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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Needing some general farming questions answered

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JohnDeereBMan

02-01-2004 19:31:47




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I have a some questions pertaining to agriculture. 1. My buddy @ college said that you can store corn in a harvestore/silo. Can you only store high moisture shelled corn in a silo, or can you store corn in a silo thats dried. 2. How do you get the corn in the silo? With a blower? How do you get it out? I apologize if these seem like stupid questions, but i am from an area where there are no silos (Central NJ), and very few farms left. Thank you for any info!

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JohnDeereBMan

02-02-2004 19:57:23




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 Re: Needing some general farming questions answere in reply to JohnDeereBMan, 02-01-2004 19:31:47  
I appreciate your answers. I found this website that may be of interest to you all.

Link

Its about a farmer that converted a couple of harvestores into grain bins



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paul

02-01-2004 23:03:31




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 Re: Needing some general farming questions answere in reply to JohnDeereBMan, 02-01-2004 19:31:47  
In addition:

Dry corn puts more pressure on the silo, so most of the time you can only fill 2/3 - 3/4. Need to check with silo manufaturer if it was built for dry grain.

Difficult to reach that high with augers, so another way to fill it is to run a short auger into the blower pipe - run the blower to shoot the corn up, but don't run the corn through the blower.

Putting a floor in the bottom and vents on top (doors open) is a good idea, or you can mold a lot of 'dry' corn in a hurry. Tall & skinny, so needs a strong fan to get airflow.

Unloading - by now, a person wonders why they bothered using the silo, and didn't just put up a good bin & do it right to start with instead of wasting the money.....

--->Paul

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Dirthog

02-02-2004 05:43:25




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 Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions ans in reply to paul, 02-01-2004 23:03:31  
Why does dry corn put more pressure on the silo ? My guess is the dry corn has less of a tendency to adhere together so it exerts more pressure on the outer walls due to it wanting to flow out wards ? Is that the case ?



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scotc

02-02-2004 23:36:12




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 Re: Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions in reply to Dirthog, 02-02-2004 05:43:25  
i beleive harvestor has a cone kit that sets in the bottom of the silo to funnel the grain into the center, then the bottom unloader auger pulls it right out the side. much cheaper to buy a bin than to put up the silo and convert it, but if you've already got it, use it, right?



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JMS/MN

02-02-2004 10:40:00




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 Re: Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions in reply to Dirthog, 02-02-2004 05:43:25  
The concern with outward wall pressure is for concrete silos, which normally are used to store silage or haylage. Stave silos are normally not built thick enough to stand the pressure of corn, thus should not be filled more than what Paul said. Harvestores are built to withstand being filled to the top- I think the label says it can hold anything up to a density of 65lbs per cubic foot. For dry corn to keep well, no matter the structure, it should be down to 15%, even lower for storage beyond a year. Aeration is important to keep it in condition. I usually freeze it in winter by running the bin fan a day, then occasionally run it in spring and summer to bring it back up to outside temps. The Harvestore is great for livestock feed- no drying expense, ideal storage moisture is 20-25%. Original cost was about 10% higher per bushel capacity than the drying bin and related equipment. Drawback is that you have a limited market for the corn if you get out of livestock.

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T_Bone

02-02-2004 09:28:37




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 Re: Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions in reply to Dirthog, 02-02-2004 05:43:25  
Hi Paul,

Then what is the correct moister content for storing corn? At what moister content does the mold begin?

Please describe what to build for the proper storage bin and the ideal loader and unloading system.

Can I assume other grains have simular storage requirements?

T_Bone



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Heat Houser

02-01-2004 19:46:53




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 Re: Needing some general farming questions answere in reply to JohnDeereBMan, 02-01-2004 19:31:47  
You can store either Hi moisture corn or dried in a Harvestore. If you are putting dry corn in, be sure to have it cooled down far enough as most Harveststores did not have any air (fan to blow cool air up thru the corn) on them.
Typically, the corn was put in with a blower but only if it was going to be fed to livestock since this method of filling cracks the kernels. If you want to sell the corn for #2 yellow, you should use an auger etc. to fill the unit. This will reduce the cracking and the subsequent dock.
Do not fill above the bags in a Harveststore. When you unload, the corn will pull the bags down out of the roof and you will be whittling chunks it out of the unload auger with your pocket knife.
Typically there is an unloading auger in the bottom of a Harveststore if it is set up for corn.
I have never seen a Goliath unloader (silage) used for shelled corn so I do not know if it would work.

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JMS/MN

02-01-2004 22:11:23




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 Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions ans in reply to Heat Houser, 02-01-2004 19:46:53  
If you store dry corn in a Harvestore you should have an aeration system in it. Should fill with an auger, rather than blower- cracks too much. Years ago they advertised them as 'air tight'. That is a misnomer- they then called them 'oxygen limiting'. Air exchange does occur, and you get moisture migration. I have a 20x50' corn unit and a 20x90' haylage unit. Corn unit had the 'auger' unloader- nothing but a miserable joke. Every summer had to open the door on a 2-3 day basis and reach in with a 20 foot hoe to pull corn down. DO NOT GO INSIDE- NO AIR!!!!! !!! Fed much spoiled corn. Put in a Hercules (50s haylage) unloader, which was better, but many breakdowns. Finally put in a Goliath haylage unloader. Fantastic machine for unloading shelled corn! Two speed, forward and reverse. Should have done it much earlier. Other option is a Laidig unloader- about $4000, or Harvestore Power Feed Auger- $7000. Bought a used Herc for about $2000. Harvestores can be used for all types of silage- but with the bags available now- much better solution- you can sell the machine easily when you don't need it anymore. We did not have those options 25 years ago. Now- for a dairy- I'd go with a good skidloader, portable TMR, and bags.

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JMS/MN

02-02-2004 18:00:13




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 Re: Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions in reply to JMS/MN, 02-01-2004 22:11:23  
Messed up again- the Herc was $400- one bid on an auction- the Goliath was $2000. Worth every penny.



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MK

02-02-2004 16:23:20




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 Re: Re: Re: Needing some general farming questions in reply to JMS/MN, 02-01-2004 22:11:23  
I agree with you JMS. Around here there are more harvestore structures than gophers. Most everyone has gone to bags and TMR or they use them for high moisture barley the rest are nice ornaments including my 20x80. My dad put it up in'74 and in their day they were the best thing going. I have a goliath unloader in it which was a good unit but it was frustrating sometimes when we had alfalfa in it. One fellow down the road put an atlas unloader in his 25x80. That is an incredible machine. It will bring out more feed in low than the goliath does in high. Mine has been sitting idle since '96. MK in AB

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