Summarize:

The forage will need to be dried down to about 60 to 70% moisture before chopping for silage. Silage can be put up at higher moisture, but as mentioned above seepage will be an issue. Also, the low temperature fermentation activity can provide a suitable environment for undesirable clostridial bacteria that are prone to cause maladies like listeriosis and botulism. Machines called "forage harvesters" like the one in the photo above (which is a "self-propelled" harvester) are used to chop up the swathed forage and feed it out through a long, tall spout that can literally "spit" out the feed at quite a distance. The forage harvester's cutter blades will need to be set at the right setting so that the forage is cut at the right chop-length. For small grains, set the blades so that they are cutting up forage between 38 inch (0.95cm) and 12 inch (1.3cm). Larger crops like corn and sorghum-sudan should be chopped at lengths from 12 inch (1.3cm) to 34 inch (1.9cm). Since the forage harvester does not have a storage compartment on it like combine harvesters do, a truck with a silage unit on it, a tractor with a silage wagon, or a large unit designed for collecting silage from the forage harvestercalled a "Jiffy wagon"needs to be used to collect the freshly cut forage. The Jiffy wagon, for example, acts as the storage compartment for the forage harvester. Once full, it can be dumped into a truck as shown in the sequence of photos here. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/53\/Daddumpingstage1.jpg\/460px-Daddumpingstage1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/53\/Daddumpingstage1.jpg\/722px-Daddumpingstage1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":357,"bigWidth":"722","bigHeight":"560","licensing":"<div class="mw-parser-output"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>
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<\/p><\/div>"} Once the truck or silage wagon is full, the unit will need to be taken to the designated pit or pile area to drop off the load. Make sure the loads are placed as close to each other as possible. When first starting the pile, the first several loads must be place where the pile is going to be. After that they are placed close to the built pile, and dumped in a way that is easy for the person in the "packing unit" to move into a pile; i.e., parallel to the pile, and/or in the same direction the pile will be built up as. An exchange is made between the wagons and/or trucks so that the person operating the forage harvester doesn't need to stop and wait every so often. Once the first truck is full, the harvester stops briefly so that the truck can pull away and the second one moves into position. The first truck returns after dropping its load off to get another load, and so the process repeats. Use the proper plastic recommended for covering silage. Often recommended and used is polyethylene plastic that may be black on both sides or white on one side and black on the other. The cheaper stuff is all black, but the better quality is the black and white plastic. Use 6 to 10 milliliters (0.34floz) plastic. This can be found at your local farm and ranch supply store. The heavier the plastic, the more effective it is at keeping oxygen out of the pile and reducing wastage with spoiling. The rolls are very heavy. Use a tractor loader with bucket teeth to carry the plastic to the pit so that you can unroll and unfold it. A trick to use is to insert a 6 feet (1.8 m) long, heavy iron bar into the roll (like you would hanging a roll of toilet paper on a toilet-paper holder), and fashion thick wire or heavy chain that hangs on the teeth of the bucket. Hang the bar onto this. Important: White and black plastic must be used so that the white side is facing out, and the black against the fresh silage in the pit. The white side reflects sunlight and reduces excess heating from the sun, whereas the black side keeps heat inside. Trim off extra plastic and use that to cover the edges and sides that the plastic has not covered. Use numerous old or recycled tires all over the top part of the pile. Hay bales can also be used to hold down plastic on the sides if the silage pile is not in a bunker. Old tires are much more gentler on the plastic because they do not cause punctures. Punctures are a serious danger of feed spoilage. All sides and all parts of the pile must be covered and held down well so to ensure the pile properly ensiles and spoilage is minimized. Holes in the plastic can cause massive spoilage problems over time. Spoilage will not be localized, especially if the holes go from a tiny tear to a big rip, especially if wind is a problem.
Allow the swaths to wilt down for about half a day before harvesting. Harvest the crop. Take the freshly chopped forage to the pile or pit. Cover the pile immediately. Weigh the plastic down well. Repair any holes immediately.