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Description: For preservation of forage by ensiling, corn choppers (e.g., NAL #4891, #4892, #4893, #4894 and #4898) and hay choppers (e.g., NAL #4895, #4896, #4897 and #4899)) cut the plants to 1/4- to 1/2-inch lengths. Chopped forage is blown into a trailing enclosed wagon or truck, and transported to a silo usually located near where cattle will be fed. At the silo, an apron at the bottom of the forage wagon slowly unloads the forage into the hopper of a blower such as that shown in this image and in NAL #4900 and #4901. Powered by a tractor, the blower elevates the forage into a tower silo (e.g., NAL #4654) usually 40 to 80 feet high and 14 to 30 feet in diameter. Weight compresses the forage and excludes air to create an anaerobic environment for fermentation, thereby preserving the forage as silage or haylage. As an alternative to a tower silo, the chopped forage may be dumped into a bunker (horizontal) silo (e.g., NAL #3301), where a tractor is driven over it to exclude air. Fermentation (ensiling) normally requires about a week.

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