Grain pads - alternatives to concrete?

[ace]

Adam, Put concrete pads up in strategic places with concrete lego block walls. Use them for harvest , then let them for the rest of the year.

 

[Will Blackburn]

they filled as fast ad trailers could tip and the emptying machine filled trailers at chaser bin speed

expensive kit and they had big issues with mice chewing through bags, in the uk wet grain would spoil fast so only a very temporary logistical solution

also cost of the 500t bag was not cheap iirc


i looked into it quite seriously a decade ago but it just cost too much

It doesn’t spoil because it acts like a moist barley bin, CO2 builds up O2 is depleted, keeps it stable. Too wet and you get silage but anything below 20% should be good for a fair while.

 

[Banana Bar]

Large concrete pad and a cheap straw shed over the top. PJ will rent the shed for straw once the last load of grain has been collected. Alternatively big store and stop using CS.

 

[ajd132]

Large concrete pad and a cheap straw shed over the top. PJ will rent the shed for straw once the last load of grain has been collected. Alternatively big store and stop using CS.

Would rather put new sheds up for stuff other than grain. Cost difference of bells and whistles on farm vs second hand CS pays for many, many years of handling charges. But that’s all another debate we can have at the pub.

good idea of pj and straw pad. Judgey aswell, he’s on one of the farms.

 

[Drillman]

How bout several mot failure bulkers and an auger,

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

on contract farms spending money on other peoples infrastructure is never a very attractive proposition

Presumably these farms have chosen to repurpose their grainstorage and left the contractor with the problem of how to load out the grain, at extra cost so the farm can make a bit extra.

So it needs to be looked at as a joint problem.

Transport is the bottleneck so maybe that's a consideration for investment?

 

[ajd132]

Presumably these farms have chosen to repurpose their grainstorage and left the contractor with the problem of how to load out the grain, at extra cost so the farm can make a bit extra.

So it needs to be looked at as a joint problem.

Transport is the bottleneck so maybe that's a consideration for investment?

Agree anything on a contract farm I would expect to share the problem. I would always encourage them to use CS rather than us messing around with 1970’s infrastructure on multiple farms, so it’s a joint thing in my opinion.

 

[Barleymow]

Went round a farm once they stored grain on the black orange juice tanks,suppose with a suitable sized funnel you could use ibc's

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Large concrete pad and a cheap straw shed over the top. PJ will rent the shed for straw once the last load of grain has been collected. Alternatively big store and stop using CS.

Agree, by the time you have done the concrete and built some kind of wall to push up against, you might as well stick a roof on top.

It's something for the central stores though. They really need to come up with a disincentive to build on farm storage because it's not so attractive to pay for that and then the storage fees on top, just because it can't be moved fast enough during harvest. It's only going to become more of a problem as combines get bigger.

 

[teslacoils]

Any local beet pads?

 

[Badshot]

Probably cost a fortune, but how about concrete panels?
At least they're mobile for tax purposes and resellable when finished with.

Lorry with hiab would pick them up and move fairly quickly.

 

[ajd132]

Agree, by the time you have done the concrete and built some kind of wall to push up against, you might as well stick a roof on top.

It's something for the central stores though. They really need to come up with a disincentive to build on farm storage because it's not so attractive to pay for that and then the storage fees on top, just because it can't be moved fast enough during harvest. It's only going to become more of a problem as combines get bigger.

In theory all you need is some bales to push against and a flattish surface - hence why trying to find the cheapest method of doing it!

chalk pad ?

 

[Clive]

Presumably these farms have chosen to repurpose their grainstorage and left the contractor with the problem of how to load out the grain, at extra cost so the farm can make a bit extra.

So it needs to be looked at as a joint problem.

Transport is the bottleneck so maybe that's a consideration for investment?

Most contract farms I have ever been involved with have converted building to residential or commercial use - if they invested in another store they would let it for more commercial storage as the return is much higher than storing grain


This issue its the single biggest logistical hurdle, especially if the farm is not close to home

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I've used concrete railway sleepers as well as steel chequer plate sheets for hard standing on rented land. Worked well for that but both would be difficult to get grain off easily with a loader bucket.

 

[Hindsight]

In theory all you need is some bales to push against and a flattish surface - hence why trying to find the cheapest method of doing it!

chalk pad ?

Would you not get stone contamination with a chalk pad. I like to retain my teeth when eating my breakfast Shredded Wheat, please. Cannot afford the dentist bills now NHS dentists are rarer!

 

[ajd132]

Would you not get stone contamination with a chalk pad. I like to retain my teeth when eating my breakfast Shredded Wheat, please. Cannot afford the dentist bills now NHS dentists are rarer!

Yes you are probably right.

 

[goodevans]

Is there a local runway nearby? Ex ww2? With some spare space? Many small local aerodromes will have turning circles or parts that can be accessed from the old peri track easily.

Use someone else's concrete.

The RAF will be needing them soon

 

[goodevans]

Rent some of those aluminium roadways they use at cereals or buy some and rent them out to all the festivals when you are not using them

 

[Lincsman]

A pad is low tech, easy to install and maintenance free.

 

[nonemouse]

Local merchant used to tip wet wheat onto a grass field and reckon the small amount of grass and soil gathered back up was taken out by the drier/cleaner.
Not sure what dead tractor would have to say about it.