Page 45 - The Farming Years proof

JUST BARLEY
this harvest we sold 104 tons of barley at £100.50 a ton after keep- ing 3 tons back for the horses.
our method of barley storage for the horses I think I can claim as unique. The polyurethane sole system we were using at the fac- tory had two components, Polyol and Issosianate delivered in 45 gallon drums. The Polyol drums had removable tops and could be washed out easily making them ideal for grain storage. The drums of grain were stored in the barn by the road in fours with a pallet on top of the lower four and further 4 on top. This enabled
us to get 32 drums in store after harvest which fed the 13 horses. I had to get a fork lift up to the farm from the factory after each harvest. Surprising how skilled you can become with essential and accurate pallet positioning.
It is necessary to roll all the barley for the horses which breaks the grain to make it horse digestible – part way to our. Another Sunday job. We had a grain roller we mounted on a metal frame level with the top row of drums. It had an empty 45 gallon drum underneath in which we collected the week’s rolled barley. I readi- ly remember the friction of rolling made the contents warm.
By now, we were burning the straw that was left on the elds after we had baled suf cient for bedding for the year. This is a practice that is not allowed now. Combines have equipment at the rear to shred straw into small pieces making it easily ploughed into the ground after harvest.
It was vital in burning straw to ensure that the wind was against you when you lit the rows of straw. This controlled the spread of the ames. It is quite dangerous but we only ever set one hedge on re and quickly put it out. It was vital to ensure conditions were right and that no smoke would drift over the housing areas. This
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