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Faunsdale, AL | Somewhere along the line between having 4 silos to having 11, we gave up on having an unloader for each one and started taking a couple unloaders out and putting them back up in the next silo until we got everything empty except one or two to be feeding out of. Then corn was ready to chop and hopefully had some corn left to move the unloaders one more time and refill those last two silos even if they weren’t quite empty.
None of the silos had a winch and tripod to lift an unloader. All of them were PATZ surface drive model 98 I think. Sort of the devil you know kind of deal. Always heard there were better unloaders, but we stuck to them and sought out used ones in sales so we only ever bought things like chain and blower blades etc! Sure was a situation where having two running was the best insurance against getting caught not being able to mix feed!
All of ours had roofs after the first 4 were added on to take them to 70’. We get 50-60 inches of rain here so it makes a big difference in the quality of the silage when you open one that’s been sitting with a cover on the top of the silage for 10 months! Even with a roof over it, it’s not a fun job to throw off the spoiled silage even under a tarp. But, if you did a good job of that and then leveled the surface and walked it down before putting in the unloader to start feeding, within a few days you were back feeding very high quality silage. Had to make sure not to run both silos out at the same time to keep the most consistent ration for the cows. Lots of work but upright silos are just that way no matter how you cut it.
Edited by ccjersey 3/25/2024 13:34
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Did a stave silo roofs do anything for preserving the feed?
