Part-8 SILAGE

Silage Preparation and Use

Silage is chopped fodder preserved by compacting it in an airtight pit, where it ferments without oxygen. The presenter compares the process to making a pickle and focuses mainly on maize silage.

When the Presenter Recommends Silage

Silage may be especially useful for farms with more than 15 animals, where cutting, chopping, and carrying fresh green fodder can require considerable time and labor.

The presenter also recommends silage for animals producing more than 25 litres of milk per day, saying their energy and starch needs may be difficult to meet with green fodder alone.

Other crops mentioned as suitable for silage include millet, sorghum, wheat, oats, and hybrid Napier, though maize is presented as the preferred option.

Why Maize Is Preferred

The presenter says maize offers good nutritional value and high production, estimating a yield of around 200 quintals per acre in the example discussed.

In the Punjab cropping schedule described, maize is sown between the wheat harvest and rice planting. The presenter recommends sowing by 25 April, with harvesting generally 85–90 days later.

Suggested harvest indicators include:

• The kernel’s “milk line” is roughly halfway across, showing a balance of white and yellow.
• The crop has around 35% dry matter.
• The silks are drying or falling, and kernels are firm rather than milky.
• Small dents may appear in mature kernels.

Preparation and Storage

1. Choose a suitable pit location.

   • Keep the pit close to the dairy for convenient access.
   • Build it on ground higher than the surrounding area.
   • Grade the floor so water drains outward instead of pooling in the pit.

2. Prepare the pit and entrance.

   • Place straw or other plant material at the bottom to reduce contact between the silage and soil.
   • Put straw at the entrance to catch soil carried in on tractor or trolley tyres.
   • Line the sides with polythene.

3. Harvest and chop the crop.

   • Adjust the chop length to the crop’s maturity.
   • For mature maize, the presenter recommends a finer chop to break up the kernels.
   • For less mature maize—particularly crops harvested before about 80 days—he advises a coarser chop. He says this provides more fibre and encourages chewing and saliva production.

4. Pack and compact thoroughly.

   • Spread the chopped crop in the pit and press it down well. The presenter stresses that removing trapped air is essential for good fermentation.

5. Seal the pit.

   • Once the pit is full, cover the silage with polythene, seal it, and cover it with soil to keep air out.
   • The presenter also describes spraying a “silage saver” product around the silage and pit lining.

6. Allow time for fermentation.

   • The presenter says fermentation begins after roughly 21 days and recommends waiting about 45 days before opening the pit.
   • He describes good silage as yellowish-brown.

Pit Sizing and Daily Use

The lesson estimates that one cubic metre of pit space can hold about 5–6 quintals of silage. An example pit measuring 10 m long × 3 m wide × 2 m high is said to hold approximately 350–400 quintals.

The presenter estimates feeding 25–30 kg per animal per day. He advises keeping the exposed face narrow enough to remove about 6 inches per day. If too much silage remains exposed, he warns, mould or fungus may develop.

Arithmetic clarification: 400 quintals equals 40,000 kg, not 4,000 kg. At 30 kg per animal per day for 10 animals, that quantity would last about 133 days—roughly four months, consistent with the presenter’s estimate.

Benefits and Cautions

The presenter says silage reduces labor and time compared with cutting, chopping, and distributing fresh fodder each day. He also argues that storing fodder at a suitable maturity provides a more consistent supply throughout the year, including during rainy periods when fields may be difficult to access or fodder may be wet.

He links adequate nutrition with faster animal growth and earlier breeding, and says higher-producing animals benefit from the energy and starch in silage. These points are presented as the speaker’s claims.

The presenter cautions against using fodder that is too immature or too mature. Immature maize may have little grain and low dry matter, while very hard kernels may pass through animals undigested if they are not chopped adequately.

Speakers and Sources

• Unnamed male presenter/instructor: The sole identifiable speaker in the subtitles. He explains the methods and describes practices at his farm.
• Veer Dairy and Agriculture Farm: The channel and farm context associated with the lesson. No other distinct speakers are identified.