Going through the steps of harvest may seem elementary, especially if you’ve made silage for many years. But every harvest presents different challenges. Time spent thinking through harvest is never wasted.
People…are harvest planning’s most important part. Family and/or employees might chop and seal if you own or lease the choppers, tractors, wagons, and trucks. Maybe you hire a crew to chop and another to cover.
The first situation affords the most control over meeting harvest goals, but may not be economically feasible.
The second gives you much less control, but you also don’t have some of the capital investment, maintenance, and employment challenges.
There is no right way, but in the end, you must be in charge of your harvest. It’s your farm or feedlot’s feed quantity and quality on the line. You get one chance to get a whole year’s worth of feed right. You’ve spent the money to get it this far (or bought it for a pretty penny) so finish strong!
Gather everyone involved so there’s an understanding of goal expectations and communications. It’s imperative that your nutritionist, forage consultant, managers, and if you contract, the chopping and sealing crew managers are at this meeting all together. Listen to each other’s concerns and cooperate together. Use your nutritionist or consultant as the leader of this meeting, or play that role yourself.
Who will prepare pads and bunkers, and who will get machinery ready? Who will order spare parts to have on hand, and who will maintain machinery during harvest?
Who will check field Dry Matter (DM) and determine go-time? Who will they communicate with? Once started, who is checking DM during the day and who has the authority to make a schedule change? Who will check kernel processing and chop length, and who decides when to make adjustments? Who is keeping a record of this information as well as the feed weight?
Who will chop or cut, who will haul from the field, who will blade and pack? What’s the order of fields and route to the storage place? Has everyone received training on their equipment?
Who will communicate with hired crews so they’ll know when to be there and which products (inoculants, Sealpro® or materials) to use?
Give everyone a list of emergency numbers and phone numbers for the crew. Introduce new people and allow for any questions. Make sure everyone is clear on their role, who makes what decisions, and that when in doubt, ask.
Order parts…Sealpro® and Flortex®, giving enough time to pick it up, have it delivered, or have it ready for a contractor to apply. Discuss with your nutritionist or forage consultant which inoculant you should use and order. Have spare parts on hand for common repairs.
Preparation…will help harvest go smoother. Put up temporary directional signs so people don’t get lost, and neighbors are reminded that the road is busy for a while. Mark out which bunker to fill or use spray paint to outline the base of a pile. Service the equipment. Move Sealpro® and Flortex® to the pile or bunker area, and be ready with enough weights (tires or gravel bags).
Next: Harvest safety training
If you’re in need of Sealpro® Silage Barrier Film for this year’s silage or wet corn harvest, call Ron Kuber at 559-779-5961. Many sizes and styles are still available - it can be picked up or shipped immediately. If you’re ready to revolutionize covering (tired of tires?) look up Flortex® on our product page, then give Ron a call.