Flaman Rentals Blog

Grain Bag Storage Maintenance Tips

Posted by Calla Simpson Oct 07, 2020

When dealing with a high volume crop, you may decide that short term storage is best to maintain the quality of your harvest. Grain bag storage is a flexible, cost-effective solution for short term storage of bumper yields, provided certain quality control steps are taken. Site preparation, site maintenance, and machine servicing all need to be done properly and timely to ensure your grain holds its quality and value.

Below you’ll find tips on the preparation and maintenance steps required to ensure that grain bagging is a successful storage option for your operation.

Site preparation makes for easier maintenance 

Selecting the right site for your grain and production is key. It’s best to select a site that is accessible even when the weather is wet, and located in the open to help deter animals. Once an appropriate site has been found, preparing the site is the first step required to set yourself up for easier maintenance.

First, remove any debris such as sticks or sharp objects, then grade the site and ensure the ground is firmly rolled to prevent the grain bags from sinking or water pooling around them. If possible, spray the site with a rodent deterrent to prevent mice and vermin from burrowing under the bags once laid. If proper preparation is not completed, then the bag may not be impervious to air or liquid and can lead to grain spoiling. 

Site maintenance once bags are laid and full 

The biggest threat to the filled grain bags is animals, especially during the winter months. Snow can create drifts for deer to climb onto the bags, however, using pallets at the ends can deter them. An electric fence, or any sturdy fence, can be used to keep bears and deer away. Year-round, mice pose the biggest risk to the bags as they are known to burrow under, weakening the soil and allowing water to pool, and also chewing through the bag material causing wastage and grain spoilage.

Bird damage is another threat that ongoing site inspections and bag maintenance can help prevent. Birds like to land on the bags, pecking bags to access insects stored within the grain. Using Grain Bag Armor is one of the best methods of preventing bag damage. 

Regular inspections of the bags are needed to ensure no damage from animals, weather, or insects. During wet weather, if the number of mice and vermin are up, then daily bag checks may be required to ensure they stay unharmed. In normal weather conditions, check weekly at a minimum. If there are any punctures, rips, or other damage visible, patching these will prevent moisture from spoiling the grain.

Machine servicing and maintenance

Regular maintenance of Grain Baggers and Grain Extractors helps ensure minimal downtime. Reading and following the manufacturer’s manual is key to keeping these machines in top condition. The manuals describe in detail the following mechanisms and their respective maintenance – the driveline, shear bolts, drive chain tension, and alignment along with the following items needing servicing – fluids and lubricants, auger wear plates, greasing, and servicing intervals. There is also a section on troubleshooting typical issues that can arise such as augers not running, the machine doesn’t move or low unloading capacity.

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Now offering discounted pallet pricing when you buy four or more pallets of grain bags. For more information, talk to one of our agriculture specialists at your nearest Flaman location. 

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Click here to view the original blog post by our friends at Pro Grain Equipment.

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with Pro Grain grain bags grain bagging grain baggers grain storage harvest | More articles by Calla Simpson

Beat the Weather with Grain Bagging

Posted by Calla Simpson Sep 11, 2020

The benefits of grain bagging are far and wide, chief among them being the ability to use the weather to your advantage. Since the weather can always turn and change on a dime, it’s important to work around it whenever possible, which is where grain bagging comes in. The airtight, controlled environment inside of a grain bag allows you to store grain and plentiful harvest in a dry space, even when the weather outside is less than ideal. By extending the storage life of your grain, allowing you to store more at once and giving you more flexibility in the way you do so, grain bagging gives people the option to have more options.

Pro Grain Equipment is most passionate about keeping operations running in all weather and situations, saving customers time and money. By grain bagging, you can get your crops off of the field by planning around severe weather to improve efficiency on all sides. The Pro Grain lineup of baggers and extractors work so you can work less, with impressive specs, heavy-duty designs, and improved ease and efficiency for your harvest.

Tip 1: Don’t push the limits of your grain.

Grain bagging allows for safer storage of grain, even during periods of severe weather and freezing temperatures. However, patience is key here. When loading the bags, the weather outside needs to be cool, and the bags should be sealed immediately to ensure that your grain isn’t sitting at a higher temperature than the outside environment. For grain with higher moisture levels, it needs to be dried as soon as possible after the winter season is over. Grain with a lower moisture content can stay in the bags a little bit longer. However, regular temperature monitoring is paramount to making sure that your grain stays in good condition.

Tip 2: Be smart about storage.

Severe weather comes with the territory when farming, and simply when doing anything related to the outside weather. Choosing a storage space that makes sense for your grain is of the utmost importance. When storing grain, look for a place that is highly elevated and away from any sort of drainage that could seep into your bags. You won’t want to store your grain in any manner that could allow natural drainage to affect it, especially during severe storms or periods of melting ice. Before choosing the storage spot for your grain, it should be examined closely to ensure a lack of flooding before severe storms and bad weather. Even though grain bags provide a dry environment for your grain, they can be more susceptible to bad weather — especially if you’re not strategic about placement. You may also want to look into the possibility of grain armor for your grain storage, which gives an extra layer of protection against both weather and wildlife.

