As you may have noticed the tractors and combines have been out and about in force! That’s because harvest is not only in full swing but pretty much at its end! At Motts this year we had winter and spring wheat (they are ready to combine at different times), linseed, oats and beans to get in throughout harvest. Though as with most things, patience is a virtue and you cannot rush the crops.
If you know anyone who is involved in farming at all, you’ll probably have heard them talk extensively about the weather! It is the main factor in determining how well the crops germinate, how they grow, and crucially when they can be harvested. Once the crop has grown it will then die off and is ready to be combined. From then it’s a waiting game to get the moisture levels right. If it is too low then they will probably be low in nutrition, and it also increases the likelihood it will be blown through the combine due to its weight. Too high and the crop will not combine as well and risk disease once stored, as well as this it is harder to sell if it is not between the acceptable levels. For example, wheat must be between 12.5% and 15% moisture.
For bringing the crop in to the shed, we have one of the most recognisable bits of farm machinery for that – the combine harvester! The crop goes in the front and is thrashed to separate the grain from the straw. The straw is then sent out of the back and the grain up into the tank read to go to the trailer. Although there are different variations on how they do it, the basic principles stay the same.
A rough diagram of our combine
Ready to unload into the trailer
It is during unloading when you may have seen the shoot out the side of the combine – ours has a weight cell on the end (the silver bit) that allows us to measure how much grin has been harvested. This helps to give us an indication of how well the crops have performed this year. It is also good as we can see how well a particular area has done – we will come to trial plots another day and explain why this is so handy.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
Motts Farm 