PLANNING THE SILO 41 



Cost Considerations. The question of cost must be 

 viewed from every possible angle. First, perhaps, is a con- 

 sideration of the financial affairs of the prospective builder 

 or purchaser. Lack of money should never be a reason for 

 going without a silo. Properly used, it will put a farmer in 

 far better condition to meet his financial obligations than 

 before. It does, however, often happen that a man is 

 loaded so heavily with financial obligations that it does not 

 seem advisable to assume more debts. Yet under these 

 circumstances it might also happen that labor and help 

 could be secured from the neighbors, with the understanding 

 to repay it in labor in the future. In such circumstances it 

 is clear that the cash outlay for material becomes of the first 

 importance, and cost of labor becomes second. To illus- 

 trate, a man in such circumstances might have gravel on 

 his farm. Also, he might have lumber which he could use tem- 

 porarily for the scaffold. The cost of cement block molds is 

 slight, and if this man were somewhat of a mechanic he would 

 find it advantageous to secure a mold or molds and make his 

 own cement blocks at odd times. In this way a cement 

 block silo could be built with less cash outlay than any other 

 form of silo. In most cases, however, it would be necessary, 

 in considering cost, to figure the cost of the labor of making 

 the blocks, etc., so that for the man who must consider time 

 as money, or who would realize immediate cash returns for 

 his time, some other type would be a better investment for 

 him. In such a case the cash outlay might not exceed $150 

 for a 16x40 silo, while the cost of all material and labor might 

 exceed $400. 



In considering the cost of material it is evidently impor- 

 tant to take into account the amount of material that must 

 be purchased, also the amount of material that may be fur- 

 nished from the farm itself. In furnishing such material, 



