Today at work

[Pan mixer]

Lots more out today, it really is beginning to be easier in the mornings with 60 or so feeding themselves and not needing bedding, just the bigger half to get out now.

No, that one didn't have quads, just a responsible mum looking after the babies whilst the others (and several calves) went off at escape velocity.

They do look happy in the sun though, this lot are all just over a week old.

 

[Jenks6910]

Bit of last minute reseeding a grass ley for a customer before the holiday, any skips should show up by the time I’m back

 

[grainboy]

More grain bin Removal, bit tight in here,

 

[grainboy]

More pics,

 

[Adeptandy]

Did a bit of this today

But seemed to be struggling for power

That lump of straw came out of the elbow in the bottom of the tank [emoji15]
Back to full power now, think it must have hit there in its previous life

 

[Farmer Roy]

A bit of glyphosate anyone ?
Just on farm storage, sitting in a shed
36 shuttles

Enough wrap for over 3000 round modules ( 24 Wraps per roll, 9 rolls per pallet x 14 )

Today at 7:23 AM

 

[Nearly]

New gateway.

New fence. Post knocker was me with mandraulic alloy hammer.

I even saw @snipe driving past at least once.
Then collected the latest addition to the nettle patch.

I'm officially Special!

 

[Farmer Roy]

The wrapping & unloading process

 

[Farmer Roy]

Not one of ours ( same machine though ) but another contractor based not far from us at Bellata NSW
( he is an ex Irish backpacker, by the way ). But, this is what I'm doing today at work

 

[Farmer Roy]

By the way, this machine I'm driving is earning $200 / hectare, or roughly $2000 / hour in this going

 

[snipe]

Very interesting. Why the big gaps between rows, does it need to be replanted every year. How much does a bale weigh. What's the weight of the harvester?.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Very interesting. Why the big gaps between rows, does it need to be replanted every year. How much does a bale weigh. What's the weight of the harvester?.

These are dryland ( ie - not irrigated ) crops. Basically grown on stored sub soil moisture ( which is why we are so big on zero till & stubble retention ), rather than relying on in crop rainfall. The "skip row" areas are to provide a reserve of soil moisture for later in the season, as the plant roots grow across into it. It is quite possible for us to grow a crop on no or very little in crop rainfall, given our soil types ( heavy clay ) & appropriate management. But - we won't plant a crop if we don't have a full profile of moisture to start with ( generally, at least a metre of depth ).
It is all about trying to maintain consistency from year to year, good and bad - rather than chasing the biggest yield & just always hoping for a "good" year . . .

Cotton is planted annually. Planted Spring, picked / stripped in autumn. In a dryland situation it is usually part of a rotation with cool & warm season cereals & legumes as well . . .

Err, a "bale" in cotton speak is 227 kg of pure cotton fibre after it has been ginned, removing all the seed & trash. That is the unit of measurement used for yield, marketing etc. The round yellow bales - "modules", or "rounds" vary a bit depending on crop, conditions etc, but would average around 2 - 2.5 tonne. Each module averages about 3 - 3.8, 227kg "bales", depending on ginning results & turnout percentages. The seed is also a valuable commodity

The stripper itself weighs about 25 tonne I think & the 12m front weighs about 5 or 6

 

[Farmer Roy]

Any other questions ?

 

[Steevo]

Any other questions ?

YES!

Do they feed those bales to sheep to make cotton wool?

 

[Farmer Roy]

YES!

Do they feed those bales to sheep to make cotton wool?

The fuzzy cotton seed is very much in demand as an animal feed

I actually saw a mob of sheep in a failed cotton crop yesterday. Sheep & cattle will strip the bushes bare

 

[Farmer Roy]

YES!

Do they feed those bales to sheep to make cotton wool?

So is a Hydraulic Ram a meat or wool breed ?

 

[Steevo]

So is a Hydraulic Ram a meat or wool breed ?

Easycare

 

[snipe]

Thanks for the in-depth reply. So I take it the header just strips the cotton off, so what does the rest of the machine do apart from make it into rounds. It a big lump of machine!

 

[Shovelhands]

Thanks for the in-depth reply. So I take it the header just strips the cotton off, so what does the rest of the machine do apart from make it into rounds. It a big lump of machine!

They are BIG rounds!

 

[Farmer Roy]

@snipe

The front literally strips the bushes, using rotating nylon brushes & rubber bats. This takes everything, including a lot of trash, leaf, bracts etc. This is the main difference to a cotton picker.
Looking at the above pic, the cotton is then blown up the feeder house, through that first skinny tube behind the cab, into the gin or "cleaner". This has a series of revolving saw teeth & nylon brushes that remove a lot of this trash & drop it on the ground under the machine. From the gin, the cotton goes into the accumulator, before going into the bale chamber. The accumulator holds cotton, allowing the machine to continue harvesting while wrapping a round module & while the baler is open ejecting a completed module. Effectively, the only time you have to stop stripping is when you have to change a roll of plastic wrap. The round module cotton pickers work on the same principle, minus the gin & with completely different front & heads. They have a much larger accumulator as they are generally used in higher yielding irrigated crops
The bit right at the back is the module handler, which folds down & carries the module after it has been ejected, until you choose to drop it somewhere appropriate, as shown it that video I posted earlier
The round modules are 2.4 m in diameter
These ARE a big machine & run a 500 hp engine
In a light crop I'm currently using about 54 l / hr fuel, but am doing about 10 ha / hr, so only using around 5 l / hectare, which is a lot better than a header ( sorry - combine )
These & I think the CP690 - the equivalent cotton picker - are about the only JD machines in Oz currently that run adblue & DPF
f**k me, they generate some heat when that big BBQ on the side does a burn . . .