Cooperative bets on bag silos to increase grain storage capacity

The harvest of Brazil's 2021/22 soybean crop is advancing and is heading towards the final stretch. According to Conab projections, oilseed production alone is expected to total 116,2 million tons this year. Projecting this increase in production, the Mixed Agricultural Cooperative of Piracanjuba – Coapil, anticipated and is preparing to expand the storage capacity of its members' production this season. They have just acquired 100 Silox silo bags, a company with the Nortène Group's quality seal.

According to the cooperative's vice-president, Astrogildo Gonçalves Peixoto, responsible for the grain area, this year the production of the 2.600 members was significant, with a harvest of around 65 to 70 bags per hectare. “Our expectations for this harvest are high and from the looks of it, we will reach our goals”, he says.

Coapil's headquarters are in Piracanjuba/GO, which currently has 14 silos, with the capacity to store more than 1,3 million tons of soy, corn or sorghum. They currently have 400 bag silos, which increases storage to 1,5 million tons; and are paving the way for new silos.

At the Bela Vista de Goiás unit, there are six silos with a storage capacity of 700 thousand bags. With the new acquisitions of bag silos, the cooperative will increase its total storage capacity to almost four million bags. “The bag silo is the best equipment in the world for those who have a warehouse, as they can be used strategically just like we do”, highlights Peixoto.

According to Coapil's vice-president, they learned about Silox's bag silos through another cooperative. The product caught attention because it would be very efficient in expanding storage capacity. “Although the handling and storage in pockets is a little different compared to metal silos, the quality of the grains stored in Silox products draws attention and we have never had any problems”, he reinforces.

Store wherever you want

One of the main advantages of using bag silos is that the producer can install the solution anywhere on the farm. In Mato Grosso, for example, many of them do not cultivate on a single property and can move around and choose where they want to store. With the traditional metal silo, in addition to the high investment, once you have chosen the location, if for some reason, over the years, production increases in another unit, it becomes complicated to carry out the logistics of transporting the grain to where it went. installed the structure.

With the silo-bag, if the producer chooses to change the storage location, he places the boxes with the structure material in a vehicle and takes them to another location. Another interesting point about this technology is the issue of cost-benefit ratio. With the constant increase in input prices, especially on the international market, another advantage is the possibility of storing them in the silo-bag. The cost is much lower when compared to the metal silo. Furthermore, the company delivers between 10 and 15 days to the farm or chosen location, while most metal silo manufacturers work within 200 to 400 days due to lack of raw materials.

It is also important to highlight the storage capacity, as the Silox product stores up to five tons more than market competitors and does not generate additional maintenance costs. The maximum size sold is 100 meters, which holds up to approximately 340 tons, equivalent to 5.400 60kg bags. “We are very happy with this partnership with Coapil and we know the potential of Silox and also of the cooperative. We are sure it will be a long-term relationship”, concludes Rosemeire Branco, Silox commercial manager.