Bunker Silos Sealed With Candy Coating

Bunker Silos Sealed with Candy Coating CROP STORAGE Silos (50) 17-1-28 "It's like frosting on a cake," says Don Stickle, Jr., of Don Stickle & Sons Farms, Inc., about the ground-up candy coating they use to seal up silage and cracked corn in bunker silos. Stickle says that before discovering candy coating, they tried just about every method of sealing silos including oils, lime and conventional plastic covers. "Nothing else provided the air-tight seal we get with candy," he says. The Stickles, who sell the specially-mixed candy coating in addition to using it in their own 9,000-head feedlot operation, have contracts with candy factories around the Midwest to buy up unused candy that would otherwise go to waste. The mix includes virtually every type of candy, including chocolate (they won't say what brands). It's ground up along with a mixture of small grains and then spread out over the top of a bunk with a loader in a layer 6 to loin. thick. Once in place, the candy melts into a syrupy semi-solid state that dries to a solid coating, tightly sealing up the pile. When it comes to feeding out, the candy crust is simply mixed into the silage and fed right along with it. In fact, the Stickles also sell the candy mixture as a feed additive, recommending that cattle receive 8 lbs. per head per day. The candy coating sells for about $65 a ton, depending on quantity. They ship semi loads to customers up to 300 miles away. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Stickle & Sobns Farms, Inc., 3969 Buffalo Rdge Road, Anamosa, Iowa 52205 (ph 319 462-2030 or 2035).

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