A HarveStore is a beautiful sight and for a while at least it was a monument to a prosperous farm! In northern Ohio, they literally doubled as landmarks! It would be sad to see it retired, particularly since it has served you well for all these years!
I have learned so much about the harvesters that i wouldnt even think of. Thanks for the learning lesson. I do like the stave silos better for the looks tho lol but i can now c y u like the harvesters so much. Thanks Travis have a good one
You should have whoever the dealer is that services these silos come and give it a once over and see if there is other issues. I don't think it would be cheap but it would be piece of mind for you guys. My grandfather had a Harvestore on his and my uncles farm and had little to no issues with it. Replaced the cutter chain I think maybe once over the years and they may have replaced the breather bags once as well. One time when one of my uncles was talking to the dealer about how old the floor in the silo was and the service guy couldn't believe it on how long it lasted because apparently they need to be replaced at some point. Yours by the sound of it has been mostly problem free for many years, I say fix it and use it.
I agree with your Grandma...you can always put more clothes on if you're cold...I love winter. I hope your unloader works well. We had the same problem with our Harvestore unloader.
Great video Travis. Ya the silo may give ya a issue or two but for beef set up the corn silo and roller mill is probably close to ideal as one can ask for! But perfect statement it is a machine it will break! Keep up the good work and be safe!
My neighbor farmer sent his 2 sons & his daughter to tech school to learn how to torch, how to weld (different methods) and both diesel & gas engine mechanics. Now only are they great things to have skills at on a farm, but if they ever wanted to do something else, they can work at many places with those skills!
I don’t know a single farmer that dosent take really good care of there equipment. The shear cost of the equipment should be reason enough to take care of it. The old saying is true you take care of your equipment and it will take care of you.
Eric spears i know lots of farmers that beet up there equipment we call them beef farmers I know not all beef farmers beet up equipment just seems like allot do
kylewil12plays I know a few dairy farmers who are hard on their equipment too. A lot of it has to do with how you were taught to run it and take care of it.
Jeremy Smits I am not saying only beef farmers beat up there equipment and don’t take care just around here you see more beef farmers not taking care of there equipment
When i was working on the farm owners used use silos harvesters. As silos age they get costly to repair and fix. We finally went to bunks. There is pros and cons to both.
Ever fixed a bunker silo? Our concrete bunker silo has got a cracked floor now after 25 years use, by rights the entire floor needs to be taken out and replaced, just how you can anchor the old walls properly to a new floor I'm not sure, more than likely they'd also need replaced so the steel is tied in properly, that would cost around 100000 euro. Most of those silos that need costly repairs, like roofs and such are really really old and didn't have the proper coated roof which is standard now., we have an oxygen limiting grain silo and it's in perfect condition even though it hasn't been used in 30 years, only problem with it was the unloading system which were just a series of ports you put an auger in at different angles to empty it and grain easily bridged if we had a sweep like this guy's we'd probably still be using it. And if I can get my forage dry enough consistently ill probably think had about a forage silo as we've had to use bales now.
Too many keyboard warriors! I'd say 30 yrs with little to no trouble is amazing. Most farmers are pretty darn wary of maintenance, if not you get bit bad. Thnkx for the video.
Once we put really wet corn in a silo it took over a year to get it out. It gummed up so bad it was ridiculous. The juices that came out of the silo were sweat smelling. By the was when this took place i was 16 at the time. Learn never to do that if i ever had a farm of my own . Travis so true maintaining your equipment is so important and preventive maintenance is key.
Maintenance is the name of the game that's what we used the winter downtime for oil changes tire changes and barnyard maintenance. Not to do so is asking for trouble.
From my understanding of some of those harvest store silos they are good until the day you take it down or heaven forbid it falls over on it's own. There was one just south of Brandon Manitoba on a dairy farm right on the side of the main highway. It had been a landmark for way more than the 18 years I've lived here as they had a huge star light decoration on top of it at Christmas. I hadn't been that way for a while and I see it's gone now it had been in regular use. With them falling over I wonder if the insurance companys won't cover them now and thats why it was taken down.
We had a Harvestore that we ran for 30 years straight, after the dairy operation. We stopped using it at all, soon weeds filled the bunks and the Harvestore basically started to erode. We tried to sell it and some farm was gonna re purpose it, but it was in to bad of condition.
