Henty field days: Silo Upgrades will have silo-refurbishing solutions

WITH harvest on the horizon, grain growers will be relieved to hear about 99 per cent of old cone-bottom silos can be fully sealed and made OH&S compliant.

WITH harvest on the horizon, grain growers will be relieved to hear about 99 per cent of old cone-bottom silos can be fully sealed and made OH&S compliant.

Good as new: Chris Lloyd specialises in rejuvenating silos as a cost-effective solution to on-farm grain storage.

Brocklesby grower Chris Lloyd, of Silo Upgrades, will be at the field days with practical and cost-effective solutions to refurbishing old on-farm silos.

Chris will display a roof panel and top lid collar, fitted with a ground opening system, Phostoxin tablet dispenser and tube, and bottom chutes at the field days.

If there is moisture in the ground, grain storage is near the top of the shopping list, according to Chris.

“Henty is at the time of year when grain storage is at the top of people’s minds,” he said.

“And, the way the grain price has come back to the point of seller resistance, people are looking towards investing in on-farm grain storage.”

Chris had his start in business while using 40-tonne grain silos on the family farm at Brocklesby.

The older silos were not emptying the grain completely out of the bottom hoppers.

“When those silos were originally manufactured, they were good compared to a flat-bottom silo, but with larger augers, the cones weren’t working properly,” he said.

“Plus, silos made in the 1960s and ’70s were having structural issues with the aluminium rivets holding the sheets together.

“We had bought some second-hand silos to put on a second property and they needed attention.

“We hired a riveter and replaced the aluminium rivets with larger steel ones.”

The on-farm restoration project caught the attention of silo manufacturer, Kotzur, and Chris was approached to service the company’s older silos out in the field more than 10 years ago.

Repairs progressed to installing lid openers, sight panels, phosphine dispensers, bottom manholes, centre emptying chutes, leg extensions, warning signage and sealing and waterproofing for all silo brands and types.

Chris now has a fully mobile Silo Upgrades service for clients from southern Queensland to southern Victoria.

“There has been a huge increase in on-farm storage in the past decade and the old silos shouldn’t have to be null and void,” he said.

“They are not worth much to sell so it pays to have them upgraded versus buying new ones.

“We pretty much store everything we grow now and it seems to be the way trends are going long-term.”