Cereal storage

Silos for cereal stockage

A silo is a special structure widely used in agriculture to storage large quantities of bulk materials such as grain, food products or silage and ensures the product's conservation and minimum loss. Silos have different sizes and heights depending on the stored materials and the space which can be allocated to it. They are usually cylindrical because the farmers observed that such structures can withstand strong winds much better than other structures and they also prevent formation of air pockets. Apart from food materials silos can as well store cement, coal, sawdust, etc.

History

First silos, according to the archeological research and ancient scripts, were built in ancient Greece. The word silo comes from Greek and means literally “pit for holding grain". The first modern silo was invented and constructed by Fred Hatch in 1873. Nowadays the most popular and widely used silos are: bag, tower and bunker silos. Bag silo is a durable plastic tube usually from 2 to 3 meters in diameter, as long as needed and sealed on both ends. They are not expensive and do not require a special storage place. Tower silo is a tall, cylindrical structure build most often from stone, enameled steel or wood. It is usually from 10 to 84 meters tall and from 4 to 30 meters in diameter. It was invented by an American agricultural scientist Franklin Hiram King. This type of silo is usually loaded from the top where the advantage is the weight of the packed cargo. Bunker silos are usually pits with concrete walls where the storage space is filled with many types of loaders and trucks. When the pit is full it is tightly secured with plastic covers to prevent the loss. They are not expensif and suited to store large quantities.

Manufacturers

One of the biggest manufacturers of silos is GSI International from the USA. IDASS SA is a French company manufacturing and importing agricultural equipment. RMTC is a manufacturer of livestock, agriculture, and nutrition specialist from France. Thou industry from France specializes in industrial bodywork, lifting and handling. Agora Services Limited from UK serves the bulk storage and handling industry.