How I Helped My Harvestore

How I Helped my Harvestore CROP STORAGE Silos (50) 9-5-28 Haylage hard spots have always been a problem for Larry Baer inside his 25-by-90 and his 25-by-80 Harvestore" silos. "The Harvestore drop chute drops haylage directly down the center so that it forms a mound that gradually fills out to the sides. The haylage always hits in the center, creating packed hard spots that cause problems for the unloader," the Marshallville, Ohio, farmer told FARM SHOW. "When we come across a hard spot we've got to repeatedly stop, reverse and restart our unloaders. Mostly it's only an aggravation and an extra ten or 15 minutes. But sometimes it's so bad that it can take an extra man or two up to several extra hours." Baer solved the problem by mounting an "Easy-Up" silage distributor directly under the Harvestore drop chute. The Easy-Up looks like the business end of a scoop shovel. Powered by a small electric motor, it slowly rotates 360?, spreading forage material in flat even layers. Spread patterns can be adjusted by simply changing the angle of the deflector. "The silo fills up almost perfectly level with the Easy-Up installed. Without the Easy-Up, a 15-ft. hump forms in the center and slopes out to the sides," says Baer. "Since we've been using it, we no longer have to continually start and stop the unloader to back away from hard spots and we have much less wear and tear on equipment," he adds, noting that he also uses the distributor to handle high-moisture corn. Baer says his Harvestore dealer is skeptical about the Easy-Up spreading method, apparently concerned that it will prevent a cone from forming over the unloader. Baer, however, is satisfied it works. He uses it in both of his Harvestores and has had no problems in nearly two years of use, servicing his 350-cow herd. "Another important benefit is that we are able to put 10 to 15 more tons of haylage into the silos because it packs in better." John Shankland, Doylestown, Ohio, inventor of the Easy-Up silage distributor, has been manufacturing the units for the past 21 years. They've been used in Madison, Rochester, Sealstore and Cropstore silos (all oxygen limiting) but, with the exception of a few experimental units, have not been used regularly in Harvestores. "It works great not only for haylage but also to spread high-moisture corn because it distributes the fines evenly throughout the structure. We're excited about the interest Baer and other Harvestore owners are showing in our system and hope to sign up Harvestore dealers throughout the country," says Shankland. The Easy-Up distributor sells for $589. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Shankland, 3J Manufacturing, 437 S. Portage Road, Doylestown, Ohio 44230 (ph 216 658-2529).

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