Silo Blower Equipped With Roller Mill

Silo Blower Equipped With Roller Mill SILOS Silos 21-5-3 "Our new silo blower is equipped with a roller mill unit that cracks kernels as it rolls silage, then blows it into the silo. It's an economical way to boost the nutritional value of feed with little additional effort," says Paul Smucker, Lancaster Silo Co., Lancaster, Pa. The pto-driven unit features 9 1/2-in. dia. rollers that can process up to 1 3/4 tons of corn silage per minute with a minimum 130 hp tractor. It has two wheels for road trans-port which are removed when the machine is in use at the silo. Four jack stands are used to tilt the unit to line up with the silo pipe. By bolting a gooseneck spout onto the blower you can also use it to shoot rolled silage into a bunker silo or silage bag. "Farmers are excited about rolled silage because they know the benefits in increased digestibility and milk production. However, most of the other roller mills on the market are built into self-propelled forage harvesters which cost $200,000 or more. Our unit sells for $28,000 and can be used for corn silage or high moisture ground ear corn," says Smucker. "To use it for corn silage you set the rollers 3/16 in. apart and for high moisture ground ear corn at 1/16 in. apart. "The two rollers are both the same size but operate at different speeds - one 3,000 rpm's and the other 2,600 rpm's. Three parallel augers deliver silage into the rollers. Their speed can be controlled with a clutch lever mounted on the rig. "Farmers using the processor note an in-crease in milk production of up to 2 lbs. per day due to the feed's increased digestibility. The increased digestibility also allows you to cut silage in the field from 1 in. to 1 1/4 in. long instead of 1/2 in., which reduces the size tractor needed to pull your silage chopper." Smucker also sells a kit for installing rollers on pull-type silage harvesters. The rollers mount right behind the forage head. "It works the same as the silo blower roller mill only you're doing the job right in the field. Fits one to four-row choppers and sells for about $7,500," says Smucker. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lancaster Silo Co., Inc., 2008 Horseshoe Road, Lancaster, Penn. 17601 (ph 717 299-3721).

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