Bunker silos provide economical storage
NEWARK, Del. As herds get
bigger and the money squeeze
tighter, dairymen are looking for
ways to produce more of their own
cattle feed.
Silage is the least expensive way
to give your cows the food energy
they need, says University of
Delaware extension dairy
specialist George Haenlem. But he
doubts whether most of the area’s
dairy farmers are presently
feeding it to all their cows, all year
round.
One problem you may face if you
decide to increase the amount of'
silage you feed is finding a good
place to store it. If space is
inadequate, you have the option of
buying a new tower silo, adding to
the capacity of your old one,
building yourself a bunker silo, or
simply storing the silage on top of
the ground under plastic taip.
Haenlem and extension
agricultural engineer Ernest
Walpole say that for temporary '
storage the cheapest thing you can
do is pick out a high, well-drained
Mr. Farmer:
SEALSTOR BUILDS A SUPERIOR STRUCTURE
■ Many of your neighbors have compared the various
systems available and purchased a Sealstor.
Much lessbeat is transmitted through the Seals tor fiber
glass roof. The feed is better protected and there is less
stress on the Sealstor breather system.
★ We now have 13.47% lease
money for Sealstor Structures.
★ Don’t be fooled by companies
that offer you ridiculously low
interest rates.
★ Our leasing program offers a fair
rate of interest with no gimmicks
or hidden costs. You won’t find a
better one.
(Ask your area Sealstor salesman about Borg/
Warner no nonsense approval to leasing!)
I LEASE A *20.000 SEALSTOR GRAIN
STRUCTURE FOR JUST *364 PER MONTH
WITH A TOTAL DOWNPAYMENT OF
ONLY *364
(Credit Approval By Borg-Warner Leasing Required)
■ ■ ■ ■ Please Clip & Mail Coupon to ■■■■■
LFS/9 ■
PENN DUTCH FARM SYSTEMS, INC.
1730 Highway 72 North, Lebanon, Pa 17042
lam interested in
D Hi*h Moisture Com .
Storage
U Liquid Manure Storage
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NO OF BEEF DAIRY
site near your feedlot, dump silage
there is a big loaf-shaped stack,
and cover it with polyethelene
tarp.
Use bales of hay or earth to
anchor the edges tightly all the
way around so that air can’t get in
and cause spoilage.
Another temporary solution to
your storage needs might be to
take a tractor and scoop out a
trench. Fill this with silage and
cover it with plastic tarp anchored
down with old tires.
Storing silage directly on the
ground this way will result in some
feed contamination, warn the
specialists. Also, your equipment
may get bogged down during
sloppy weather. For these reasons
they don’t recommend using a
temporary bunker for more than
one year.
For permanent horizontal
storage provide the bunker with
either wood or cement sides and a
cement floor.
Use 12 foot posts or railroad ties
for the sides, setting them 4’ into
Scaktor roof are
hey are actually re
ft roof panel. On
if a Sealstor, you
built-in solidarity
underfoot.
Fiber
{laMk tram
lucent. When
checking
inside a
Seabtor, you'
are not peering into total darkness.
t~l Hayloft or Corn Silage
Storage
Replacing my old or
l-J broken bottom unloader
with the Laidif
HOGS
Did You Know?
Boon Holding Off on
Your Storage Plans?
Ist cutting Haylage is just
around the corner. We can
still build you a Sealstor.
(this offer is limited)
ATTENTION
Owners of Gravity flow
auger or chain type
unloaders - Special sale
on Laidig Jr. grain
unioader conversions.
See ad page 832.
the ground at 4 foot intervals. Then
nail pressure treated planks to
them. Or line the sides of the
bunker with precast concrete
slabs tilted on their edges.
Concrete is preferable to wood
because it will resist mechanical
damage better, notes Walpole.
Pour a six inch pad of concrete
reinforced with welded wire for the
floor. Be sure to slope it toward the
unloading end of the bunker to
provide runoff for rainwater.
