Reduce grain loss
Reduced grain loss is the main advantage of Case IH’S AFS Harvest Command automation on his 7250 Axial-flow Combine Harvester.
That is the assessment of southern Mallee farmer Tim Mcclelland, who achieved sub two-percent grain loss at harvest in late 2020.
Mr Mcclelland, a long-time O’connors customer, bought the new machine in November 2020, just before harvest.
The AFS Harvest Command is designed to improve grain quality and grain savings through sensing and optimising machine settings.
Rotor speed, engine load, federate control and sieve settings are subject to monitoring and adjusted as conditions change, without driver intervention.
The AFS Harvest Command automatically adjusts based on feedback from sensors and targets the maximum ground speed and engine load as set by the operator.
The high level of automation enables less experienced operators to achieve similar levels of productivity and performance to those more experienced.
Mr Mcclelland had an employee for the 2020 harvest with no experience with combine harvesters.
“The AFS Harvest Command requires much less knowledge about harvesting to achieve great results,” Mr Mcclelland said.
He said it was helpful to have a moderate level of computer literacy to enable correct set-up to ensure the machine operated efficiently.
O’connors, the largest Case IH dealer network in Australia, has a focus on staff training to ensure the business is well positioned to help customers achieve the potential of the technology.
“The O’connors team are very knowledgeable and helped us set up and understand the new system. We were working with a new machine and new technology and were learning along the way,” Mr Mcclelland said.
“O’connors is great to work with, which is why we have done so for many years.”
O’connors supplies agricultural machinery, parts and precision-farming equipment with specialist knowledge of Case IH machinery.
O’connors operates across three states, with Case IH dealerships in Horsham, Warracknabeal, Birchip, Bordertown, Condobolin, Corowa, Forbes, Grenfell, Shepparton and West Wyalong.
Wimmera-mallee farmers can hear from industry experts and learn about various projects designed to help rural communities thrive at a free agribusiness forum next week.
The Farm Trade Australia agribusiness forum will be at Horsham Golf Club on March 3 from 8.30am to 3pm.
Rupanyup farmer David Matthews launched the farmer-owned agribusiness last year amid increasing concern about the consolidation of farming enterprises, reduced returns and the flow-on effect to rural communities.
Mr Matthews said he believed the most sustainable way to address social problems communities were facing was to find commercial solutions.
He said Farm Trade Australia would seek to partner with organisations and companies that added value to farming businesses and rural communities.
“We will look for organisations that feed into our prosperity, not off it,” he said.
“If a market is working effectively, we will work with it. If a market is extracting too much of the value created by our activity, we will find ways to correct this.”
Mr Matthews said Farm Trade Australia aimed to deliver a greater share of returns from agricultural production back to farmers and rural communities.
He said the forum would showcase the type of opportunities Farm Trade Australia was interested in pursuing, along with specific projects.
A range of guest speakers will take to the stage, including meteorologist and television weather presenter Jane Bunn.
“Jane will provide a season outlook, which is always at front of mind for farmers,” Mr Matthews said.
“She will also present her new farmer-focused weather app. We’re really pleased she’s able to come up for the event.”
Business Council of Co-operatives founder Rohan Clarke will lead a ‘Turning climate change into profit’ presentation.
“Discussion around climate change can be quite polarising but the reality is, whether you believe in climate change or not, there will be increased regulation and societal expectation,” Mr Matthews said.
“Rather than debate climate change itself, we want to take a look at how we can turn changing regulations and expectations into a commercial advantage.”
Mr Clarke’s presentation will look at energy-production opportunities, such as solar, carbon and hydrogen.
Speakers will also discuss rising land values from a banker’s perspective, ‘turning data into dollars’ and understanding the fertiliser market.
There will also be presentations on malt barley and high-fibre-wheat market projects.
“These are both really interesting projects which have identified business opportunities, focusing on the commercial side of farming,” Mr Matthews said.
He said Farm Trade Australia involved a collective approach, allowing the region’s farmers to become involved in projects they might consider too difficult to pursue individually.
“As individuals we have little power, but, collectively our influence is immense,” he said.
Mr Matthews said he was excited to host the forum, which represented the first community engagement session following a year hampered by COVID-19 restrictions.
“We decided to hold off our activities last year until restrictions eased,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to our first event, which will provide a bit of context as to what we are about.
“We’ve been without this interaction for a long time, so it will be a great opportunity for farmers to meet up and ask questions.
“There will be a good range of experience and knowledge among our presenters and people will be able to interact with them and each other.”
Mr Matthews encouraged people to register for the forum online at website farmtradeaustralia.com.au.
The event is free of charge and lunch and refreshments will be provided.
The 2020-2021 harvest has now solidified itself as a true bin-buster for many parts of the east coast, and will no doubt be reflected on for many years to come.
With receival records tumbling across the supply chain on an almost daily basis through the peak of harvest, we once again saw just how efficient the Aussie grower is in ripping off a huge crop.
This harvest pace, coupled with exceptional yields in most growing regions through the east coast, saw grain-receival sites filling to capacity in many areas, as well as grower on-farm storage bursting at the seams.
The landscape is currently littered with grain bags, and no doubt every silo you see scattered around the country is full to the brim.
All in all, a great result for the grower and a solid advocation for the efficiency of the supply chain.
However, as happens often in big years, the topic of on-farm storage floats to the surface, with one surprising dynamic this year.
The interest in grain sheds as an option for on-farm storage has seemingly found a renewed vigour.
There is no doubt we have seen a huge increase in the level of on-farm storage capacity in the past decade, with silo storage being the preferred option for most growers, and more recently grain bags have captured a large portion of the market. But what of the long-forgotten grain shed? As with all storage options there are pros and cons and certainly no ‘one size fits all approach’, but with increased interest in grain sheds as a versatile, long term and cost-effective method of bulk grain storage, it is worth considering in your analysis.
Some of the upsides of having a grain shed as part of your on-farm storage setup include: Capacity – Grain sheds provide an excellent bulk storage option with much larger capacity for storage than individual silos or grain bags. Efficiency – Given the speed at which crops can be harvested these days, grain sheds can provide a more efficient option than bags and silos in keeping up to harvest pace.
“As with all storage options there are pros and cons and certainly no ‘one size fits all approach’, but with increased interest in grain sheds as a versatile, long term and cost-effective method of bulk grain storage, it is worth considering in your analysis”
Customisation – A grain shed can be built to your individual size, access and operational requirements. Versatility – When silos are empty, they add little value operationally. Grain sheds can provide alternative storage options for things such as machinery and fertiliser and can be used for a variety of other operational value adds. Cost – When broken down to a dollar-pertonne cost over time, grain sheds provide an excellent return on investment. Capital Cost Comparison – On Farm Storage Fixed cost – silos $20,000, grain bag $60,000, grain shed $220,000. Capacity, mt – silos 100, grain bag 1000, grain shed 3000. Estimated usable life grain shed 25. Dollar per mt shed $2.93. • Please note, the above does not account for variable or operational costs, or the value add of alternative storage options or use of a shed.
Grain sheds have, over time, fallen out of consideration as a long-term bulk storage option for many growers, however on analysis, prove to be a cost effective and versatile option when considering your storage set-up.
Given the significant increase in interest recently, it would appear many growers are starting to agree.
After all, as a grower who is an advocate of grain sheds said this week: “I’ve never seen a spray rig parked in a silo.”
consultant
– silos 25, grain bag 15,
– silos $8, grain bag $4, grain for Entegra