BELLEVILLE - Tom Sonnenburg, Belleville, is leaning toward emptying his silo as quickly as possible. And it seems people around the region are watching the clock tick to see what will happen next at Sonnenburg's farm, located just south of Belleville on County CC north of County W.
Sonnenburg's 70-foot high structure suddenly went off kilter Sept. 18, just a day after Sonnenburg filled it with 400 tons of silage.
"If it goes, it'll make a big mess," he said.
Sonnenburg went out to feed his cattle about 4 a.m. that Sunday morning, and at 7 a.m., while heading back into the house, he heard a crack.
"I thought it was just a branch or something hitting a tin roof," he said.
When he went out again at 9 a.m. to continue feeding, he saw his silos misaligned.
"Normally, you look out and see all the silos in a line. That morning, one was out of line," he said.
The bottom ring of the silo had cracked on the north side, and the weight of the silo and its contents was stretching the south side.
"It's about 10 feet off (center) at the top," Sonnenburg said.
Sonnenburg said the silo was about 6 feet out of line at the top, and continued to tilt about 4 more feet over the next four to six days.
Sonnenburg had Field Silo and Equipment, Inc. from Mt. Horeb come out to appraise the situation.
"The thought is, it isn't going any further if it makes it past the first week," Sonnenburg said.
To bond the cracks, Sonnenburg had the bottom rings "jet treated" with a concrete and fiberglass mixture. The effort seems to be working, he said.
Now he's hoping the silo will stand until June, so he can get the feed out.
Sonnenburg started feeding out of the silo three times a day, to lighten the load and save the feed. He has no place to relocate the silage if he unloads it. The silo normally holds enough silage to last a year, he said.
Sonnenburg said he has never seen a silo tilt before, but he's getting plenty of calls from people who have had one in the region and are offering advice.
"If you use something, like a telephone pole, to brace it, it'll poke it like a toothpick," he said.
"But the main advice is 'Don't let it fall over,'" he added.
The silo, 20 feet in diameter, was built in the 1960s, when Sonnenburg was still in school and his father owned the farm.
Insurance will not cover the loss, and Sonnenburg estimates a rebuilt silo to replace this one will cost about $10,000 to $15,000.
Sonnenburg's 70-foot high structure suddenly went off kilter Sept. 18, just a day after Sonnenburg filled it with 400 tons of silage.
"If it goes, it'll make a big mess," he said.
Sonnenburg went out to feed his cattle about 4 a.m. that Sunday morning, and at 7 a.m., while heading back into the house, he heard a crack.
"I thought it was just a branch or something hitting a tin roof," he said.
When he went out again at 9 a.m. to continue feeding, he saw his silos misaligned.
"Normally, you look out and see all the silos in a line. That morning, one was out of line," he said.
The bottom ring of the silo had cracked on the north side, and the weight of the silo and its contents was stretching the south side.
"It's about 10 feet off (center) at the top," Sonnenburg said.
Sonnenburg said the silo was about 6 feet out of line at the top, and continued to tilt about 4 more feet over the next four to six days.
Sonnenburg had Field Silo and Equipment, Inc. from Mt. Horeb come out to appraise the situation.
"The thought is, it isn't going any further if it makes it past the first week," Sonnenburg said.
To bond the cracks, Sonnenburg had the bottom rings "jet treated" with a concrete and fiberglass mixture. The effort seems to be working, he said.
Now he's hoping the silo will stand until June, so he can get the feed out.
Sonnenburg started feeding out of the silo three times a day, to lighten the load and save the feed. He has no place to relocate the silage if he unloads it. The silo normally holds enough silage to last a year, he said.
Sonnenburg said he has never seen a silo tilt before, but he's getting plenty of calls from people who have had one in the region and are offering advice.
"If you use something, like a telephone pole, to brace it, it'll poke it like a toothpick," he said.
"But the main advice is 'Don't let it fall over,'" he added.
The silo, 20 feet in diameter, was built in the 1960s, when Sonnenburg was still in school and his father owned the farm.
Insurance will not cover the loss, and Sonnenburg estimates a rebuilt silo to replace this one will cost about $10,000 to $15,000.