If wood sidewalls are used,
extend the floor six inches beyond
the walls so the posts are encased
in concrete.
A well-constructed bunker silo
will'cost you about half as much as
a new tower silo, so this storage
system represents a considerable
savings. But it’s not practical
unless you make it big enough.
There will always be some waste.
The smaller the bunker, the
greater the percentage of feed lost.
So you need a large herd to
warrant building this kind of silo,
say the specialists. A bunker 40
PENN DUTCH FARM SYSTEMS, INC.
1730 Highway 72 North, Lebanon, PA 17042
717-273-9324
feet wide, 8 feet high and 180 feed
long will hold 1000 tons of silage
enough to provide the daily needs
of 100 cows for a year.
Another consideration with
bunker silos is the fact that you’ll
be opting for a system that
requires a chuckwagon or self
unloading wagon to deliver silage
along the feed bunk. If you want a
push-button system with con
veyors, you almost have to stay
with a tower silo.
Because there’s a greater
chance of spoilage with feed stored
in bunkers, Walpole recommends
feeding from them only during
cooler weather. Save your tower
silage for wartn weather use.
Even well-covered binker silage
may begin to spoil at the exposed
end where feed is removed each
day.
If you decide that a horizontal
system would solve your storage
needs, now is a good time to build
one. It will soon be tune to harvest
this year’s silage crop.
Blueprints for building a bunker
Take a look at the Sealstor features,
then make your buying decision.
2. The font* distributor
in every Sealstor forage
structure packs the crop
more evenly and with up to
15% greater density than is
possible in other storage
structures. The key to han
dling this additional weight is in the bottom unloader used
by Sealstor. It’s like owning a larger structure without pay
ing for the extra storage capacity.
4. Greater dependability, fewer service problems and sim
pler maintenance are the Scalstor bottom unloader advantages
often mentioned by owners who have experience with other
unloaders.
A sevcn-ycaf study indicates mainten
ance savings often exceed
one thousand dollars per
year when the Laidig un
loader used by Sealstor is
compared with chain-type
unloaders.
toC* HIGH MOISTURE GRAIN
t STRUCTURE AND
® UNLOADER SALE
★ Get a free service tunnel installed
in your structure
★ Early order discount
★ 5% discount on purchase price of
a roller mill and/or distributor
★ Immediate erection if you desire
Delivery required by Sept 1.1981
“Reputation” is a very important word. At
Sealstor we are building our Reputation,
that’s why we sell you a structure and
unloader that best suits your needs. It would
be much easier to sell you something
“cheaper” and let you pay a price later.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 9,19t1—A37
Scafator’s glass-fused-to-sted
sheets are larger which means
a comparable size Sealstor
structure has fewer feet of
seam lines. This, combined
with closer boh spacing,
provides maximum pro
tection against leakage and
feed spoilage.
silo are available from the ex
tension engineer in many states.
Or, write or call: Extension
Agricultural Engineer Ernest
Walpole, Agricultural Hall,
University of Delaware, Newark,
DE19711302/738-2468.
What should you serve with
corned beef? Buttery Caraway
Potatoes and Cabbage are the
perfect menu-mates. To make four
servings, peel six small, new
potatoes and cook in boiling, salted
water until tender, about 20
minutes. Dram well; set aside.
Melt three tablespoons butter in
large skillet; add three cups diced
green cabbage (about 1 lb.), one
teaspoon caraway seed, one-fourth
teaspoon salt and one-eighth
teaspoon pepper. Cook, covered,
until cabbage is cnsp tender, about
three minutes. Add cooked
potatoes; heat to serving tem
perature.
STRIKE
IT
RICH!
SELL
IT
m
A
LANCASTER
FARMING
CLASSIFIED
MEMO
HAY,
STRAW &
EAR CORN
SALE
EVERY
MONDAY
At 11 A.M.
NEW HOLLAND SALES
STARLES, INC.
Phone 717354-4341
Lloyd H. Kreider,
Auctioneer