How long for grain to dry in the field?

Cowcorn

Member
Mixed Farmer
You can’t access it privately - I have a demo version as we are looking at adding it to TFF weather (if we can find a way to cover the cost)

Question - if genuinely useful would members pay for such premium ag based weather services ? Soil moisture deficits, grain drying, canopy wetness, spray window prediction etc ?
Probably, but would grumble like hell if it was wrong !!
 

oil barron

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
If you diligently record all the results of your testing this year along with the weather records and store it in a spreadsheet. You should be able to use a program like Microsoft Power BI to tell you the answers in the future
 

FarmerBruce

Member
Location
Yorkshire
You can’t access it privately - I have a demo version as we are looking at adding it to TFF weather (if we can find a way to cover the cost)

Question - if genuinely useful would members pay for such premium ag based weather services ? Soil moisture deficits, grain drying, canopy wetness, spray window prediction etc ?

No
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
I bought these back wheels in 2007 from a farm near Liecester. There were used on the front of a tractor for Lime spreading. The farmer had a brand new JD 4x4 combine, but I noticed the the back wheels were on with the treads the wrong way round.
When I pointed it out, he said that the only time he used 4x4, was to back out when he got stuck. And that if he caught the driver using 4 wheel drive trying to go forward, he’d get the sack straight away.
He obviously didn't have hills
 

Two Tone

Member
Mixed Farmer
He obviously didn't have hills
Whether he had hills or not isn’t the relevant point.

What he did have that year (2012) was a lot of very wet patches in fields on which his Combine would get stuck travelling forwards - the only way to get out was going backwards in for wheel drive - the rear wheels treads being correct to self clean while doing so.

There were reports that year of Combines, particularly Claas Lexions on tracks, becoming twisted while being pulled out backwards, having become bogged - that’s how wet it was!

We even heard of one, having to be recovered by a Chinook helicopter.

Standard rear wheels would create a rut, making it impossible to steer when trying to back out of a boggy area. That is why he only used his four wheel drive to get out. Very clever!
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
We have some sprouting now and pretty much all the laid stuff is, I will go tomorrow after for a bit regardless I think
I tried to 'cut' my home tonight through some laid Kerrin, couldn't get under it :( pulled out and back to the pre rape Grafton. Will have to put lifters on before I go back. :( @Clive I would pay for your service if it works but might be more saleable and less controversial as a TFF standalone app.
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
Whether he had hills or not isn’t the relevant point.

What he did have that year (2012) was a lot of very wet patches in fields on which his Combine would get stuck travelling forwards - the only way to get out was going backwards in for wheel drive - the rear wheels treads being correct to self clean while doing so.

There were reports that year of Combines, particularly Claas Lexions on tracks, becoming twisted while being pulled out backwards, having become bogged - that’s how wet it was!

We even heard of one, having to be recovered by a Chinook helicopter.

Standard rear wheels would create a rut, making it impossible to steer when trying to back out of a boggy area. That is why he only used his four wheel drive to get out. Very clever!
If he had 4wd on he might have got through it.
Lotsof farmers have 4wd to push them up hills, sacking someone forusing it seems pretty rank
 

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
828191


Fitted flotations off our fastrac to combine yesterday.
 

Two Tone

Member
Mixed Farmer
Wanted to make an early start of drilling OSR today. But it’s raining again!
Which means it will now be Wednesday before the Combine can get going again.
It’ll take me 2 days to get my OSR drilling done, which means I could have stayed in bed a bit longer today.
Hey-ho!
 

Two Tone

Member
Mixed Farmer
If he had 4wd on he might have got through it.
Lotsof farmers have 4wd to push them up hills, sacking someone forusing it seems pretty rank
In that situation, he knew that it was so wet that he had little chance to get through, even in four wheel drive. Being four wheel drive, if he got bogged, he knew that the Combine would have become even more bogged and probably too far into the bog to get a tractor and chain near enough to put him out backwards. Also risking damage to the Combine by doing so.

His comment about sacking the driver for having it in four wheel drive was probably an exaggeration. But he like a lot of us back then had had a gut full of having to harvest in such conditions.

No doubt that having a four wheel drive combine does help on hills and I have plenty of them here. But the hills don’t present a boggy situation. It’s the flatter, low lying land that posed the threat of getting boggy and potentially causing Combines to get stuck


One thing is for sure: I don’t ever want to see another harvesting situation like that one again. But not having a four wheel drive combine, fitting wider, low ground pressure rear wheels was then and continues to be a massive help.
 

Hampton

Member
BASIS
Location
Shropshire
Rather than me keeping checking, is there a way to take the humidity, temp and wind speed feed from the forecast, and work out roughly what time to get the combine out?

You can tell I'm bored now.
I go by the “yard test”.
I have a gravel/stone yard outside my tractor sheds. When that is totally dry (sand goes pale, any puddles go etc) it’s normally under 16%
I’m guessing it’s about 17.5 at the moment ;)
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
I'd pay for it as part of a dedicated weather service, if shown to be either more personal or just better than BBC, or more able to take a trustworthy punt on the week ahead.

I found my demo of it very useful - the actual weather forecast probably no better than most yet as good as any, the level of detail and the tools I mention above are very useful
In decision making and planning

I will do some negotiating on the cost of adding it to TFF and maybe see if we can find a page sponsor even
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
I go by the “yard test”.
I have a gravel/stone yard outside my tractor sheds. When that is totally dry (sand goes pale, any puddles go etc) it’s normally under 16%
I’m guessing it’s about 17.5 at the moment ;)

Yes, i have a puddle test where there is a deep dip by a gatehole. When that is dry then the ground will be dry enough to cultivate.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
3mm rain at 7.30am this morning has probably buggered combining for today. I have sun & wind but I'm not even going to test a sample until after lunch. If it dries up quickly after rain, how much has actually soaked in?
 

fingermouse

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
cheshire
I go by the “yard test”.
I have a gravel/stone yard outside my tractor sheds. When that is totally dry (sand goes pale, any puddles go etc) it’s normally under 16%
I’m guessing it’s about 17.5 at the moment ;)
3 puddles here for our yard test
1st puddle dry it’s still over 25
2nd puddle dry it’s around 20 ( might go and have a nosey like today
3rd puddle dry it’s a deffinent goer
18 and less
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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