Farmers Risk
Silo Fires From
Dry Corn Plants
(Continued from Pag* A 1)
tural engineering Dennis Murphy.
“If there’s not enough moisture to
dissipate that heat, spontaneous
combustion can result.”
"The com plants we’ve sampled
& PAY OF
W A*
an about five percentage units
drier than we’d expect atthls stage
of maturity,” said Greg Roth, asso
ciate professor of agronomy. “If
you usually estimate com moisture
by kernel development, the com
will be drier than you think.”
Com with a moisture content
below SO to 5S percent is especial
ly likely to cause silo fires. “Such a
crop probably should not be con
sidered for silage,” Roth said.
F! Jk
“Adding water to com silage to
make it less dry it helpful, but it
often is difficult to add as much as
is necessary.”
In two recent cases, fires began
after farmers put com silage on top
of haylage. “When you mix two
different materials in a silo, it’j
hard to get uniform packing,” said
Murphy. “That creates air pockets
where the haylage and com silage
meet, which can make sponta
neous combustion more likely.”
Silo fires usually start in the top
10 feet of ensiled material. “If you
suspect for any reason that the
material in your silo is getting too
hot, check it a couple of times each
Lancaster Fanrtng, Saturday, September K, IM6-A23
day,” Murphy warns. “Look for
small puffs oismdke and smell for
burning odors.”
Tb help prevent silo fires. Mur
phy offers the following advice:
' • Chop silage with a moisture
content of SO to 6S percent Test
the moisture of the material being
ensiled.
• Chop silage fine ideally to
about a quarter-inch, but not over
half an inch to an inch. If the
chopped forage is over an inch and
a half in length, sharpen the knives
' in your chopper and reset the shear
bar clearance.
• Mow and condition only what
can be put up in a single day.
• Use agbod center fill orprop
erly adjusted mechanical iOlge
distributor and follow manufactur
er's direction*; 1 "
• To assure good packing, fill
the silo rapidly at a rate of at least
two feet per hour.
More information about pre
venting and putting out silo fires is
available in “Extinguishing Silo
Fires,” NRAES-18, available for
review at Penn State Cooperative
Extension county offices or for $4
from the Publications distribution
Center, The Pennsylvania State
University, 112 Agricultural
Administration Building, Univer
sity Park. PA 16802-2602.