We don't have the most modern storage system in use. But with grain prices at £64 per ton, and barley coming of at 2 tons to the acre for a good crop on moss land. You may see why we haven't spent 40,000+ on a new grain store and drying system. A quick look back in the the diary to the early 90s when barley was £140 per ton and growers didn't have to relay on a top up from some scheme or other. It's a sad state when it doesn't pay to grow a crop that the world could not manage without. So here is how we clean and store our grain. It is carted to the buildings in trailers then the grain is tipped into the pit were it is carried up to the cleaner by an auger. In the cleaner the grain first goes past a fan were any light grain and chaff is sucked away. It then falls on to a large screen (far right top) were the grain falls through and any bits of larger chaff and straw are carried away. The grain then goes over a smaller (top left) were weed seed, split corn and heavier dust which can't be blown out is removed. The grain is then taken by elevator up into the storage bins were it is also dried by blowing air up though the bin. This is not a vary fast way of drying grain so harvesting the corn at the right time can save us a lot of time and money. We also have an advantage of selling our grain straight to the farms who use it. Who don't want the grain drying to as low a moisture content as the dealer would. The grain is then dried and stored in these bins until it is sold. You can still see the small particles of dust which show up in the camera flash. For this reason a mask is worn at all times when grain is being moved. This trailer as 17 tons of wheat in it. It as already been dried and we will now clean and grade it. Then it will be packed into 25kg sacks. We can not grow enough grain to meet our needs. So we have to buy in from local farmers and growers.
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