Cutting Silage

All day, I've listened to the sound of a tractor and bigs truck. Across the road, the cornfield is being cut to provide silage for the milk cows at a nearby dairy.

From my study window—and from my front yard—I have a front-row seat for the action.

Part of the field has been cut.
My lawn is in the foreground.

Behind the standing corn (r. of the tree-clump) is the tractor and a truck.

You can see it better here.

 A tractor cuts the corn, chops it up, and blows it into the bed of a truck that runs parallel to the tractor. When one truck is full, an empty  pulls beside the tractor.

A loaded truck heads for the farm up the road . . .

. . . and another returns.

Tractor fills truck. This happens over and over.

A closer look.

Empty catches up to almost-filled truck.
The tip of Smith Mountain is visible above the filled truck.

When one truck is full, another pulls in to catch the silage. I'm amazed how easy this looks from a distance. But silage-cutting is tedious and requires skill; the drivers have to pay attention so the silage doesn't get dumped on the ground.

By five p.m., the field is almost done.

The tractor turns to get the last section.
The truck maneuvers into position.

The bare field.

The result of today's labor will feed the dairy cows this winter. Now you know where your milk really comes from.

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