Typically, it's found at the silage surface, or at the bottom of the feed chute where it can accumulate into a feed room, causing extremely dangerous conditions to employees or livestock that may be in the area. The first week after filling a silo is the most dangerous, and silo gas is heavier than air, so that means that it will sink. Some things to keep in mind when dealing with silo gas is that it's extremely toxic and poses a great health hazard. Other influencing factors include the amount and type of fertilizer that's used, and of course the crop season, especially the weather, such as droughts followed by heavy rain before harvest, along with wet and cool temperatures during growing season. The important thing to remember is that the more nitrates that are in the crop when it's harvested, will create more gas after it's stored. Several factors will influence the amount of gas that's produced in a silo. This gas formation peaks within two to four days, but the gas can linger in the silo if it's not exhausted or vented. This Nitric Oxide mixes with the O2 from the air to form NO2. The fermentation of silage produces Nitric Oxide. Now that we know what silo gas is, let's talk about where it comes from. It gives off a strong bleach-like odor, and is extremely toxic to humans and livestock. In low concentration, it can appear as a white or gray haze, which is often mistaken fro a silo fire. It's a natural by-product of forage fermentation, and can appear in high concentrations as a red, brown, and yellowish haze. It's also referred to as NO2, or Nitrogen Dioxide. It should never be entered because of the limited oxygen supply. It's also an upright silo, however this one's unloaded from the bottom. On the right, we have an oxygen limiting silo. This makes this silo especially dangerous because it increases the risk of a person being exposed to the gas.

This silo is unloaded from the top by an unloading system that is suspended from the peak.Īs the silage level gets lower, an individual is required to enter the silo and adjust the unloading system as needed. On the left, we have a conventional upright silo.

In this video, we're gonna talk about what you need to know that can help reduce the risk of being exposed. Silo gas can pose a dangerous threat to farm families and their employees.

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