How to Make High Quality Silage: Step-by-Step Guide

  Learn how to make high-quality silage at home with our step-by-step guide. Ideal for farmers wanting nutritious, well-preserved forage for livestock.

For livestock producers who want to save feed costs, maintain forage nutrients, and guarantee a consistent feed supply during dry or off-season times, making high-quality silage at home is a crucial skill. From crop selection to sealing and feeding, we take you step-by-step through this comprehensive guide to make sure your finished silage is nutritiously valuable, well-fermented, and pleasant.

Because your silage’s quality directly impacts animal health and productivity, mastering this process can distinguish a good farm from a great one. Let’s get started.

Why High-Quality Silage Matters

More energy, protein, and digestibility are retained in high-quality silage. Silage that has underfermented loses nutrients due to clostridial activity, mold growth, and spoiling. Under ideal circumstances, silage may retain more than 90% of the calories and protein in a forage. (FAOHome)

The goals for better making quality silage are to:

1.    Maximize nutrient retention

2.    Minimize spoilage and dry-matter loss

3.    Produce a stable feed that animals readily consume

According to FAO, to achieve these, the four core principles must be controlled: moisture, crop maturity, compaction / anaerobic sealing, and rapid fermentation. (FAOHome)

Step-by-Step Guide to Making High-Quality Silage at Home

1. Plan & Select the Right Crop

Crop Choice

Common silage crops include maize (corn), grass/fragrant forage species, legumes, or sorghum. Choose a crop well suited for your climate, soil, and livestock needs. (Infonet Biovision)

Maturity Timing

• Maize / sorghum: Harvest at the milk-dough stage, when kernels are soft but not watery. (Infonet Biovision)
• Grasses / legumes: Cut near heading or early flowering stage (e.g., legumes around 10% bloom) to optimize nutrient content. (African Farming)

According to FAOHome, Harvesting too early limits yield; too late reduces digestibility and increases stems. 

2. Wilt / Pre-Dry (If Needed)

Freshly cut crops often contain excessive moisture, which can lead to undesirable fermentation (e.g. butyric acid). The goal is to reach an optimal dry matter (DM) content, typically 30–38 % DM (i.e. ~62–70 % moisture) depending on crop type. (CSIRO Publishing)

• Spread the forage in thin layers in a clean field or under shelter for a few hours to allow moisture loss.
• Flip/turn carefully to avoid soil contamination.
• Use the squeeze test: when you take a handful and squeeze, only a few drops of juice should appear—not a stream. (African Farming)

Avoid over-wilting (very dry forage) which can make compaction difficult and slow fermentation.

3. Chop / Size Reduction

Chopping enhances compaction, improves packing density, and accelerates fermentation. According to FAO guidelines:

• High moisture forages (> 75 %) → chop lengths of 6.5–25 mm
• Wilted forages (60–70 % moisture) → finer chop around 6.5 mm
• Whole maize plant → 6.5–13 mm chop lengths (FAOHome)

Ensure 10–15 % of particles remain above ~25 mm to maintain effective fiber structure in the final silage. (FAOHome)

Use a precision forage chopper or silage harvester for uniformity. (Wikipedia)

4. Transport Quickly to Silage Site

After chopping, move forage to the silo or storage site immediately. Delays can lead to heating, aerobic spoilage, and nutrient loss. (FAOHome)

Ensure the transport path is clean, free of mud or contamination, to avoid introducing undesirable bacteria.

5. Fill & Compact Layer by Layer

Layering

Fill the silo (pit, bunker, bag, or trench) with thin layers (ideally < 15 cm thick). This allows better compaction and removal of oxygen. (FAOHome)

Compaction

Use heavy equipment (tractors, rollers) to compact each layer strongly, removing as much trapped air as possible. Good compaction is key to rapid anaerobic conditions. (FAOHome)

Aim for density ~250 kg DM/m³ (or equivalent wet density) depending on forage type. (EW Nutrition)

Take extra care along the edges and walls—they tend to be looser and vulnerable to air infiltration.

