Storing grain in silos

[Bama]

I normally store my grain in wooden boxes in the barn. It is a lot of trouble to unload into or feed out of. I was considering a silo and feed augars. My biggest concern is moisture. How big of a problem is this? Do I need to aereate to keep the humitity down. How long can the grain sit in the silo before molding? I normally feed 13% cattle pellets. I feed about 2 tons a week. I am guessing that I can more easily control the amount of feed with a augar verses a bucket load. Around here their are few silos that people use for cattle feeding. There are several poultry farmers that use them but I'm sure the cattle pellets will mold faster than the corn. What I was considering was about three weeks worth of feed storage (6 ton ) I would fill it myself, dumped into a augar. I'm sure some of you have experience with this. Is this something I should look into or keep going the way I am.

THANKS

 

[Farmhand]

Silos are ment for LARGE volumes of feed. There is no way to control moisture and mold by putting only 6 ton of feed in a silo. What you need is a metal bulk bin. Much easier to put feed in and get it back out.

 

[Bama]

I may be calling a metal bulk bin a silo. Around here all of them are called silos. They use them in the poultry industry in sizes from 3 ton upwards. Most people around here use the dump and scoop method for feed storage. I can get a new one for $2200. I was trying to figure if this plus all the augaring equipment would be a good investment. thanks

 

[dun]

I may be calling a metal bulk bin a silo. Around here all of them are called silos. They use them in the poultry industry in sizes from 3 ton upwards. Most people around here use the dump and scoop method for feed storage. I can get a new one for $2200. I was trying to figure if this plus all the augaring equipment would be a good investment. thanks

Now the question makes more sense. It does sound like a bulk bin to me too. We had an auger system on our bin and I removed it and replaced the bottom section that the auger head sits in with a dump type of sliding openening. I dump it straight into 5 gallon buckets and haul the buckets. Is the auger system you're thinking of to dump into feeders, or a feed wagon? Flexibility makes a big difference.
Concerning how long the feed stays good, if the grain or pellet is very low in moisture it won't mildew/mold in just a couple of weeks. We get ours filled twice a year with a mixture of CG pellet, whole or cracked corn, soyhull pellet, a little cotton seed, and some minerals. We've never had a problem with it going bad in 6 months or longer time frame.

dun

 

[jkwilson]

I may be calling a metal bulk bin a silo. Around here all of them are called silos. They use them in the poultry industry in sizes from 3 ton upwards. Most people around here use the dump and scoop method for feed storage. I can get a new one for $2200. I was trying to figure if this plus all the augaring equipment would be a good investment. thanks

I just bought a used 2 ton with auger and new spare motor for $225. It's in very good shape. I would think you could easily get a good 6 ton for less than $500 if you have any hog operations nearby. These aren't exposed to manure like most livestock equipment, so they last a long time if taken care of.

I wouldn't store more than 30 days feed in one, as I've had problems with cattle finisher getting an off smell after 6 or 8 weeks in our high humidity summers. I took the auger off of mine and made a slide gate for filling buckets, but I only use about 3 tons of feed a month from the bin.

 

[myersfarm]

i have a 14 ton feed bin short and fat...wish i had one of those augers you guys are taking off...never had a problem with bad feed in mine.....i use mostly creep feed in mine...butwish i had 2 or 3 for different types feed.....how does that corn gulten work for 400 lbs calfs....thanks

 

[ChrisB]

One thing that I noticed with an auger is that I get a lot more fines/dust from the pellets. But there seems to be a quality control issue with the pellets we get, sometimes they are hard and hold together good. And other times they are softer and they seem to break up easier. We use buckets for the pellets now also and usually mix the pellets in with the corn as we feed now to prevent the fines problem.

 

[Farmhand]

You can find really good used ones for a lot less $. We have several of them on our place and would hate to be without any of them. Some have augers on them that we wired a light switch to that we use to shut the auger off and on with. We put slide doors on some too. As far as mold goes - there are a lot of factors that affect that. If you find that you fill a 6 ton bulk bin and end up with mold, you could always just not fill it totally. Just put in the amount of feed you can use up before mold starts. It won't hurt anything to have empty space in the bin. Have made the mistake of putting in a too small bin. Then had to spend more $ to buy another bin.

 

[Bama]

Thanks for all the info. I'll look around for a used one. The augar system I had in mind would carry feed out to to feed troughs. I was thinking of maybe filling small bins above the troughs and use air to dump. For now I probally will do either the 5 gallon bucket or front bucket method. I was thinking of hauling the pellets in a dump bed. Dump into a augar and run this to the top of the bin for filling. I would like to get away from using a tractor around the bunks. Around here mud gets bad in the winter.

 

[dun]

We feed very little grain and our grain feeding area moves around so a fixed auger system doesn't work. You might be able to find a wagon with an auger that you can lower over the troughs and drive a distance away.

dun