Forage feed or livestock silage is currently the prima donna for breeders. Because it contains good nutrition and can be stored for a long time. Thus, breeders do not need to laboriously find feed for the future. Do you know about making silage? One of the important tools is the silo. In the market, there are two kinds of silos, horizontal silos, and vertical silos.
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What are Silos? How Important are Silos in Silage-Making?
The general understanding of a silo is a structure used as a storage container. Materials are stored in the form of bulk materials. Mostly, silos are used in agriculture and animal husbandry. This container is used to store grain and feed ingredients for livestock. In addition to agriculture and animal husbandry, this container serves as the storage of coal, cement, and others.
Silos that are used outside the field of animal husbandry and agriculture are usually very large. In contrast to containers in the field of animal husbandry, which may have a volume of only a few meters. Especially if the silage is made independently by the breeders. But do not rule out, breeders have silos in large volume sizes.
Talking about the importance of silos in the silage-making process, this one tool is indeed very important. Given the process of making silage using fermentation techniques. Where the technique requires that the manufacturing material be stored in a closed container. This silo is very capable of supporting the successful process of feed fermentation. So it is said that the involvement of silos is very important in the manufacture of forage feed.
Types of Silos in the World of Feed Silage
In general, there are two types of silos. Namely silos horizontal and vertical silos. Then which one is better? It all comes back to the needs of each individual. The environment is also a factor in determining the use of the type of silo. For example, you have a large space, but the height of the building is not sufficient to use a vertical silo.
The solution, you need to use horizontal silos. So you can still store feed ingredients even if you don’t have space with adequate height. This type of container is widely used by breeders. Why is that? This will make it easier for farmers to take feed in silos.
Imagine if farmers store their feed using vertical silos. How high is the ladder to be used to collect the feed? If using a horizontal container, the farmer does not need a ladder. It’s so easy to take a feed with a flat container. However, breeders must be careful when taking feed. Because the feed will be vulnerable to air and will damage the quality of the fermentation.
The frame and the whole silo must be sturdy. At least have thick walls. To maintain the stability of forage feed. If the container used turns out to leak, it will disrupt the quality of the feed. Horizontal silos consist of two types, namely those that cross the ground and above the ground (bunker).
Silos with an underground position are usually planted with a descending system at the end. This container is suitable for use on plains that have a certain slope. If you want to make a container of this type, try a 1:2 sloping soil ratio. This is to avoid landslides or collapse. If the soil condition is unstable, it is better to cover it with wood or concrete to further strengthen the structure of the container.
The next type of silo is the bunker silo, which is used on flat ground. This type of soil is not suitable for installing underground silos. Plastic-coated circular bales are used as silo walls. This type of container can also be made in a horizontal shape.
The Benefits of Silos in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry
Horizontal silos have their advantages and benefits over other types of silos. One of the benefits of silos for agriculture and animal husbandry is efficiency. How not, a container with a large size can store food reserves for some time to come without fear of rotting.
With fermentation technology, this large container supports food storage well. With sufficient feed availability, breeders can increase their livestock production. Thus, the profits will also increase. The main advantages of using these containers are the low capital costs and also the convenience of providing feed to livestock in a separate compartment.
Are you sure you want to use horizontal silos? Remembering that your work will be lighter by using this one tool. You don’t have to worry about the food reserves going to rot or getting damaged. Store in silos, and let the anaerobic bacteria work to preserve your fodder. That way, you will be calmer about feeding livestock, even with a more complex nutritional intake.