Chopping Corn Silage: Timing, Custom Rates and Cost

The best time for chopping corn silage is when the whole plant holds about 60 to 70 percent moisture, which is often when the kernel milk line is one-quarter to two-thirds of the way down (Utah State University Extension). Hiring a contractor for this job cost about $10 per ton to chop and $15.81 per ton for chop, haul and pack in the 2026 Texas custom rate survey. Wisconsin farms reported a median of $775 per hour for chopping only in 2025.

This guide covers how to time the harvest, what custom chopping costs in several US states and Manitoba, how to price the crop, and how to pick a chopper. A calculator below lets you test your own field, yield and corn price.

Why corn is chopped for silage

Corn silage is the whole corn plant, cut green, chopped into short pieces and stored without air so it ferments. Dairy and beef farms feed it because one harvest gives both grain energy and fibre from the stalk and leaves. The crop is large. US farmers harvested 6.21 million acres of corn for silage in 2025 and produced 135.5 million tons, at an average of 21.8 tons per acre, according to the USDA Crop Production 2025 Summary.

Chart

Corn silage yield, US and Wisconsin

Tons per acre, 2023-2025

Chopping is the step that sets up everything after it. The size of the pieces, the moisture of the plant and the speed of filling the silo all change how well the pile packs. Good packing pushes out air, and less air means less spoilage and less dry matter lost before the feed reaches the cow.

Where the silage is grown

Silage production follows the dairy herds. Wisconsin produced 19.47 million tons in 2025, almost twice as much as any other state. California, Idaho, New York, Minnesota and Michigan followed. Yields vary a lot by region: Idaho averaged 31 tons per acre, while New York averaged 17 tons per acre in the same USDA summary.

The USDA October 2026 Crop Production report did not yet include a 2026 silage yield, because the estimate is published later in the season. For now, the 2025 final numbers are the most recent full-year data.

Chart

Corn silage production by state

Million tons, 2025, the seven largest producing states

When to chop corn silage

Timing matters more than any machine setting. If the crop is chopped too wet, juices run out of the pile and carry nutrients with them. If it is too dry, it does not pack well and air stays trapped. Utah State University Extension says whole-plant moisture of 60 to 70 percent gives the best mix of dry matter yield and digestibility.

Match moisture to your storage

Each type of storage works best in a slightly different band. The same Utah State guide gives these targets: horizontal bunkers 65 to 70 percent, bags 60 to 70 percent, upright concrete stave silos 63 to 68 percent, and oxygen-limiting upright silos 55 to 60 percent. Pick the band for the structure you will fill, not a single number for the whole farm.

Use the milk line to start testing

The milk line is the boundary between the solid and liquid parts of the kernel. It appears once the kernel dents and moves toward the base as the grain matures. Break an ear in half and look at the kernels in the middle. Utah State notes that at half milk line the plant is often about 68 percent moisture, and at three-quarters it has dropped to about 64 percent.

North Dakota State University cites research showing that just-dented kernels mean whole-plant moisture of 73 to 76 percent, which is too wet. At one-half to two-thirds milk line it falls into the 65 to 70 percent range. NDSU adds that once a black layer forms, harvest losses rise and packing gets harder.

The milk line is only a guide. Hybrids dry down at different speeds, and drought can leave the stalk drier than the kernel suggests. The safest way is to chop a few whole plants and test the moisture before the crew arrives. Test each field, and sample wetter and drier spots separately.

Steps for a moisture check

1. Walk the field when most kernels are dented and the milk line shows.
2. Cut several whole plants from a uniform area, at the height the chopper will cut.
3. Chop them finely and mix the sample well.
4. Dry a weighed sample with a microwave, a forage moisture tester or an oven, or send it to a lab.
5. Compare the result with the band for your storage, and plan the harvest date from there.
6. Repeat every few days, because a hot, dry week can move moisture quickly.

Chart

Target whole-plant moisture by storage type

Percent moisture at chopping, recommended range

What custom chopping costs

Many farms do not own a self-propelled forage harvester. They hire a custom operator who brings the chopper and often trucks and a packing tractor too. The price can be quoted per hour, per acre or per ton, so compare bids on the same basis. All the figures below are survey results reported by farmers and contractors, not list prices.

Per-hour rates in Wisconsin

The Custom Rates for 2025 Wisconsin Farm Operations report from UW-Madison Extension lists chopping only at an average of $801.25 per hour, with a median of $775 and a range of $275 to $1,390 (24 responses). Chopping and hauling averaged $785 per hour, and a self-propelled chopper averaged $798.46 per hour. Hauling corn silage averaged $135.79 per hour.

The range is wide. A small pull-type chopper and a large self-propelled machine with a kernel processor are both in the same survey line, so ask what machine and crew the price includes.

Per-ton rates in Texas and the Mid-Atlantic

The 2026 Texas Agricultural Custom Rates survey from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension reported a silage harvest average of $10.15 per ton, hauling at $4.14 per ton, and a complete job (chop, haul and pack) at $15.81 per ton. The most common complete-job price was $15 per ton. Response counts were small, between 8 and 10 per line.

The Custom Work Rates fact sheet (FS-683, updated 2025) for Delaware and Maryland lists field chop, haul and fill silo at $10 per ton.

Per-acre rates in Manitoba

In Canada, the Manitoba 2026-27 Farm Machinery Custom and Rental Rate Guide gives a self-propelled forage harvester custom rate of $501 to $713 per hour, or $29 to $79 per acre, in Canadian dollars. These are calculated from machine costs, not from a survey of what was charged. The guide’s worked example for a 700 hp machine with a corn header comes to $76 per acre.

