Silage Shaper Makes Self-Sealing Stacks

Silage Shaper Makes Self-Sealing Stacks CROP STORAGE Silos (50) 18-1-2 A pair of Wisconsin farmers say they got the idea for their innovative new silage "shaper" after seeing a portable airplane hangar at an air show. "Someone said it looked like half a 30-ft. silo and that got us thinking," say Dan and Mark Walder, Wittenberg, Wis., who went home and started working on a unit that they hoped would make it easier to stack silage on the ground or in bunker silos. The Walders have stored silage in bunk silos for 12 years. "We had previously tried using elevators and blowers to pile silage but we always had trouble with wind blowing silage all over. So we just stuck with the old way of filling bunks - dumping, blading, landscaping, packing, and so on. The problem is that each time you drive onto the stack, you disrupt the ensiling process and mix in mud and dirt," says Mark. After deciding to try the quonset-type hangar idea, the men built a prototype unit 32 ft. wide by 16 ft. high, using metal trusses covered by nylon canvas. They used it on flat ground first, with no existing bunk silo walls, blowing silage into the "shaper" with a silo blower. "We blew in 15 loads before we pulled the unit ahead about 10 ft. You keep filling and moving until you've got the stack as big as you want. It looks like a giant load of bread when it's done," says Mark. "The silage packs itself, like in an upright silo. And because you no longer disturb the ensiling process, less oxygen gets mixed into the stack. Any oxygen that gets into the stack during the filling process turns into carbon dioxide, and the pile seals itself." After the success of the first prototype, the Walders built a model to mount on the walls of a bunker silo. They say it lets them load 30 percent more silage into the same size bunker. Prototypes have stood up to wind gusts of 40 mph or more. "Other farmers who've seen it say there's no need for a bunk silo since it makes tight, well-packed stacks right on the ground," Mark notes. "We figure the shaper will cost less than one year's interest on an upright silo and there's no property tax on this unit. If you already have upright silos, you can keep one of these units on hand for years when you have a bumper crop. There's much less waste than with round bales and you don't have to deal with waste plastic once the pile's gone, like you do with big bale silage or big silage bags. You can self-feed from these stacks with an electric wire, and there's no limit to how big you can make the stacks. It's also quicker and easier to make a stack this way than the conventional way of packing and landscaping, and silage packs tighter in an elevated pile." The Walders have a patent pending on the silage shaper. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark & Dan Walder, 1525 S . Cty. Rd. I, Wittenberg, Wis. 54499 (ph 715 454-6458).

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