Read more in Extension articles like Penn State’s “From Harvest to Feed: Understanding Silage Management” (Penn State Extension)

 6. Seal & Cover Airtight

Once filled, seal the silo immediately. Use multiple layers:

• First, a heavy plastic sheet (UV-resistant, low oxygen permeability) directly on the forage.
• Add a second bulk cover (e.g. tires, sand, earth bags) to hold the sheet in place and press it down.
• Seal all edges carefully. Even small air leaks lead to spoilage walls. (FAOHome)

Maintain airtight conditions for the full ensiling period, which may be 4–8 weeks depending on crop and scale. (CSIRO Publishing)

7. Fermentation & Monitoring

Once sealed, the silage enters a fermentation process:

• Phase I (aerobic depletion): trapped oxygen is consumed by plant respiration and aerobic bacteria (first 12–24 h).
• Phase II (fermentation): lactic acid bacteria convert soluble carbohydrates into lactic acid, lowering pH and preserving the forage.
• Phase III (stability): pH is low enough (typically ~3.8–4.2), and further spoilage is inhibited. (FAOHome)

To support this:

• Use silage additives / inoculants if needed: homofermentative lactic acid bacterial strains can speed fermentation and reduce losses. (ScienceDirect)
• Monitor temperature, smell, and effluent. Unusual heating or foul odors indicate spoilage or air ingress.

Read more in FAO chapter on ensiling residues (FAOHome) and Research on lactic acid bacteria in silage (ScienceDirect)

8. Unsealing & Feeding Strategy

When ready to feed:

• Open and expose one full face (slice) at a time, ideally no more than 20 cm depth per day to minimize air exposure. (CSIRO Publishing)
• Remove forage cleanly from the front—don’t dig in or cause air pockets.
• Reseal remaining surfaces immediately after removal.
• Avoid leaving large exposed areas overnight.

If silage shows signs of heating, molds, or poor smell, review your process for future batches.

Troubleshooting & Common Mistakes

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix / Prevention
Spoiled “hot” spots	Poor compaction, air leaks	Re-compact, examine sealing, reduce layer thickness
Butyric smell / clostridia	Too wet forage, low sugars	Wilt more, add molasses or sugar source, use inoculants
Molds on face	Air ingress	Improve cover seals, manage feedout face properly
Low animal intake	Low palatability, poor fermentation	Monitor inoculant use, adjust chop length, monitor DM

Also, ensure your silo site is well drained, avoids flooding, and has clean infrastructure.

Advanced Tips & Smallholder Considerations

• For small-scale farmers, FAO offers tailored guidelines and tips for low-cost techniques. (Open Knowledge FAO)
• In regions with tropical forages or high buffering capacity, using extra additives (molasses, bacterial inoculants) helps stabilization. (CSIRO Publishing)
• Mix crops (e.g. grass + legume) to balance moisture, digestibility, and fiber content.
• For bag silos (tube silos), ensure good compaction and airtight wrapping quality.
• Keep records of each batch: harvested date, DM, additive used, spoilage losses, etc. Use this for continuous improvement.

You can be interested in reading “Best Silage Crops for Your Region” or “How to Choose a Forage Inoculant”.

Read more from FAO “Silage Making for Smallholders” manual (Open Knowledge FAO).

 

Conclusion 

By carefully controlling moisture, chop length, compaction, and seal integrity, you can produce high-quality silage at home that rivals commercial feed in nutritional value. With proper practices, your farm can preserve more energy and protein, reduce waste, and support healthier, higher-performing animals.

If you want to compare your results, ask for help, or share insights with fellow farmers, welcome to the FarmXpert Group community, Facebook and LinkedIn. Join us:

Let’s build a community of smart, sustainable farmers—one high-quality silage batch at a time.