Tip 3: Keep a watchful eye on the grain in severe weather.

Grain should be checked periodically, at least once a week, for punctures from severe weather or issues that can arise because of the outside environment. From cosmetic damage that could severely affect the quality of the grain inside to keeping a watchful eye on the temperature of the grain, it’s important to use the weather outside as a gauge for what’s inside your grain bags. By placing the bags in a north to south manner when storing them, the sun will heat the bags evenly for a more consistent environment inside the bags, regardless of the weather.

Tip 4: Be strategic about your timing for a better crop.

One of the biggest benefits of grain bagging is the added ability to increase efficiency by bagging grain right in the field. When you’re expecting severe weather around harvest, grain bagging allows you to control when the crop is loaded into the bags and the condition of the grain. Since grain bagging is a quicker alternative to more traditional means, it allows you to get to your crop before the weather does. Once the grain is in the bag, it’s essentially going to stay the same moisture as when you put it in. By being careful and strategic about your timing, you’ll be able to better store your crop and do so around bad weather.


A Pro Grain bagger in action during Harvest 2019

To learn more about grain bagging and to see which grain bagging products could improve your harvest capabilities, get in touch with us. We would be happy to walk you through everything you require for your grain bagging needs and answer any questions you might have.

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Now offering discounted pallet pricing when you buy four or more pallets of grain bags. For more information, talk to one of our agriculture specialists at your nearest Flaman location. 

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Click here to view the original blog post by our friends at Pro Grain Equipment.

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with Pro Grain grain bags grain bagging grain baggers grain storage harvest | More articles by Calla Simpson

How to Address Farming Challenges with the Right Equipment

Posted by Calla Simpson Aug 20, 2020

With grain bagging at your side, farming challenges won’t loom over your head.

As we begin to enter the new days of the upcoming farming season, there’s one constant: the harvest challenges that will lie ahead. A huge part of being in the farming business is being able to anticipate challenges and to pivot to them, and every good farmer understands that. However, every good farmer also desires to rise above the challenges presented to them, which is where the right equipment and the right mindset come into play.

In the 2019 harvest season, we saw challenges ranging from supply chain management issues and an excess of labour costs to late harvest starts, inclement fall weather, the prediction of lowered storage availability, and an abundance of leftover crops. As the 2020 season begins to come to shape overhead, it’s our job as farmers to think ahead and problem solve the best way we know how.

A great way to pivot and stay on top of things is through the use of grain bags, which have been a huge help to farmers looking for ways to minimize cost along with improving harvest efficiency.

Challenges farmers are facing in 2020

The 2020 harvest season is a unique one as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe and affected each and every farm operation. As farmers, the job is always to continue harvesting and providing for others — which can sometimes prove to be a hard thing. As we enter a new season, the issues facing farmers are:

Storage: there is a struggle to find adequate storage space for grain and harvest amid the pandemic.
Supply Chain Issues: stemming from a lowered labour force and leftover grain.
Inventory: confusion in inventory forecasting.
Physical Distancing: the need for physical distancing and increased health measures among labour forces on farms.

How can grain bags help farming challenges?

Flexibility is everything when it comes to farming, whether it be through finding new storage methods or by looking for new ways to cut costs. By using grain bags in your farming operation, you’ll be able to deal with many of the common farm operation challenges that harvesters are facing in 2020.

You’re also able to maximize space and minimizing risk (both financially and personally). The addition of grain bagging equipment and grain bags leads to optimized space on your farm, as well as a lowered need for labour, grain transportation, and grain storage. Here’s how:

Flexible Storage: grain bags allow you to store your harvest directly on your land, completely eliminating the need for extra labour to transport and store grain externally.
Reduced Costs: grain bags simply cost less than other grain storage methods — up to 2/3 less — making them a no-brainer when it comes to downsizing costs in your farming operation.
Increased Productivity: grain bags allow for better time management in your harvesting operation, from less downtime on the combines to more productivity from the workforce at hand.
Harvest Faster: grain bags are helpful when it comes to supply chain issues and excess crops, as they’ll keep your harvest safe from wildlife, spoilage, and weather while you wait.
Increased Efficiency: grain bags help to deal with varied demand, as they offer both efficiency and storage to assist with your needs.



When it comes to challenges, farmers are no stranger to making it work. Farmers are more able to pivot than any other profession in the world, whether it be from weather, cost, or even global pandemics. With grain bags, you’ll be able to take some pressure off of your shoulders when it comes to incoming farming challenges.

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Now offering discounted pallet pricing when you buy four or more pallets of grain bags. For more information, talk to one of our agriculture specialists at your nearest Flaman location. 

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Click here to view the original blog post by our friends at Pro Grain Equipment.

