We keep mentioning silage in our newsletters and a couple of months ago, someone asked us to explain what it is. So, here goes . Cows have a varied diet. We have good soil and terrain which are needed for good crop production.
Silage is a combination of plants that are cut while still green.
At the Straus dairy it is an annual crop that we plant ourselves in the fall and harvest in May. We don't irrigate at all. It's considered a winter crop which is irrigated by rainfall alone. Other farmers may include other items depending on what nutritional needs they have and what kind of soil and climate. These grasses are cut by a machine called a swather.