes per ton of wet forage hour before and after filling

  17. Max. Packing Time One Tractor 10 8 6 Packing Time, min/t as fed 4 2 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Harvest Rate, t as fed/h

  18. Figure 3. Density VS Tractor Weight & Layer Thickness Density (lbs DM/cu ft) 9 ft Avg. Depth 35 % DM Del. Rate = 25 TAF/hr Cont. Pack = 4.8 min./ TAF 32 30.0-32.0 28.0-30.0 26.0-28.0 24.0-26.0 22.0-24.0 20.0-22.0 18.0-20.0 16.0-18.0 14.0-16.0 12.0-14.0 10.0-12.0 8.0-10.0 6.0-8.0 4.0-6.0 2.0-4.0 0.0-2.0 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 (lbs DM/cu ft) 14 Density 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 40,000 35,000 4 30,000 6 8 25,000 Layer Thickness (in) 10 20,000 12 2-Tract. Weigh (lbs ea) 15,000

  19. Figure 4. Density VS Tractor Weight & Layer Thickness Density (lbs DM/cu ft) 9 ft Avg. Depth 35 % DM Del. Rate = 100 TAF/hr Cont. Pack = 1.2 min./T AF 32 30 30.0-32.0 28.0-30.0 26.0-28.0 24.0-26.0 22.0-24.0 20.0-22.0 18.0-20.0 16.0-18.0 14.0-16.0 12.0-14.0 10.0-12.0 8.0-10.0 6.0-8.0 4.0-6.0 2.0-4.0 0.0-2.0 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 (lbs DM/cu ft) 14 Density 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 40,000 35,000 4 30,000 6 8 25,000 Layer Thickness (in) 10 2-Tract. Weigh (lbs ea) 20,000 12 15,000

  20. Covering Cover as soon as possible 6 mil plastic Tires touching each other Seal edges Needs More Tires

  21. Feedout Aerobic Zone O2 O2 Minimum 12 inches removal per day- minimizes spoilage O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 Effects of Oxygen Exposure Raised pH DM Loss Heating More Ammonia Indigestible Protein Energy Loss Higher Fiber Reduced Bunk Life Reduced Feed Intake Keep Smooth Face Consider Facer Less can be fed out during winter

  22. Feedout 360 ft - one year or 180 ft Example: 360 day feed storage period 180 ft or Total Length of pile(s) should be 360 feet long, consider several piles 120 ft 120 ft 120 ft

  23. Summary Inexpensive way to store forage Direct expenses include pad, labor, packing & unloading equipment, plastic, fuel Indirect expense is forage dry matter loss $

  24. Tips for Success Harvest at correct moisture Proper siting and construction Thorough packing Immediate covering Proper feedout

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