# bulk grain storage ideas



## sawfish99

I am considering bulk grain delivery for our farm, but need to figure out storage first.  For anyone else who is using bulk grain, what is your storage solution and pros/cons of the setup.  Pictures would be great and details about how much you can hold in the container as well.

Ideally, I would like to have bulk storage of goat feed, 2 varieties of chicken feed, 2 varieties of horse feed, and possibly rabbit feed.  1 centralized storage area would be ok.  I prefer to make stuff myself and also prefer to make it portable (as in, if we move able to take to the next farm).


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## 20kidsonhill

we are using the plastic 55 gallon barrels, and cutting the top off of them, We get a ton of feed at a time (40 x 50lb bags) and each barrel can hold close to 300lbs of feed(6 bags).  

But I am sure there are some wooden bins that you can make that would work for you. I have seen some nice ones at other farms.


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## Roll farms

We use old freezers.


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## Goatherd

Like 20kids, I use the 55 gal barrels, just in metal.  These were food-grade barrels that held juice so no chemicals to worry about. Bought them from a person on CL.  Works great and no problems with moisture damage or rodents.


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## sawfish99

I found a local dealer that sells 3ton silos for about $1700 delivered.  I am considering 1 for chickens, 1 for horses, and 1 for goats.  It would take about 3 years in savings from purchasing the bulk vs bagged feed to recover the cost.  Of course, if I continue to expand the farm, I recover the cost faster...


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## sawfish99

I already use a lot of barrels around the farm for various projects.  I am really looking for something that a grain truck can fill instead of buying bags by the ton.


Roll - The freezer idea is interesting.  Do you ever have problems with the bottom layer of the feezer grain being spoiled?


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## 20kidsonhill

How long will it take you to use 3 tons of feed?  Our feed mill has to have a minimum of 3 tons to deliver it in bulk, otherwise we have to buy it in bags. 

If we get a bag at a time it is 11.50 right now.
if we get half a ton, 20 bags, it is a 50 cents per bag savings
and if we get 1 ton, 40 bags, it is 1 dollar per bag savings. 


We don't use enough feed most of the year to justify 3 tons, It only keeps for about a month in the summer months.


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## sawfish99

Our mill will deliver in 1.5 ton increments (about a 9-12 month supply) and I can mix and match various products to increase the delivery.  For goat and chicken feed, buying in bulk I would save about $5 per 50lb bag.  
I was looking at the 3 ton silo because it is the smallest available but still give room to exand if I add more animals.


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## autumnprairie

I have several of the heavy plastic water or industrial soap containers 250 gal I think, I am pretty sure they hold about 1/2 ton of feed but I would have to go get it several of those would work nicely I think. I like the freezer idea too.


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## 20kidsonhill

sawfish99 said:
			
		

> Our mill will deliver in 1.5 ton increments (about a 9-12 month supply) and I can mix and match various products to increase the delivery.  For goat and chicken feed, buying in bulk I would save about $5 per 50lb bag.
> I was looking at the 3 ton silo because it is the smallest available but still give room to exand if I add more animals.


9 to 12 months is a long time to keep feed in storage in a silo or even in bags for that matter. Have you asked your feed mill how long they would expect the feed to keep?


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## Roll farms

The feed's never spoiled in the freezer.  It lasts 2-3 wks max per 'fill' and we *always* empty it before refilling, so we're never putting new on top of old.

And it keeps the mices out.


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## Karma

I would also suggest old freezers. I've seen everything from small cattle farms to horse stables to dog kennels using them. They seal so they do keep pests out and don't allow too much moisture into the feed and if the seal is tight they are nearly weather proof. All the years my grandfather had his diary cows he used them, they were kept right outside the dairy barn in a covered walkway between it and the Sugar house. I don't like idea of Silo's for horse feed storage, namely because horses are a bit more sensitive to spoiled feed than most livestock. I would worry about ordering so much unless you have a lot of horses. 

Have you considered asking around and seeing if you can get another small farmer to split the grain delivery with you? You could still get the deal and not need to worry about spoilage as much or having insane storage space since you would be getting less.


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