10/02/14

Back to my second for the first time this year, I operate one of the companies mobile seed dressers. If anyone asks why I always say it's because I didn't run fast enough when they asked for volunteers.  But, sadly, the truth is that I enjoy it, it's a change from my usual work, I meet different customers and get to places that I usually don't see.  For those who aren't familiar with agriculture I will explain.  If farmers save their own seed they often hire in an outside contractor to clean the grain, removing weed seed, chaff and broken grain, then treat the seed with a fungicide, insecticide or trace element, possibly all three.  The treated seed is then bagged into half or quarter tonne bags which are then used to load the seed drill.  This procedure can save the farmer around two hundred pounds per tonne of seed and if the farmer has done his job well he can get better quality seed than that bought from a merchant.  The seed cleaning equipment and the chemical treatment equipment is all contained within the curtains of a small truck and the whole procedure is done in one continuous operation.  Today was the first time out for the spring season, the job was for a regular customer at Shiptonthorpe in East Yorkshire.  The customer had booked sixteen tonnes and I ended up dressing seventeen tonnes.  There was only one hitch, one of the air rams didn't open correctly first time causing the mixer door to stay closed.  A little fiddling with a screwdriver soon got things working correctly and form that point on everything went without a hitch and I was done and on my way back by quarter to two.  The procedure isn't quick, the machine can work up to six tonnes an hour with good wheat and about five and a half tonnes an hour with good barley.  If I have to dress poor oats it can go down to half a tonne per hour, I hate dressing oats.  I don't expect this to be a busy spring because last autumn was dry and most farmers took advantage and drilled winter cereals.  Let's hope tomorrow goes as well as today.