Wetting Barley

[Yorkshire lad]

We have some barley thats 12.5% moisture. We get a mobile mill in to it roll it but shatters and produces a dusty ration. We add as much molasses as the mill can apply without blocking it up ,but its still to dry
Im thinking of adding some water prior to milling to bring it to 18% and would like to know how much to add and how long before rolling

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Can you mix the pile or however is stored

 

[M-J-G]

Can you bruse it less.
We just crack ours as it's a lot less dusty.

 

[Al R]

Knowing someone who combined at 12% last year they had a hose pipe fully open pouring onto the trailer spout as it was coming out - this was going into the grain store and not being milled straight away which would be far less risky

 

[Sunbeam Alpine]

May be a good idea to check with the mobile miller that they are able to process wet grain. There is a big difference between internal moisture (i.e. moisture inside the grain) and external.

I have 5 mobile mills and 3 would struggle to process grain which is moist on the outside.

 

[Bury the Trash]

It's in the region of 10 litres of water to the tonne per percent iyswim. Iirc.

Mixing it in needs to be done fairly well, like spraying it over a working mixer wagon or on to a conveyor.

 

[michael N123]

harvest sooner this year and crimp an sheet it

 

[Yorkshire lad]

May be a good idea to check with the mobile miller that they are able to process wet grain. There is a big difference between internal moisture (i.e. moisture inside the grain) and external.

I have 5 mobile mills and 3 would struggle to process grain which is moist on the outside.

We get Peter Rhodes to mill for us he uses Tropper and Bushoff mills
We had barley at 18 % before with no problems
I want the barley to be a consistent moisture so was thinking of either using our auger our borrowing a tub mixer

 

[Yorkshire lad]

harvest sooner this year and crimp an sheet it

It’s easy to sell though when it’s in a heap in the shed
We normally harvest it around 16 and use prop-corn if we have to

 

[Sunbeam Alpine]

May be a good idea to check with the mobile miller that they are able to process wet grain. There is a big difference between internal moisture (i.e. moisture inside the grain) and external.

I have 5 mobile mills and 3 would struggle to process grain which is moist on the outside.

We get Peter Rhodes to mill for us he uses Tropper and Bushoff mills
We had barley at 18 % before with no problems
I want the barley to be a consistent moisture so was thinking of either using our auger our borrowing a tub mixer

Sorry - I think you may have misunderstood the point I was trying to make. Rolling grain with 18% INTERNAL moisture is absolutely no problem at all - in fact a lot of mills will go over 30% moisture - as long as the moisture is contained within the grain and the outside of the grain is dry. The rollers pull the grain down and the internal moisture isn't a problem. If you add water to your dry grain and the outside of the grain is wet, the rollers may be unable to pull the grain downwards - or it will go very slowly through the mill. Depending on the type of roller mill, you could have a problem with this wet grain.

I don't know the makes you mention - and I am not based in the UK - so I can't comment on how well they will cope.

 

[betweenthelines]

What about adding a liquid feed (pot ale syrup, molasses, etc.) rather than water?

 

[Jim bean]

When l farmed in uk used to take each matbro bucket of barley out of the shed and soak it with a pressure washer and then tip it on the pile for the bruiser give it a couple of days to soak in.