HOLDEN — Having worked hard to prepare feed to see their animals through the winter, Lilac Hedge Farm workers responded last week to a new challenge, as a fire took the crucial stored feed from a silo.
“For those that haven’t previously seen details, on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 6) we noticed smoke coming from our upright silo that stores our winter hay for the animals and it’s been a whirlwind ever since,” owner Ryan MacKay posted on the farm’s Facebook page.
“I’ve been overwhelmed with the number of folks asking for more details as well as how they can help,” he said, and he shared information about the incident that had left workers scrambling to replace the food.
“Growing, harvesting, and storing feed in our silo is an all-summer-long project. We maintain hundreds of
acres consisting of both our own fields as well as rented fields in 5 different towns. This year was an incredible accomplishment as it was our first year filling the entire silo, and would have been the first year that we did not have to buy in additional feed,” he posted.
“It is so sad to see all that hard work and investment go up in flames.
“The fire resulted from spontaneous ignition within the stored silage. The leading cause of this type fire is low moisture silage, which can be attributed to the dry conditions this summer. The combustion happened in the middle of the silo, around 35 feet up,” according to MacKay’s post.
The second day, Wednesday, temperatures in the silo rose from 120 degrees to 500 degrees as the fire continued to burn, according to the post.
The concrete-lined silo may be able to be salvaged, but the other equipment has not fared as well. And new feed needs to be purchased for the animals.
The farm quickly stepped up its timeline on construction agreements to move forward. Insurance does not cover feed, so the farm is facing costs approaching $100,000.
“The loss of the silo and emergency construction is not what hits us hardest. It’s our winter feed loss; the hay we rely on to nourish our livestock. It costs $3.50 per day for feed per head of cattle we have in the barn.
“Continuing our plan of wintering 150 cows here is an expense of roughly $525 per day. We estimate $90,000 in feed expense to replace the lost feed, assuming all goes well and we are able to put the cows on pasture in mid-May,” he said.
“This will be in addition to the $50,000 outstanding balance associated with chopping the grass this summer, all of which is now lost. A fire is a farmer’s worst nightmare.
“The good news is we are moving fast.” The feed situation, although costly, was eased as other farmers and supporters pitched in, helping to bring other feed from a Templeton field to the Holden farm.
“My team knows it is important to share our farm journey and story with those that support us day in and day out. I have incredible staff and friends with knowledge, connections, and resources to help us move ahead. My team and I have persevered through many challenges in the past, and I have no doubt we’ll get through this one too. We are resilient,” MacKay said.
He also said he appreciated the support of the community.
“You, our faithful customers, contribute to our success every day when you choose to spend your food dollars with Lilac Hedge Farm. If you would like to further support us,” he said, “there are options.”
Those options include a GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/bd6e9a4b. Donations can also be mailed to Lilac Hedge Farm, 106 Bond Road, Holden, MA 01522. MacKay said folks could also support the farm by purchasing a gift card this holiday season, via the farm’s online platform or in the Rutland store on Wachusett Street, or at a farmer’s market.
