Trench Silo Demonstration v Wintry winds blew, and a light covering of snow failed to curtail |the crowds at Friday’s Lancaster County trench silo demonstrations on the farms of John M. Groff, R 1 Bareville, and the Harry Grif fith Farm operated by Robert C. Groff just north of Quarryville on R 3. Looking over Trench Silo Cuts Feeding Costs in Lancaster County Dairy Enterprise By ERNEST J. NEILL Editor, Lancaster Farming Seeking cheaper milk at the production level, Robert C. Groff has reduced hay purchases through use of a trench silo. Mr. Groff, who farms the Harry Griffith place just north of QuarryviUe, was one of two Lancaster County hosts in a trench silo demonstration Fri day. Explaining procedures and construction were M. M. Smith, Lancaster County agricultural agent, and John Walker, exten sion agricultural engineer from Pennsylvania State University. John M. Groff Host Also Around 40 attended the 9 - 30 a m meeting on the Robert C. Groff’s Hardware S. RAILROAD AYE. Ph. 4-0851 NEW HOLLAND FOR REAL QUALITY... .Vv; ST/C/CTO JO///VO£ffK£/ . f ~ - , J -- ? ■ ’ w <■ < II —I. - »».« . I J Quality manufacturing is the by word of every John Deere factory. Beginning with incoming ship menu of only the faighest-grade materials, each manufactured part ... every finished implement is in spected thoroughly by skilled LANDIS BROS. Latest Improved Farming Equipment 1305 Manheim Pike Phone 3-3906 P. O. Box 484 Lancaster,.Pennsylvania THE SIGN OF " qit&UiMe FARM EQUiPMENtI Groff farm, and in the after noon, similar sessions were held at the farm of John M. Groff, Rl Bareville, on Route 23. Throughout the country, trench and bunker-type silos have been constructed to pro wide cheaper winter feed, and. in emergencies, to v salvage drought burned crops. Locally, however, the silos of this type have been used to get a maximum amount of feed from a minimum acre age. At Bob Groff’s, the latter is the case. He operates a farm of 148 acres, is now milking 13 head of Holstems that pro* duce 320 gallons of milk daily) and feeds 50 head an average of 60 lbs of- silage a day. Markets bi Philadelphia Bob is justly proud of the pro gress he is making since moving into Southern Lancaster County from the Stevens’ neighborhood. Today he is selling Grade A milk to Abbott Dairies, Philadelphia, with the primary supply of wint er feed coming from nine acres of land- ) One hundred and ten loads almost 200 tons of soybeans and sorghum, or soybeans and sudan, went into the silo Using this combination, no preseiva tives were necessary. sssssss ESS3SEK3ZEEB workmen to assure Its meeting e» act John Deere quality standards. That’s why farmers everywhere are loud in their praise for the de pendability . . . the quality con structiott of John Deere Farm Equipment. See u< for information. /f the open end of the silage, with the con crete walls showing, are from left to right, Mr. Griffith; Bob Groff; John Walker, ex tension agricultural engineer from Penn State, and Max M. Smith, Lancaster Coun ty agricultural agent. (See accompanying story). (Lancaster Farming Staff Photo). 'St *'' 4k\ Mr. Griffith pointed out that dirt mounds around the trench silo which runs north and south, opening to the south, divert rain water, preventing erosion and spoilage Dimensions of the trench silo are 78 by eight feet at the bottom, 78 by 14 at the top. When filled 10 feet high, and well crowned, it holds an esti mated 180 to 200 tons. So far, in the first year, success has been proved, with only two or three inches of spoilage. Sixteen ton of sand, 24 tons of stone, ans 114 bags of cement went into construction of this trench silo, at a total cost of $753 50- Breakdown of Costs Some dynamite was necessary to break up rock formations on the slope where construction was made Digging cost $l6O, blade work—sB2 50 and labor approxi mately $270, figured at $1 per hour. The first side was erected in one day, the second side was erected on a less steady basis, but was completed in 2% days by three men. “You should figure digging costs at approximately $1 per ton of capacity,” Mr. Walker ex plained, showing the Gnffith- Groff contruction figures very closely to customary estimates. The Penn State engineer added that trench silos can be con structed over a period of years, and used during that time The first year they may be used without concrete, perhaps even into the second year, to spread the costs over a longer time “It will take about one-third of a yard of concrete per ton of capacity, and when figured at $6 per ton, concrete should cost about $600,” he added Trench Silo Labor Saver The trench silo is a labor sav er, Mr Smith and Mr Walker told the group It is easier to till, easier to use Costs are low. It may be built quickly, and (there is less danger involved than in a tower silo. Three men filled the silo in the southern end of the county in four days, using a field chop per There as more spoilage in a trench silo than in an upright, but this loss is easily offset by cost. “You can’t dig trench silos every where due to the water table being too shallow,” Mr. Walker warned, “but in that c