Page 36 - The Farming Years proof
P. 36
InTRoDUCTIon To BARLEY
no drying facilities. The next year I bought 2 aerators which were a multi hole pipe with screw featured ns on the outside which allowed you to screw it into the heap of corn. It then had a fan at the top which kept the grain cool as long as you harvested at 14% or below but it did not lower the moisture content.
To check the moisture we had a tester which involved grinding up the grain into a sample then it was clamped into a moisture tester which gave the moisture reading. This is the moisture tester I had for all the harvests and, on the 29th August, I tested the grain and it was below 14% moisture content.
So I started combining having had the bene t of reading a mint handbook for an aged combine. The driving whilst harvesting is based on two controls; you set the engine revs at fast and appro- priate gear. This allows the engine to rev high and consistently for the thrashing while the variable speed control can be set in rela- tion to the crop thickness and appropriate speed. The other con- trol, that is the cutter bar height, which you adjust in keeping with the ground variation. Then, at the same time, you have to steer.
Total concentration for me was needed as you also have to check the grain tank to ensure it is emptied into a trailer before it over- ows. The M 80 did have two round glass panels at the front of the tank to show the grain height and after this height you soon had to empty it into the trailer. The cutting pattern I used is to cut headlands giving enough room to turn then take a cut through the crop level with the start keeping it equal distance apart. Then cut down the start side and through the crop to keep the turning on the headlands consistent. In fact, you follow the crop row lines that have been set by the seed drilling. I found one of the great thrills in farming, probably the greatest, is to pull the handle up that starts the auger that empties the grain tank into the trailer. It is an almost addictive smell and sound and is the result of the year’s work.
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