You are correct, when putting up dry hay it should be as dry as you can manage. Silage, however, is fermented, high-moisture (up to about 14% moisture) fodder that can be fed to cud-chewing animals such as cattle and sheep. It is fermented and stored in a process called ensiling, and is usually made from grass crops, including maize, sorghum or other cereals, using the entire green plant, not just the grain. The process generates various gasses which either smother by excluding oxygen or cause lung damage by toxicity. Silos need to be ventilated before entering.
Regards,
GtG
You are correct about the difference between silage and ensilage, which my dad stored in trench silos. He would bulldoze a large wide trench and deposit the green cut foliage from milo and cane (sorghum) and corn into it. My job was to drive a small Ford tractor over the ensilage to pack it. As it cured or fermented, it changed from green to brown. It was a warm place to climb into during the winter and was a good feed for cattle since it combined roughage with grain. There were always flocks of pheasants and quail conveys around the silos. I think my dad had a total of four trench silo and two uprights, which he didn’t use much.
He used the local coop’s facilities to store grain, the coop had huge silos, had exhaust fans and heaters to keep the grain dry. They are also very dangerous, two years ago a country grade school friend of mine was killed along with two other workers when a coop’s silo exploded.
Yes, farming is dangerous, but so is life. I drove a tractor and an old stick shift Ford truck as soon as I could reach the pedals. I learned more about animals, weather, people, work habits, and myself by living and working on a farm, than I have ever from books or college. I have a MBA and am a CPA.
I trust and respect farmers much more than politicans or most attorneys.
Enough from me.