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THE TRENCH SILO

A digest of bulletins issued by the Manitoba Agricultural College and the Saskatchewan College
of Agriculture

For further information on this subject write to your nearest Agricultural College or Experimental
Farm. For list of these see Bulletin No. 46.

ISSUED BY

EATON’S FARM NEWS SERVICE
WINNIPEG, CANADA

With the increase in mixed farming and Winter steer feeding in Western Canada
during the last few years, the production of silage crops has also increased.

The necessity of a silo of some kind for storing and preserving this succulent
Winter feed is well recognized. Not every farmer, however, can afford the expense of
constructing a tower or concrete pit silo.

The Trench Silo is the answer to the question, “What is the cheapest silo I can
make?” <A trench silo can be constructed with the labor and tools found on the average
Western farm. The earth is excavated with a plow and slush scraper to the desired
depth.

Silage of excellent quality can be produced if care is taken when ensiling to see
that it is well packed. At the 1924 Soil Products Exposition held in the T. Eaton
Co.’s Store, a sample of silage exhibited by Mr. J. H. Huston, of Carman, Manitoba,
which was ensiled in a trench silo, won first prize in a large class with both trench and
tower silage competing.

Silage in trench silos is seldom affected by frost; and for this reason it is more
zonvenient to feed than tower silage, which often becomes frozen to the walls of the
silo.

The trench silo is more convenient to fill than the tower silo, because less power
is required to chop and elevate the silage crop.

There are a few places where a trench silo should not be excavated; these are in
low-lying, wet soil and in very sandy soil. Sandy soil will cause trouble with caving in.

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Trench silo in cross section;— partly above and partly below ground

HOW TO CONSTRUCT A TRENCH SILO

Location—In choosing a site for the trench silo, careful consideration should be
given to the drainage, soil and feeding convenience.

The drainage of the location for a trench silo is very important. Soil water get-
ting into the silo will make it impossible to keep the silage. Surface water can be
drained away by proper grading at the time the silo is constructed.

A fairly heavy clay soil is the best kind in which to make a trench silo, as this
kind of soil will maintain the slope of the sides of the trench without much caving or
washing down. A slope of three inches in each foot of depth will give a wall that is
easily maintained in most clay soils, but a slope of one foot in every three feet of depth
will give a safer grade.

The location of the silo should be convenient for excavating, filling and feeding.
If stock is to be fed in the barn, it is usually desirable to have one end of the silo
near the barn.

[OVER