A44-Lancast»r Farming, Saturday, September 11. 1993 (tm> DMt L. Barrie, Mcmbcrehip Development. f 1 full I.MM-11111-l KST fur InHurmnlkm. L i Peniujilvnnln Unlrji Herd Improvement AMmlnllon DHIA Service Center, Orcknrd Rond, Univenky Fork, PA MM2 Filling Silos Can Be Dangerous RONALD L. HOSTETLER hazards will let you fill your silo UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre safely.” Co.) Few farm operations are Preparation for silo filling in as dangerous as filling a silo, says eludes raising the unloader to the a farm safety expert in Penn top of the structure. “Do this on a State’s College of Agricultural calm, dry day to reduce the risk of Sciences. , slips and falls,” Murphy says. “This complex task combines raising heavy equipment and working in close quarters with powered machinery, extremely loud noise and deadly silo gases,” says Dr. Dennis Murphy, profes sor of agricultural engineering. “It sounds like a potential disaster, but knowing how to handle these Average Farm Feed Costs For Handy Reference To help farmers across the state to have handy reference of com modity input costs in their feeding operations for DHIA record sheets or to develop livestock feed cost data, here’s this week’s average costs of various ingredients as compiled from regional reports across the state of Pennsylvania. Remember these arc averages so you will need to adjust your figures up or down according to your loca tion and the quality of your crop. Com. No. 2y - 2.56 BU. 4.58 CWT. Wheat, No. 2 - 2.93 BU. 4.89 CWT. Barley. No. 3 - 1.61 BU. 3.44 CWT. Oats. No. 2 - 1.48 BU. 4.60 CWT. Soybeans, No. 1 - 6.74 BU. 11.26 CWT. Ear Com - 65.91 TON 3.30 CWT. Alfalfa Hay -100.00 TON 5.00 CWT. Mixed Hay - 95.50 TON 4.78 CWT. Timothy Hay - 98.25 TON 4.91 CWT. FOCUS “Make sure all cables, wires, pul leys and connections arc anchored and working properly before you start. “One person at ground level should raise the unloader. Another person should watch from the blower pipe platform, signaling if problems arise. Never enter the silo while the unloader is being raised or try to crawl out onto it af ter it is suspended. An unloader can easily crush you if it falls.” Moving machine parts pose the greatest risk during silo filling. Both self-unloading forage wa gons and silo blowers are operated by power takeoff (PTO) shafts that often aren’t properly guarded “A PTO rotates at 9 or 16 times per second at full speed" Murphy says. H No one can react fast enough to pull away once caught in the revolving shaft Stepping' over PTO shafts makes accidents much more likely. Walk around tractors and wagons instead.” Unloading wagons have a com bination of moving aprons, beat ers, conveyors or augers and an assortment of chains and sprock ets. “Keep all protective ma chinery shields in place,” Murphy says. ‘To prevent getting snagged, wear comfortable but close-fitting clothing and keep long hair tied up or under a hat” Never enter a self-unloading wagon or reach into an unloading chute to speed the unloading rate while the machine is running. “If it gets clogged disengage the PTO and stop the tractor,” Murphy says. “PTO’s can accidently slip into gear, so always slop the en gine. Keep the unloading wagon’s emergency shut-off device in good working condition. It could save your life.” As forage moves from the wa gon into the silo blower hopper, it’s carried by an auger or convey or to the blower fan, which forces it into the silo. “Silo blower opera tors need to watch out for the PTO shaft, the exposed conveyor or auger and the blower fan blades,” Murphy says. Blower accidents are most like ly when the machine plugs up. “If this happens, don’t climb onto the hopper or try to force forage into the blown' blades,” Murphy says. How Does Your Herd Compare? STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) —These data are calculated using information pulled from Pennsylvania DHIA’s mainframe computer each week. It is a one-week summary representing approximately one fourth of the herds on test, as they are tested monthly. These data are valuable from a business management standpoint and can be used for comparing your operations to the averages from about 1,400 herds across die state. DHIA Averages for all herds processed between 8/22793 and 8/29/93 Number of Herds Processed 974 Number of Cows Processed 62,942 Number of Cows Per Herd 64.6 Milk Per Cow (Lbs) 18,471 %-Fat Fat Per Cow (Lbs) %-Protein Protein Per Cow (Lbs) Average Days in Milk Per Cow •Value for CWT Milk(s) •Value for CWT Grain(s) •Value for CWT Hay(s) •Value for CWT Silage(s) •Value for Pasture Per Day(s) •Value for Milk Per Cow Per Vear(s) •Feed Consumed Per Cow Per ‘ Year(Lbs) A; Grain B; Hay C: Silage D: Day Pasture •Feed Cost Per Cow Per Ycar(s) A: Grain B: Hay C: Silage D: Pasture ♦Total Feed Cost Per Cow Per Year(s) ♦lncome Over Feed Costs Per Ycar(s) ♦Grain to Milk Ratio ♦Feed Cost Per CWT Milk(s) Avg Level For 864 SCC Herds *MNAir paantotf llpint UALITY SHOWS! 3.60 666 3.13 578 317 12.90 7.48 4.30 1.53 .28 2,383 7,376 2,194 14,830 57 552 94 227 16 890 1,493 1:2.5 4.82 396,160
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