New silo includes feed management wizardry
At Worden Farm, Holsworthy, feed for the TMR ration was delivered in an artic and tipped on the floor, Richard Boughton knew he wanted to improve bio security as the current storage attracted vermin and this combined with weather and moving feed with a front end loader he knew there was a lot of waste, it was also compromising the feed quality, so it was time to take action!
Richard turned to Collinson for advice, Regional Account Manager Adrian Parker chatted through the options and it was decided to opt for a high level discharge silo which quickly discharges feed, via gravity, into the mixer wagon. All silos are galvanised for longevity but Richard chose to go with the optional coloured Plasteel finish too, two reasons for this; Plasteel is available in six different colours, Richard chose Juniper Green, a very popular finish as visually it sits nicely in the rural environment, Plasteel also adds an additional protective layer to the silo beyond the galvanise adding to longevity.
Collinson launched their new low-cost silo monitoring solution FeedAlert in ’22 and are running a promotional offer for new silos, it was available for a special price of £220, new tech to the industry Richard decided to give it a go and ‘test’ it out. Readings are taken once a day at 11.30pm and the weight can be viewed on the display next to the silo, it is also available to view on a handy app but as Richard obviously drives past this daily, he was happy with just the display.
“The FeedAlert system sends the reminders in good time, it’s like having eyes in the silo irrespective of flow or window coverage, I trust it and use it to manage the feed in that silo”
‘The system is great, it confirms what I think’ said Richard ‘as I manage the feeding myself I do have a good overview on feed management although there are times when feed doesn’t flow evenly, it covers the window and then there is a drop, it has never caught me out totally but there have been times when I have had to ask my feed supplier for an urgent order rather than their usual lead time, weekends can be a little more challenging too. The FeedAlert system sends the reminders in good time, it’s like having eyes in the silo irrespective of flow or window coverage, I trust it and use it to manage the feed in that silo!’
Going forward, Richard is looking forward to analysing figures to see improvements from the improved feed quality and reduced wastage, it is hard to be so specific on savings but Richard has no doubt the silo was the right investment. As for the silo monitoring, Richard will continue to take advantage of the data and the handy alerts to prompt reordering. He added ‘I can see how this is going to be great for the feed companies when they can’t get in touch with people and end up with late orders, this data will definitely help them become more efficient with production and deliveries being planned on factual data, maybe one day they’ll put one on my parlour silo,’ he joked… you never know Richard, maybe one day they will!