I don't see you guys as slacking on repairs and maintenance. And like you have said in some of your other videos, there are pluses and minuses to the different silos and grain storage systems that you use. I have no proble with the Harvester type silo, it's a very fine system till it breaks down then it can be a real pain in that as to repair, depending on the level of cattle food stuff still in the silo when the break down happens. Where as the cement and stave silos are easier access to the unloading equipment, but the you have to climb to the top of the food stuff to fix it or when empty you have to raise the unloader to the top of the silo to fill it. So there is good and bad to both types. But your right in the fact that the Harvester type silos do go a long time before they break down. And they are very reliable in ther operation, especially if they are maintained properly. Nice video Travis! Thanks for sharing.....
Good video Travis thanks for the update it sounds like you might have all the bugs worked out when it gets empty fix it and let it go for another 30 years hopefully and you're right no matter how good you take care of it things are going to break they're going to wear out no use in having a good silo and not using it when are y'all going to do a video one day on hunting? Be safe they warm it's right around the corner
Travis from the looks of your equipment you guys take great care and pride in all your equipment and anyone who doesn't understand that stuff breaks has never owned anything obviously because every piece of equipment from a silo to a vehicle to even everyday household appliances will break down at some point keep up the great videos and work and don't worry about what the negative idiots think is best for you and your operation hopefully this year prices go back up and you guys have a record breaking year for profits
Being able to harvest at 25% or so gives you guys great harvest flexibility - must allow you to move on some days when otherwise you wouldn't if you had to put it in your bins.
Great Travis I know all what you are saying and have been there and did that but the young Generation sometimes don't know what it is like to do what you do. thanks for video.
I'll agree with leaving things that are broke to rot away and become junk is a bad financial decision. But on some things it comes to a bottle neck of where you need to quit spending money on something. Like a combine which has discontinued parts or something like that. Machine shop work has went threw the roof so making parts is hard to justify when its lots of money. But there will always be bone/junk yards. Happy faming!!
As a trucker hauling primarily agricultural products to and from farms, in my experience farmers take better care of their equipment to make it last, just so they can get the most use till it becomes unusable and at that point does the decision become is it cheaper to fix or is it better to buy another and it dosent have to be new it can be used and still have many more years to go on it.
and people still ask us why we tore down all of our harvestores I tell ya bunker silos are the way to go for silage for high moisture corn if harvestores work for you go with them but for us, we can't stand those things
It's interesting to see how different people do things differently. I'd never heard of storing HMCS whole kernal until You tube, lol. (Harvestores are rare in my neck of the woods) Most guys I knew would grind it first, and blow it into a top unloader. But hey- the cows chow it down just the same either way, right? As for your silo- it's there, and paid for- why not keep using it. Annoying breakage is all part of the fun of farming, lol.
I'll admit I'm ignorant when it comes to the Harvestore silos, but enjoy learning a few things I wasn't quite sure of. It looks like the corns getting low are you going to have to fill it in the fall or do you have enough to get through another year? Is your other silo empty? Don't see you feeding out of it often.
In my part of the US, they got named "Blue Tombstones" from the number of bankrupt farms they were on. Build 1, you lost $, build a 2nd, and you may lose the farm
Because they're expensive or because they are pointless to build in terms of production? They're common in Canada as well although more common in some areas, typically Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. Silos aren't used as much out west for some reason. I heard that more and more operating farms are tearing them down or not using them.
I just got back from the local auction barn and the bottle calves here are going for about $2-$10 a piece and the ones that they sold by the pound are going about 45 cents per pound and all of them were right around 100 lbs...and I was just wondering what they were going for out your way? I’m in Maryland
It's hard to imagine you or any other farmers staying in business very long without being able to maintain equipment. Am I surprised that you are good at torching things? Absolutely not. Would you be willing to go over the process of long- and short-arming Big Blue at your place? Is that something you anticipate ever having to do again when your beef herd grows sufficient to justify it?
Hey, it's your money, your equipment, your time, your decision. Who's has the right to tell/suggest to you what YOU should do? I watch these videos for the entertainment and to reminisce, not to suggest you need to do/buy this or that. I grew up on a Michigan dairy farm. That does not make me a expert for your farm/area. It's probably good I don't publish videos as i would get a bit irritated with these key board commandos... I do not comment to any channel much, but felt the need to say my piece. If I offend, Sorry...
