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AGRICULTURAL
NEWS LETTER
F E D E R A L
Vol. 10, No. 7

R E S E R V E

B A N K

OF

D A L L A S

DALLAS, TEXA S

July 15, 1955

COSTS OF STORING AND HARVESTING SILAGE

The annual cost of storing a ton of silage
in an unlined trench silo is lower than that
for either a concrete-lined trench silo or an
upright silo, according to a study made in
1953 by A. C. Magee, Associate Professor
of Agricultural Economics at Texas A. & M.
College.

should be located on a well-drained site is
a disadvantage, in that the silo may have to
be located where it is not convenient for
feeding. In the areas included in this study,
the useful life of the unlined trench silo was
relatively short because the sides caved in.

The higher costs of initial construction,
depreciation, and interest on investment are
the only disadvantages of lined trench silos
as compared with unlined trench silos. In
addition to having the advantages of an
unlined trench silo, a lined trench silo is
relatively permanent. The muddiness of the
The unlined trench silos had lower initial floor during wet weather is eliminated; also,
construction costs than the other types of the silo can be used as a self-feeder because
silos studied. A relatively small crew is of the smooth, hard-surfaced floor.
needed to put silage in a trench silo. Cutting,
hauling, and unloading are done mechani­
A major disadvantage of upright silos is
cally, and the silage is packed economically their high initial cost, particularly for those
and effectively by running the farm tractor having small storage capacities. In addition,
over the chopped silage. When feed is taken upright silos need special equipment for
from the silo, labor also is saved by using filling. More labor is required in harvesting
tractor-mounted equipment to load the feed and putting silage in upright silos than for
into trucks or trailers.
storing silage in trench silos. In the Texas
A. & M. study, farmers with upright silos
Although there was no difference in the and feed yielding 11 tons per acre required
estimated amount of silage spoilage in lined 10.4 man-hours of labor, or approximately
and unlined trench silos, spoilage was twice 1 man-hour per ton, to put up the silage.
as great in trench silos as in upright silos.
This is primarily because a larger area of
CONSTRUCTION COSTS PER TON OF
silage was exposed to the weather in trench
CAPACITY FOR THREE TYPES
silos than in upright silos.
OF SILOS, BY SIZE

The study of different types of silos on 85
farms in the Blackland and Grand Prairie
areas of Texas indicates that each type of
storage has advantages and disadvantages
as compared with the others.

It is difficult to get equipment in and out
of an unlined trench silo during wet weather
because the floor of the silo becomes ex­
tremely muddy. The fact that a trench silo

Type of silo

100 tons

Unlined trench .............. $ .90
7.60
Lined trench ..................
Concrete stave upright 14.05

CAPACITY
150 tons

$

.73
7.40
12.65

200 tons

$

.61
7.33
10.20

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

Only 6.4 man-hours of labor were required
to put 12 tons of silage in a trench silo, or
.5 hour per ton.

SUMMARY OF THE ANNUAL COSTS OF
OPERATING SILAGE FIELD
CUTTERS, 1953-54
Item

There is usually less spoilage in an up­
right silo than in a trench silo, if the silage
is properly packed and cared for. In addi­
tion, an upright silo is an attractive and
permanent structure which uses little space
and generally can be located conveniently
close to feed lots and barns. Bad weather
affects upright silos less than trench silos,
especially those which are unlined.

Per farm

Number of farms studied...................................
18
Cost of cutter, new.............................................. $2,197
Estimated life — years.......................................
8
Acres cut per year................................................
180
Hours worked per year.......................................
190
Value

Fuel (auxiliary engine):
Gasoline — 456 gallons................................. $104.88
Oil — 9 gallons .............................................. 10.80
Other costs:
Repairs (cutter and auxiliary engine)......... 103.00
Depreciation .................................................... 274.62
Interest ............................................................ 54.62
Total all costs (cutter and engine)................ 547.92
3.04
Cost per acre c u t.................................................
Cost per acre, tractor use...................................
.981
Cost per acre, tractor driver...............................
.63
Total per acre costs, field harvesting................
4.65

