What moisture would you start at

[R J]

Here are our drying charges, unchanged since 2016.

Thanks , charges seem very reasonable

 

[farmerm]

Am I going to need to invest in a drier this year I don't normally start combining wheat until it tests below 15.5 but its now September and no sign of a long, hot, dry spell.

 

[Courier]

What’s a sensible % to start cutting spring beans? Have underfloor drying but no experience of growing beans.

Wouldn't have thought Spring Beans were in any hurry but with on floor drying I wouldn't have them more than 4 ft deep and use lots of ambient air - Could be wrong ...

 

[Woldgrain Storage]

Should have gone down, this time.

It was discussed.

We try to keep our charges as stable as possible year on year, to help reduce volatility for our members. Some years this means taking a hit, some years it means building a surplus.

 

[bankrupt]

It was discussed.

We try to keep our charges as stable as possible year on year, to help reduce volatility for our members. Some years this means taking a hit, some years it means building a surplus.

Fair enough.

 

[Brisel]

It was discussed.

We try to keep our charges as stable as possible year on year, to help reduce volatility for our members. Some years this means taking a hit, some years it means building a surplus.

Fair comment. A bigger store surplus means more projects/refurbs and/or a bigger rebate to members. I’ll bet that your drier fuel bill is a lot less than last year, so far.

 

[teslacoils]

It's also a member store - so we get the profit back in any case. So no difference in fiddling about with prices, rebates etc.

 

[bankrupt]

So no difference in fiddling about with prices, rebates etc.

A reduction in charges from such an esteemed operator might have set a marker for others to the benefit of everyone.

 

[Woldgrain Storage]

I’ll bet that your drier fuel bill is a lot less than last year, so far.

Kerosene price much kinder, but still getting through a serious volume weekly when we use a thousand litres an hour at peak times.

Fair comment. A bigger store surplus means more projects/refurbs and/or a bigger rebate to members.

One of our upgrades is moving onto mains gas for drying, which will come online in May/June, paid for without going back to members for money.

 

[Brisel]

One of our upgrades is moving onto mains gas for drying, which will come online in May/June, paid for without going back to members for money.

You must be happy that the volume and security of supply are good enough. A store I used to deal with looked at mains gas for their driers but abandoned the idea because of a lack of confidence in both.

 

[Woldgrain Storage]

You must be happy that the volume and security of supply are good enough.

Yes, thanks to a food waste AD plant half a mile away, the gas main now goes right past our gate.

 

[teslacoils]

There are quite a few, very substantial gas pipes round this area.

 

[Brisel]

Yes, thanks to a food waste AD plant half a mile away, the gas main now goes right past our gate.

Lockwood’s?

 

[MattR]

Seems odd to me that some people seem to have a blanket policy of "cut at xx %".
If a crop is just ripe and standing well, we're on top of things and there's a week's sunshine forecast, I might wait til it's under 16.
On the other hand if it's over ripe, losing quality, going flat, we're behind schedule and there's one good day before a week of rain, might go at 24 to get it in the shed before its all on the floor.

 

[teslacoils]

Seems odd to me that some people seem to have a blanket policy of "cut at xx %".
If a crop is just ripe and standing well, we're on top of things and there's a week's sunshine forecast, I might wait til it's under 16.

It's about maximising the output of expensive gear. Most long term stores with vented ducts and stirrers can take it at 20 percent. Kits there, it's just some electric and gas, so may as well be cutting. Especially on land where timely working in the dry is important.

 

[Lincsman]

Yes, thanks to a food waste AD plant half a mile away, the gas main now goes right past our gate.

What is the price that kerosene would be switched off and gas used instead.... if you can permanently keep the option?

 

[Woldgrain Storage]

What is the price that kerosene would be switched off and gas used instead.... if you can permanently keep the option?

Unfortunately the burner nozzles and plumbing are different for gas.

Gas is a cleaner burning fuel, which will become more important in years to come.

We can get a very competitive price per KW/h for gas, as our peak time does not coincide with the peak demand for gas.

Moving to gas removes the logistical issues of checking fuel tank levels, ordering tankers, having tankers in the yard during intake etc and also removes the security risk of having up to nearly 50,000L of liquid fuel on site.

 

[Lincsman]

Unfortunately the burner nozzles and plumbing are different for gas.

Gas is a cleaner burning fuel, which will become more important in years to come.

We can get a very competitive price per KW/h for gas, as our peak time does not coincide with the peak demand for gas.

Moving to gas removes the logistical issues of checking fuel tank levels, ordering tankers, having tankers in the yard during intake etc and also removes the security risk of having up to nearly 50,000L of liquid fuel on site.

I dont know your set up of course, but I would hedge my bets and have both, kero could well get cheaper if demand for oil keeps dropping, and your gas supply could fail at a bad time (careless digger driver!) along with not so easy to "shop around"

 

[Wombat]

Our charge would be £7.18 for full spec malting, or £6.12 for feed barley.

Yes but we would have to buy the space, the charges i pay are for no buy in charge so its a different way of doing it