Asphalt::Cheap Alternative To Concrete In Bunk Silos

Asphalt::Cheap Alternative To Concrete In Bunk Silos CROP STORAGE Bunk Silos 21-6-40 Pouring an asphalt floor instead of concrete in a bunker silo costs 30 to 40 percent less and it wears better than concrete, according to tests by researchers at an ag institute in New York state. Two asphalt bunkers built 5 years ago at the Miner Institute in Chazy, New York, show no sign of deterioration while a concrete floor of an adjoining bunker that's just one year older is rapidly deteriorating, says Ev Thomas, vice president of the Institute's ag program. Thomas tried the asphalt floor after hearing about three dairymen with asphalt bunkers still in tip-top shape after 15 to 30 years of use. The only problem to watch out for, he notes, is that the asphalt tends to crumble along the edges under heavy traffic. They solved the problem by adding an apron of concrete that supports the daily tractor traffic to fill a TMR mixer. (Ian Cumming in Ontario Farmer)

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