Google Blue Country Ag for your harvestore needs or have bro ask me and I’ll give him Guy’s direct number. Great group of people! Probably the biggest Harvestore dealer in wis anymore.
After 30 years of good service it’s time for a overhaul and then get a lot more years of service keep up the good work
Excellent video, Can’t imagine you guys just giving up on the harvestore Take care it, it will take care you.
A HarveStore is a beautiful sight and for a while at least it was a monument to a prosperous farm! In northern Ohio, they literally doubled as landmarks! It would be sad to see it retired, particularly since it has served you well for all these years!
I love these silos as well
I have learned so much about the harvesters that i wouldnt even think of. Thanks for the learning lesson. I do like the stave silos better for the looks tho lol but i can now c y u like the harvesters so much. Thanks Travis have a good one
You should have whoever the dealer is that services these silos come and give it a once over and see if there is other issues. I don't think it would be cheap but it would be piece of mind for you guys. My grandfather had a Harvestore on his and my uncles farm and had little to no issues with it. Replaced the cutter chain I think maybe once over the years and they may have replaced the breather bags once as well. One time when one of my uncles was talking to the dealer about how old the floor in the silo was and the service guy couldn't believe it on how long it lasted because apparently they need to be replaced at some point. Yours by the sound of it has been mostly problem free for many years, I say fix it and use it.
Hey Travis, Catching up.
I agree with your Grandma...you can always put more clothes on if you're cold...I love winter. I hope your unloader works well. We had the same problem with our Harvestore unloader.
Great video Travis. Ya the silo may give ya a issue or two but for beef set up the corn silo and roller mill is probably close to ideal as one can ask for! But perfect statement it is a machine it will break! Keep up the good work and be safe!
Awesome video Travis enjoyed hearing you talk about the silo
Prairie Creek Farm awesome video Travis
My neighbor farmer sent his 2 sons & his daughter to tech school to learn how to torch, how to weld (different methods) and both diesel & gas engine mechanics. Now only are they great things to have skills at on a farm, but if they ever wanted to do something else, they can work at many places with those skills!
I don’t know a single farmer that dosent take really good care of there equipment. The shear cost of the equipment should be reason enough to take care of it. The old saying is true you take care of your equipment and it will take care of you.
Eric spears i know lots of farmers that beet up there equipment we call them beef farmers I know not all beef farmers beet up equipment just seems like allot do
kylewil12plays I know a few dairy farmers who are hard on their equipment too. A lot of it has to do with how you were taught to run it and take care of it.
Beef, crop or dairy You can run your equipment hard and still take care of it
Jeremy Smits I am not saying only beef farmers beat up there equipment and don’t take care just around here you see more beef farmers not taking care of there equipment
@@kylewil12plays Around here its the Dairies that run stuff hard and put it up wet.
When i was working on the farm owners used use silos harvesters. As silos age they get costly to repair and fix. We finally went to bunks. There is pros and cons to both.
Ever fixed a bunker silo? Our concrete bunker silo has got a cracked floor now after 25 years use, by rights the entire floor needs to be taken out and replaced, just how you can anchor the old walls properly to a new floor I'm not sure, more than likely they'd also need replaced so the steel is tied in properly, that would cost around 100000 euro.
Most of those silos that need costly repairs, like roofs and such are really really old and didn't have the proper coated roof which is standard now., we have an oxygen limiting grain silo and it's in perfect condition even though it hasn't been used in 30 years, only problem with it was the unloading system which were just a series of ports you put an auger in at different angles to empty it and grain easily bridged if we had a sweep like this guy's we'd probably still be using it.
And if I can get my forage dry enough consistently ill probably think had about a forage silo as we've had to use bales now.
Too many keyboard warriors! I'd say 30 yrs with little to no trouble is amazing. Most farmers are pretty darn wary of maintenance, if not you get bit bad. Thnkx for the video.
Once we put really wet corn in a silo it took over a year to get it out. It gummed up so bad it was ridiculous. The juices that came out of the silo were sweat smelling. By the was when this took place i was 16 at the time. Learn never to do that if i ever had a farm of my own . Travis so true maintaining your equipment is so important and preventive maintenance is key.
