Silage Fork vs Silage Grapple for a Skid Steer - Which Should You Choose?

In short: A silage fork is a piercing attachment that cuts and lifts material, well suited to cutting into a silage clamp and preparing feed. A silage grapple grips material externally and is better suited to picking up and moving loose material without crushing it.

What is a silage fork?

A silage fork has sharp-tipped tines that pierce into dense silage mass and cut a section free. The tines are often curved back, which holds the material on the fork while loading.

• Cuts dense mass loose: works well for separating silage or a block of hay from a pile.
• Secure: holds the cut mass well on the fork, so it doesn't simply fall off while loading.
• Downside: for loose, soft or drier material, the fork can disturb more than necessary.

What is a silage grapple?

A grapple closes over the material from above and below, holding it like hands cupped around it, without piercing it.

• Gentler grip: doesn't cut or crush the material excessively, which is especially suited to long, tender hay.
• Suits loose material: for example hay piled up loosely that hasn't settled into a dense mass.
• Downside: picking loose chunks out of very dense, hard silage mass is harder than with a fork, which can pierce into the mass.

You'll find both attachments on our skid steer silage forks page.

When should you choose which?

• Dense silage clamp that needs to be separated by cutting: a silage fork suits better here.
• Loose hay or light material you don't want to crush: a grapple is the gentler choice.
• Daily feed distribution in the barn: many operations use both, depending on the feed type and how it's stored.

Related to other farm attachments

Feed handling often goes hand in hand with manure handling - see our manure fork article for how barn maintenance is organised from the other end. If you also use a front-loader tractor alongside the skid steer, the same type of solutions are available on our tractor attachments page.

We'll help you choose

Tell us what type of feed you handle and how the material is stored. We'll recommend whether a fork or a grapple suits better, and whether it's worth considering both. Get in touch via our contact page.