What changes the bill

• Yield. A per-ton price rises with a heavy crop; a per-hour price rises with slow field speed.
• Haul distance. More trucks are needed as the pile gets farther from the field.
• Packing. Some bids include a packing tractor and driver, some do not.
• Kernel processing and inoculant. These may be extra.
• Moving and minimum charges. Small fields can cost more per acre.

Rates differ by region and year. Treat these numbers as a starting point and get written quotes from local contractors.

Chart

Texas custom silage rates per ton

Survey average, $/ton, statewide, 2026 survey

How to price corn silage

When one farm sells standing corn to a neighbour, both need a fair price. Extension services use simple rules linked to the corn grain price. University of Nebraska-Lincoln research values silage standing in the field at 7.65 times the corn price per bushel, for a ton at 65 percent moisture. With corn at $4.25 per bushel, that gives $32.51 per ton in the field.

UNL then builds the price in three steps. Standing in the field is the first. Packed in the silo adds harvest, haul and pack costs, plus about $5 per ton for storage in its example. Delivered to the bunk divides by one minus the shrink, because fermentation and feed-out lose 10 to 20 percent or more of the dry matter.

Adjust for moisture and nutrients

A 65 percent moisture ton holds less feed than a 60 percent moisture ton. Adjust the price to a common dry matter basis before you agree on a number. The seller also loses the nutrients in the stalks, which grain harvest would have left in the field. Some buyers return manure to those acres to make up for it.

These are rules of thumb. For a sale or a lease, write down the price basis, the moisture test method and who pays for harvest. For large deals, get advice from your extension office or a farm business adviser.

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Calculate your chopping cost and silage value

Enter your own field size, expected yield, local corn price and contractor rate. The tool shows the standing value, the cost in the pile and the cost at the bunk after shrink, and compares it with any price you have been offered.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

Choosing a silage chopper

If you chop enough acres, owning a harvester may make sense. Most choices fall into two groups.

Self-propelled forage harvesters

Best for: large dairies and custom operators. Makers include Claas (Jaguar), John Deere, Krone (BiG X) and New Holland. They cover many acres a day, and many models can be fitted with kernel processors, moisture sensors and yield mapping. They are expensive to buy and need a large crew of trucks to keep up.

Pull-type choppers

Best for: smaller farms that already own a large tractor. Brands such as Dion and others make pull-type units. They cost far less, but they are slower and need more tractor horsepower per ton.

How to choose

• Count the acres you will chop each year, including any custom work.
• Compare owning cost with the custom rates above.
• Check that you have the trucks and labour to keep the machine busy.
• Ask about dealer service and parts within a day’s drive.
• Check that the cut length and kernel processor can be set for your storage type.

The Manitoba guide shows how machine cost turns into a rate: it divides the hourly cost of the harvester plus the header by the acres covered per hour. You can use the same idea for your own machine.

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Chopping, packing and storage tips

Once the moisture is right, the goal is to fill the storage fast and keep air out.

• Set chop length for the storage. Shorter pieces pack more tightly; longer pieces add fibre for the cow. Ask your nutritionist and machine dealer for a setting.
• Process the kernels. Cracked kernels are easier for cattle to digest.
• Pack in thin layers. Spread each load thinly and drive over it with a heavy tractor.
• Cover quickly. Seal bunkers and piles with plastic and weights as soon as filling ends.
• Plan feed-out. Remove enough from the face each day to keep it fresh.

For more on silo types and storage, see our guide to silage silos and storage tips.

Safety on the pile

Silage piles and silos carry real risks. Tractors can roll off steep pile edges, and silo gas can form in the first weeks after filling. Follow the safety advice from your local extension service and keep people away from the face during feed-out.

Watching the crop before harvest

Chopping goes better when you know which fields are drying down first. Satellite vegetation maps show how green each part of a field is through the season. They cannot measure kernel moisture, but they help you decide which fields and which zones to walk and sample first. Farmonaut provides these maps for fields you draw on web, Android or iOS.

Related pages on our site: large-farm admin app, fleet management, satellite and weather API, carbon footprinting, product traceability and crop loan and insurance tools.

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How we checked the numbers

We used final USDA NASS figures for 2025 production and yield. Custom rates come from extension surveys in Wisconsin (2025 operations), Texas (2026 survey), Delaware and Maryland (2025 update), and the Manitoba 2026-27 cost guide. Each is labelled with its basis: per hour, per ton or per acre, and survey average or calculated rate. Timing advice comes from Utah State University and North Dakota State University extension. We removed price and capacity figures for named choppers from the old version of this page, because we could not find a public source for them.

FAQ

When should I chop corn for silage?

When whole-plant moisture is in the band for your storage, usually 60 to 70 percent. The milk line one-quarter to two-thirds down the kernel is a sign to start testing, according to Utah State University Extension.

How much does custom silage chopping cost?

Texas reported $10.15 per ton for harvest alone and $15.81 per ton for chop, haul and pack (2026 survey). Wisconsin farms reported a median of $775 per hour for chopping only in 2025. Delaware and Maryland list $10 per ton for chop, haul and fill.

How is standing corn silage priced?

Nebraska Extension uses 7.65 times the corn price per bushel for a ton at 65 percent moisture in the field. Add harvest, hauling, packing and storage, then allow for shrink to get the bunk price.

What happens if silage is chopped too wet or too dry?

Too wet, and juices drain from the pile with nutrients. Too dry, and the pile does not pack well, so more air stays in and more feed spoils. North Dakota State says harvest losses rise once the kernel forms a black layer.

How many tons of silage does an acre of corn yield?

The US average was 21.8 tons per acre in 2025, according to USDA NASS. State averages ranged from 12 tons in Rhode Island to 31 tons in Idaho.