Maintenance is the name of the game that's what we used the winter downtime for oil changes tire changes and barnyard maintenance. Not to do so is asking for trouble.
From my understanding of some of those harvest store silos they are good until the day you take it down or heaven forbid it falls over on it's own. There was one just south of Brandon Manitoba on a dairy farm right on the side of the main highway. It had been a landmark for way more than the 18 years I've lived here as they had a huge star light decoration on top of it at Christmas. I hadn't been that way for a while and I see it's gone now it had been in regular use. With them falling over I wonder if the insurance companys won't cover them now and thats why it was taken down.
We had a Harvestore that we ran for 30 years straight, after the dairy operation. We stopped using it at all, soon weeds filled the bunks and the Harvestore basically started to erode. We tried to sell it and some farm was gonna re purpose it, but it was in to bad of condition.
Thanks for the great video
Thanks Travis like your video man .
I don't see you guys as slacking on repairs and maintenance. And like you have said in some of your other videos, there are pluses and minuses to the different silos and grain storage systems that you use. I have no proble with the Harvester type silo, it's a very fine system till it breaks down then it can be a real pain in that as to repair, depending on the level of cattle food stuff still in the silo when the break down happens. Where as the cement and stave silos are easier access to the unloading equipment, but the you have to climb to the top of the food stuff to fix it or when empty you have to raise the unloader to the top of the silo to fill it. So there is good and bad to both types. But your right in the fact that the Harvester type silos do go a long time before they break down. And they are very reliable in ther operation, especially if they are maintained properly. Nice video Travis! Thanks for sharing.....
I know you guys take care of your stuff I see it in all your video's
Dick Fuller
Good video Travis thanks for the update it sounds like you might have all the bugs worked out when it gets empty fix it and let it go for another 30 years hopefully and you're right no matter how good you take care of it things are going to break they're going to wear out no use in having a good silo and not using it when are y'all going to do a video one day on hunting? Be safe they warm it's right around the corner
Hope you can get the silo up and running soon. Thanks for the video Travis!
Travis from the looks of your equipment you guys take great care and pride in all your equipment and anyone who doesn't understand that stuff breaks has never owned anything obviously because every piece of equipment from a silo to a vehicle to even everyday household appliances will break down at some point keep up the great videos and work and don't worry about what the negative idiots think is best for you and your operation hopefully this year prices go back up and you guys have a record breaking year for profits
Being able to harvest at 25% or so gives you guys great harvest flexibility - must allow you to move on some days when otherwise you wouldn't if you had to put it in your bins.
Great Travis I know all what you are saying and have been there and did that but the young Generation sometimes don't know what it is like to do what you do. thanks for video.
Put a bin floor in it and store dry grain in it. They work great.
The taller silos are less compatible with dry corn storage. They become hard to get air through. And filling them can be a challenge.
great video thanks travis
I'll agree with leaving things that are broke to rot away and become junk is a bad financial decision. But on some things it comes to a bottle neck of where you need to quit spending money on something. Like a combine which has discontinued parts or something like that. Machine shop work has went threw the roof so making parts is hard to justify when its lots of money. But there will always be bone/junk yards. Happy faming!!
As a trucker hauling primarily agricultural products to and from farms, in my experience farmers take better care of their equipment to make it last, just so they can get the most use till it becomes unusable and at that point does the decision become is it cheaper to fix or is it better to buy another and it dosent have to be new it can be used and still have many more years to go on it.
Damn the snarky comments, don't worry about them
It don't owe you a thing.about time for some trouble from it.just got to fix the problems as they come
You side was a good welder have you ever think of making a new side dressing bar with your welding skills?
Don't remember who I heard say ..what man makes breaks...
You may have to someday convert the big blues to top unload.
If things don't break on a farm, then you are actually playing Farm Simulator.
and people still ask us why we tore down all of our harvestores I tell ya bunker silos are the way to go for silage for high moisture corn if harvestores work for you go with them but for us, we can't stand those things
thx for the video, interesting talking !
I totally agree with your grandmother
Even if you were to not store high moisture corn anymore you'd be crazy not to fill it with dry grain instead of waiting on trucks at harvest.
This may not make sense, but could one put a steep slanted bottom and not need a sweep, just an auger to pull the corn out.
