Food sustainability is a growing concern. This makes food storage a crucial part of agriculture. Among the many types of grain storage systems, silo storage systems, widely used in the agriculture industry for the past several decades, are popular for their bulk storage capabilities.
What are silos?
A cylindrical structure made up of concrete, metal or wood, a silo often stores bulk commodities such as grains, cement, coal, etc. In the agriculture industry, it is used to store fermented feed called silage.
What are the types of silos?
Traditionally, silos were vertical stand alone structures, but horizontal silos are more common now.
Horizontal silos can be of two types:
- Trench, built in a dug out pit lined with a concrete or wooden wall to hold products.
- Bunker, built above ground level, usually found on feedlots and dairy farms.
Silos can also be sealed and unsealed. Proper fumigation is possible only in the sealed silos.
Silo bags are also available, comprising of heavy plastic tubes of variable length. They are a newer, more flexible form of silo storage requiring lower capital investment.
How do silos work?
Using loading systems such as vertical elevators, bucket elevator systems or blower systems, silos are filled with grains. A distributor is occasionally used to spread the grains more uniformly.
In most cases, gravity plays the part in emptying grain silos. Once emptied, a machine called auger transports the grain. However, tractors can also be used for unloading. Grain vacuums help remove grain from silos with mechanical problems.
What are the problems with silo storage?
Although silos are simple structures, they still require careful installation, operation and maintenance.
Problems that can occur with grain storage silos include:
- Temperature and Moisture control:
It is important to control the temperature and moisture of silos in order to prevent contamination of grain, but this can be difficult.
Warming problems occur when cool air along a silo’s outer wall falls and warm air near the center rises, creating convection air circulation. Temperature inside a silo can rise above 90°F. Such high temperatures can result in grain quality deterioration.
It is also possible for water to seep through in poorly maintained silos, increasing the moisture content above the recommended 12% for grain storage.
Poorly regulated temperature and moisture can increase the risk of insect infestation, as well as of mold and sprouting of grains, severely affecting grain mass and quality.
- Structural complications:
Silos need to withstand the pressure from their own weight as well as traction pressure produced by the commodities inside. Thus, it is important to ensure the structural integrity of a silo for safe usage.
Incidents such as explosions, earthquakes, collapse, corrosion, deterioration, unequal soil pressures, etc can cause a silo to collapse. Silo failures are often sudden, and damaging to surrounding structures. This can not only contaminate the silo’s grain and the environment, but also result in accidental death of workers.
- Higher initial investment:
Silo towers, bunkers, and trenches demand a higher capital investment that may not always be feasible for all farmers.
Also, most forms of silo storage require greater care in filling and packing the grain.
- Environmental concerns:
Silo bags require a lower capital investment, but they pose a risk to the environment as they often involve the use of pesticides.
What is the alternative solution to silo storage?
Rather than using a silo for grain storage, agriculture businesses can employ hermetic bags, a more sustainable, cheaper and greener alternative to store dry agricultural produce.
- Hermetic bags and pouches prevent gas exchange and create modified atmospheric conditions. Insects and grains naturally use up stored oxygen and expel carbon dioxide, which builds up over time. This eliminates insect life in all stages, and also prevents fermentation of grains from occurring.
- These bags also minimize grain-moisture contact. This reduces the risk of mold growth and associated fungal toxins, which can be potentially fatal if consumed.
- Bags employing hermetic technology are also far more affordable and eco-friendly when compared to grain storage silos.
To conclude, hermetic technology preserves the quality and quantity of the stored grains without the risks attached to silo storage systems. This is the next step towards ensuring global food security.
Save Grain Bags offers hermetic storage bags to protect agricultural produce from climate changes and contamination by pests, hence preserving the grain in its optimal form. You can view and buy our product catalogue from our online shop.