The study reveals that, for each type of
silo, the initial construction costs per ton
of capacity decreased as the capacity in­
xData furnished by W illie L. Ulich, agricultural engineer,
creased. For the trench silos, savings in cost Texas
Agricultural Extension Service.
were small as the capacity increased, but
for the upright silos, differences in initial variation in custom rates charged from one
construction costs per ton of silage stored community to another, ranging from $4 to
$10 per acre or $5 to $7.50 per hour. These
were more substantial.
custom rates included a tractor to pull the
Regardless of the type of silo used, a field cutter and a man to operate each machine.
cutter and two trucks or two or three spe­
Of the special equipment needed in silage
cially built trailers are needed to harvest
silage crops. For filling upright silos, a blower making, the field cutter was the most expen­
equipped with a conveyor also is necessary; sive to buy and operate. Although there was
the list of equipment needed is completed considerable variation in the purchase prices
of harvesters, the highest price paid was
with two to four farm tractors.
$2,500. On the farms studied, harvesters
About a third of the farmers whose silage were expected to last an average of 8 years
operations were studied owned field cutters; and to cut an average of 180 acres annually.
those without field harvesting equipment New blowers for use with upright silos cost
contracted their cutting. There was a wide from $650 to $700 and were expected to
SUMMARY OF ANNUAL COST OF STORING SILAGE IN THREE TYPES OF SILOS, 19531
(200-ton capacity)
TYPE OF SILO
Item

Initial cost.....................................
Estimated years of life................
Estimated spoilage, percent.......
Estimated spoilage, tons.............
Annual costs:
Depreciation...........................
Interest on investment..........
Spoilage at $10 per ton........
Materials and labor upkeep
Total annual cost.........................
Annual cost per ton of capacity.
E stim ated costs in 1954 would be approximately the same.
^Applies to trench only. Life of fence estimated at 20 years.

Unlined
trench

trench

Concrete
stave upright

$122.00
52
8
16

$1,466.42
20
8
16

$2,039.75
20
4
8

$ 18.10
3.05
160.00
5.00
$186.15
$
.93

$

$ 101.99
50.99
80.00
25.00
$ 257.98
$
1.29

73.32
36.66
160.00
4.00
$ 273.98
$
1.37

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

3

last about 10 years. Estimated repairs on a quality. A drop in quality means lower prices
blower, including conveyor and pipes, aver­ for producers who are selling on grade, and
if a consumer gets poor-quality eggs, he may
aged approximately $10 annually.
decide to eat fewer of them.
Less than half of the farmers with upright
Grade AA eggs become inedible in 3 days
silos owned blowers; the other farmers usu­
ally rented such machines at a customary at 98 degrees, but they usually will remain
charge of 25 cents per ton of silage. Some Grade A for about 6 months if the tempera­
farmers who filled upright silos had trailers ture is held just above freezing.
with movable front-end gates which they
F. Z. Beanblossom, Extension poultry
used to push the load out the back. A kit
containing the items needed to equip a trailer marketing specialist at Texas A. & M. Col­
for this purpose cost from $65 to $75. The lege, gives the following pointers on main­
farmers reported that this equipment would taining quality and cleanliness of eggs.
last about 8 years, with annual repairs
amounting to $4 or $5.
* Use clean, dry nesting materials and keep
the hens confined on wet days to avoid
mud-tracked nests.
Let Ranges Recover
Rest following a rain is the best prescrip­ * Gather eggs daily, preferably two or three
times a day.
tion for drought-stricken and overgrazed
pastures, reports A. H. Walker, Extension
range specialist of Texas A. & M. College. * Gather eggs in a wire basket, which per­
mits air to circulate around the eggs, and
Deferred grazing promotes seed and plant
don’t put them in cases until they are cool.
reproduction and increases vigor of existing
forage.
* Store eggs in a cool, humid but well-venti­
lated place.
Since many ranchers have reduced num­
bers of livestock, they should be able to defer
grazing on one-fourth of their pastures with­ * Market eggs regularly and frequently.
out damaging the remainder. Mr. Walker
recommends that, if possible, grazing be de­ Maintain Quality of Farm-Stored
ferred for 3 to 6 months, or until frost. If
Grain
pasturage is needed sooner, wait until the
grass matures and produces a seed crop.
The Texas Agricultural Extension Service
Pastures with the most native grasses and
vegetative cover will make the best recovery
in the shortest length of time and should be
deferred first. During the growing season,
better results will be obtained by removing
all livestock from the pasture. Pastures can
be grazed moderately during the winter, as
this practice will help distribute plant seed,
as well as provide some forage for livestock.