High moisture corn doesn't flow.
You put up with stuff that breaks because it's paid for. and the cost to fix is usually always a fraction of what a whole new item costs.
with the comment on the semi I have to ask. Do you think the semi was a good or bad purchase for Ryan?
Best he could have made
It's interesting to see how different people do things differently. I'd never heard of storing HMCS whole kernal until You tube, lol. (Harvestores are rare in my neck of the woods) Most guys I knew would grind it first, and blow it into a top unloader. But hey- the cows chow it down just the same either way, right? As for your silo- it's there, and paid for- why not keep using it. Annoying breakage is all part of the fun of farming, lol.
It would be great if we could get 30 years of service from our pickups, car, and washer and dryers; just by only changing the oil.
I'll admit I'm ignorant when it comes to the Harvestore silos, but enjoy learning a few things I wasn't quite sure of. It looks like the corns getting low are you going to have to fill it in the fall or do you have enough to get through another year? Is your other silo empty? Don't see you feeding out of it often.
Would make absolutely no sense to leave a perfectly good silo empty and pay for drying corn just to feed it to cattle.
Reggy_ S
Do you think you might as both yourself and Ryan expand your herds that turn your forage harvest store into a corn one or would that not be possible
Do you put high moisture corn in the silo? Or is it dry corn?
In my part of the US, they got named "Blue Tombstones" from the number of bankrupt farms they were on. Build 1, you lost $, build a 2nd, and you may lose the farm
Because they're expensive or because they are pointless to build in terms of production? They're common in Canada as well although more common in some areas, typically Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. Silos aren't used as much out west for some reason. I heard that more and more operating farms are tearing them down or not using them.
Services. If you stop you break everybody's rice bowl.
Dealers of Harvestors who also repair them can be the reason why some farmers quit using them.
I would design a more useful room, use the same idea every wear. Big, huge, useful.
Do you use any of your silos for dry corn or have you
No, but the other one in this video that is currently set up for forage would be a prime candidate for dry grain storage.
great video
I just got back from the local auction barn and the bottle calves here are going for about $2-$10 a piece and the ones that they sold by the pound are going about 45 cents per pound and all of them were right around 100 lbs...and I was just wondering what they were going for out your way? I’m in Maryland
Aaron 1113 just as bad here in Wisconsin $15-$25 for Holstein calves
Ingersoll Dairy wow that’s crazy the auctioneer brought one calf all the way down from $50 to $3 before someone bid on it and it sold for $3 lol
@@MeredithFarms dang that's crazy!!!
Will you ever do dairy cows again
Not even a slight chance.
Mostly cement slave and haverstore or Mostly moment to the past
Normal operating conditions
This going to be a long story
It's hard to imagine you or any other farmers staying in business very long without being able to maintain equipment. Am I surprised that you are good at torching things? Absolutely not. Would you be willing to go over the process of long- and short-arming Big Blue at your place? Is that something you anticipate ever having to do again when your beef herd grows sufficient to justify it?
did anybody see a mouse at 0:42
Stuff is bound to break if you use it. Shit wears out. Nothing lasts forever Simple as that.
Blue Tombstones. Nobody runs them around here anymore, and a few have been scrapped.
First documented problem... "QUIT USING IT! IT'S JUNK! SCRAP IT!"
I'll never understand this mentality.
Sucks that thing gave you so much problem
Hey, it's your money, your equipment, your time, your decision. Who's has the right to tell/suggest to you what YOU should do? I watch these videos for the entertainment and to reminisce, not to suggest you need to do/buy this or that. I grew up on a Michigan dairy farm. That does not make me a expert for your farm/area. It's probably good I don't publish videos as i would get a bit irritated with these key board commandos... I do not comment to any channel much, but felt the need to say my piece. If I offend, Sorry...
Your fine, no need to say sorry.
#Harvestoresforlife
Google Blue Country Ag for your harvestore needs or have bro ask me and I’ll give him Guy’s direct number. Great group of people! Probably the biggest Harvestore dealer in wis anymore.
Foxland Harvestore is the only Dealer left in Wisconsin.
Travis aren't you 30 lol
NOO
The Rest Of The Story then you are a year older than me I’m 28
Yep 29.
The Rest Of The Story this past Saturday was my birthday
Great video