This And That Thursday- 2

Photo from Google image search.

This week we are making corn silage. Corn silage is made by chopping the entire corn plant into small pieces using a machine called a forage harvester, which is pulled by a tractor. A wagon with tall sides is pulled behind the forage harvester to catch the chopped corn. The wagons are then taken to the bunker (see The Life Cycle Of a Silo) where they are unloaded and the silage is packed tightly using a tractor. Silage must be firmly packed to minimize the oxygen content, or it will spoil. After packing, the pile is covered with plastic sheeting to help it ferment and also for protection from the weather. We will chop about 40 acres of corn to make the silage needed to feed our dairy cows.

We had visitors this week. Cooper brought his daddy Paul to see the farm. It was Cooper's first visit to a farm. I don't know if he was more excited about seeing a farm, or wearing his big-boy boots for the first time.

Tonight I attended the Minneapolis Public Schools Farm to School Community BBQ. I was invited by Midwest Dairy to share my story about life on a dairy farm. I'll share more about the BBQ next week. Here's a little teaser...