advises that once farm-stored grain is dried
to safe moisture limits, certain practices
should be followed in order to maintain the
quality of the grain during the storage period.
The following recommendations are made.
1. When the grain has been dried to the
proper moisture content, reverse the fans and
pull the air down through the grain.

Keep Eggs Cool and Clean

2. Check the grain temperature at least
once each week.

High temperatures and low humidity are
two of the greatest enemies of good egg

3. Check the moisture content of the
grain monthly.

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

4. Aerate as often as necessary.
5. Check insect activity at least twice
monthly and fumigate as required.
6. Keep records on grain temperature
and moisture content.
The publication Maintaining Quality of
Farm-Dried and Stored Grain, Bulletin No.
L-233, discusses the above recommendations
in detail and is available at local county
agents’ offices in Texas.

Stubble Management
Proper stubble management on harvested
fields of wheat, oats, and other small grains
is the key to increasing both soil fertility and
crop yields in the northern Blacklands of
Texas, according to a recent report by the
Texas Research Foundation.

sanitation, reports W. S. Allen, Extension
agricultural engineer of Texas A. & M.
College.
Under a revised program of the Food and
Drug Administration, if wheat contains more
than two rodent pellets per pint — or com­
parable amounts of contam ination — or
contains 2 percent or more, by weight, of
kernels visibly damaged by insects, it does
not meet the minimum requirements of
wheat for food. Wheat not meeting these
standards must be disposed of in nonfood
uses.
Wheat stored on the farm as security for
price support loans will be sample-tested at
regular intervals and at the time of delivery
to the Commodity Credit Corporation. The
new requirements do not apply to 1954loan or -purchase wheat, except that if any
1954 wheat is resealed on the farm, it must
meet the new sanitation standards. Last
year’s wheat not meeting the standards can
be delivered to the CCC under the provisions
of the 1954 loan and purchase agreement
program.

T. C. Longnecker, chief soil scientist at
the foundation, recommends that nitrogen
fertilizer be applied to the stubble, which
then should be disked or otherwise worked
into the soil. The nitrogen aids in decompo­
sition of the straw and the formation of
Information on the revised sanitation pro­
organic matter in the soil. Without nitrogen, gram may be obtained from county Agricul­
the straw rots slowly and has a depressing tural Stabilization Offices or from local
effect on the yield of the next crop.
county agricultural agents.
Many farmers have followed the practice
of burning stubble in order to avoid the
Seventy-six percent of the Nation's sheep
depressing effects of the slowly rotting stub­
and
lamb population of 30,931,000 is in 15
ble. If this practice is continued, the organic
states.
Eight of the top states are in the west­
matter in the soil eventually is destroyed,
ern
and
southwestern sections of the country:
leaving it sterile and unproductive.
Texas, Wyoming, California, M ontana,
A yield of 20 bushels of wheat or 50 Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Oregon.
bushels of oats per acre usually results in They account for 53 percent of the sheep and
yielding a ton of straw. The recommended lambs in this country. The other seven top
application of nitrogen fertilizer is 20 pounds states are located in the Midwest: Ohio,
Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri,
for each ton of straw.
Nebraska, and Illinois. They provide 23
percent of the national total.

Grain Sanitation

Farmers who wish to take advantage of
the 1955 price support program on wheat
must meet more specific standards of grain

The Agricultural News Letter is prepared in
the Research Department under the direction
of J. Z. Rowe, Agricultural Economist.