Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-07-18
COST OF FILLING sIL0s|
Depends on Management and
Number of Men and
Teams Used.
By LYMAN CARRIER,
9n1ts6 States Department of Agriculture.

w. ~e~ 5000
TAKEN and he also made measurements
Of the silos.
The places chosen were in Jefferson
ana Fond du Lac counties. Wisconsin,
and in Branch and Lenawee counties,
Michigan.
The methods employed by the differ
emit farmers in filling their silos varied
greatly, no two being exactly alike.
This was occasioned largely by scare
lty of help or teams and by the kim
of machinery used.
The most common practice was to
have n man with three horses on a
Corn harvester cutting corn in the
field, two men to load the wagons in
the field, three or four men with teams,
depending upon the distance from the
field to the silo. to hau the corn to the
cutteri n man to run the gas engine
when steam was used for power, and
occasionally when gasoline engines
We're used, one man to feed the cutter
and one man in the silo to spread and
tramp the siage.
Each teamster pitched off his own
load. This makes a crew of eight or
nine men exclusive of the man who
tends the engine.
In cases where there is a shortage of
teams the following method is gen
orally practiced: One man with three
horses cuts the corn, two men load the
wagons in the field, two men or boys
with teams haul the corn to the cutter,
n mar unloads the wagons, one man
feeds and one man works in the silo.
AS soon as a load arrives at the cut
ter the teamster changes his team for
an empty wagon and goes back to the
6n1I for -o{L4r looJ NTI@~ n y@-~
is unloaded it is run out of the way
by hand.
With this method boys who are not
strong enough to handle green corn
can be utilized to drive the teams.
This method requires a crew of six
men and two boys, exclusive Of the
engine tender.
When enough horses are available
and help is scarce this arrangement
of men and teams is a good one: One
man with three horses runs the har-
vester in the field, four men with teams
maui the corn to the silo, one man
feeds n one spreads the corn in the
silo.
Low trucks OF wagons with racks
suspended below the axles should be
used so that the teamsters can put on
their own loads. This requires a crew
of seven men besides the engineer.
The difference between methods is in
the arrangements for loading, hauling
and unloading. When there is a suf-
fcient number of teams the teamsters
do their own loading and unloading.
When teams are scarce two leaders
n one unloader are needed, but boys
may drive the teams between the field
and silo.
In figuring out the cost Of filling the
silos We're measured and the amount
of silage determined from Kings
tables. It must be borne in mind that
these weights are for cured silage.
The actual weights of green corr put
in the silos would be from Is to rs per
cent greater than those mentioned.
The cost of labor varied consider
ably. In order to compar the differ
ent methods a uniform rate of Is cents
an hour was made for the men and the
same for a team of two horses. En-
CINE hire swas rated at $3.50 a day,
which includes the engineer.
Irvine was rated at liz cents a
pound, coal at S. a ton and gasoline
at 13 cents a gallon. No charge was
made for wear and tear OF machinery
or for boarding the help. Nearly every
o1S VI Ill liz oWIleu HIS Stage cut
ter. The others depended upon hiring
cutters. The charge for an engine, en-
gineer, silage cutter and one man to
feed is usually $40 a day.
Ten hours was considered a davis
work. No deductions were made for
delays unless the helpers were set at
some other work. The average GUAM
tity of silage cut daily by each man
was computed by dividing the number
of tons of silage cut by the total hours
worked and multiplying the result by
ten.
The cost per ton of filing silos on
thirty-one farms ran from As to 81
cents. The average yield of silage per
acre was 9.01 ons The average cost
per ton of silage was "a cents. The
average amount of silage cut daily per
man was 40 tons. The average cost
per acre for putting the corn in the
silo was $5.9S.
The question at once arises, Why
can some farmers fill their silos at a
cost of as cents per ton, while it costs
others Sc cents? Quite often the high
er cost is due to unavoidable causes.
such as long hauls, lodged and tangled
corn and accidents to machinery. In
many cases, however, a poor arrange
ment of help is responsible for the
extra expense.
The scheme where all are working
and no one is hindered by he others
is the most economical. Too many
men in the field for the number at the
cutter, or vice versa, and too large a
crew for the size of the silage cutter
are common sources of loss.
Two or three men and teams with
loaded wagons waiting their turns to
unload, a similar condition in the field
where they are waiting to be loaded, or
a delay owing to lack of teams repre-
sents a decided loss of valuable time.
The factor that controls the size of
the crew is the capacity of the silage
cutter.
A small cutter may be used almost
as economically as a larger one, but
most farmers wish to get the silo fill
ing done as quickly as possible and so
prefer he larger machines.
There was only 2 cents per ton diff