Posted in Ag news | Tagged with Pro Grain grain bags grain bagging grain baggers grain storage harvest | More articles by Calla Simpson

Tips and Resources for a Safe Harvest

Posted by Jennifer Thompson Aug 17, 2020

As harvest begins to start in many parts of Western Canada, Flaman is here to provide the tools and equipment you need to get your crop off quickly and safely. Along with our wide variety of Harvest Helpers to aid you in your work, we’ve collected some important and useful safety tips for harvest time. We want to make sure all our customers return safely from the field and have the resources to support their employees and family members on the farm.
 
This post will look at 4 main types of safety:

1. Grain bin entrapment
2. Fire safety and prevention
3. Machinery and power lines
4. COVID-19 safety

 

Grain Bin Entrapment
Tough grain is one of the leading causes for producers to enter a bin. Many studies have shown that entering a bin to break up spoiled grain while operating unloading equipment is the leading cause of grain entrapment. A person could become completely covered within 20 seconds. Across Canada, there’s an average of six fatalities every year from grain entrapment or engulfment.
 
If you need to enter a bin to asses grain, there is a Grain Bin Assessment chart from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association you can use to assess if it’s safe to enter the bin.
 
This fact sheet from the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture also has some helpful information about how grain entrapment occurs, as well as preventative and safety measures.
 
And finally, if you wish to create a Confined Space Management Program for your farm, this quick start guide from Ag Safe Alberta is a useful tool. Along with grain bins, confined spaces also include sumps, wells, feed bins, attics and even some equipment.
 

 
Fire Safety and Prevention
Fires in the field can happen all too suddenly when working with dry, flammable material and hot mufflers and electrical wiring. There are some simple pre-cautionary measures you can take to help avoid the risk of injury or loss of equipment due to fire.

1. Have working fire extinguishers mounted on equipment, ideally one in the cab and one accessible from the ground. Alberta Agriculture recommends a 10 pound dry chemical, multi-purpose ABC extinguisher and a 2.5 gallon pressurized water extinguisher on combines.
    
2. Remove crop residue, dust, debris, dirt and excess lubricant around all heat sources regularly. Check for a buildup of combustible crop residue around engines and exhaust systems, concealed drive belts and pulleys that can overheat due to friction.
    
3. Be careful when using low clearance vehicles in fields, as exhaust pipes and catalytic converters can ignite dry grass or stubble.
    
4. Check exposed wiring and fuel/hydraulic lines for damage, wear and deterioration.
    
5. Allow engines to cool before refueling.

And for added safety, Flaman carries a variety of firefighting pump and tank units, such as the Enduraplas Fire Ranger or the BE Fire Cart, to allow you to quickly put out any fires in the field while harvesting.
 

 
Machinery and Power Lines
Electrical safety is another important area to be aware of when working with large machinery on a farm. More than 40% of agricultural workers in Canada have reported direct hits or near misses with power lines. In 2019, there were 326 farm safety incidents reported to Sask Power. The most common causes of electrocutions on the farm are portable grain augers, large combines, high clearance sprayers and other tall equipment that can come into contact with overhead power lines.
 
There are two types of electrical injury that can occur:

1. Electric shock, when electric current passes through the body causing injury or death.
    
2. Arc flashes: a blast of energy caused by an electric arc, which can produce sounds waves, extreme heat, shrapnel and more, This can lead to lung injuries, ruptured ear drums, burns, blindness or death.

This guide “Electrical Safety on Saskatchewan Farms" from Sask Power talks about potential risks and hazards and offers safety tips, guides and checklists to make sure you and your workers come home safe. Or you can print out this Farm Safety Checklist to make sure everyone knows how to avoid overhead lines and what to do if an accident occurs.
 

 
COVID-19 Safety
This year, farming operations will have the added tasks of protecting workers and their family from COVID-19. As an essential service, we recognize that farmers must continue to work to grow our food and feed our country.
 
Along with the general pre-cautions such as hand washing, physical distancing, cleaning of work attire and wearing gloves, this fact sheet from the Canadian Centre for Occupation Health and Safety offers many safety tips specifically for the agricultural industry in areas such as:

• Transportation
• Sanitation
• Group Living and Residence Recommendations
• Team and Site Management
• And much more.

 
 
For those interested in creating an overall safety plan for their operation, this workbook from Ag Safe Alberta lays out the steps to create your own Farm Safe Plan.
 

Posted in Ag news | Tagged with harvest safety farming grain bins electrical safety | More articles by Jennifer Thompson

The Top 10 Reasons to Use Grain Bags

Posted by Calla Simpson Aug 04, 2020

Grain bagging has been gaining acclaim and popularity among farmers for being a resourceful, flexible, and time and money-saving grain storage option. The benefits are many, and farmers appreciate the efficiency of this innovative storage technique.



If you bag grain, you can expect to experience the following 10 benefits during your harvest season:

1. Saves the farmer's time.

When you bag grain, you reduce time loading grain into trucks and transporting it to grain bins or elevators. You can harvest the grain and store it right there in the field, which drastically cuts down on work time by eliminating so much back and forth to older, more traditional storage containers.

2. Increases harvest efficiency.

Grain bagging is easily the most flexible and efficient method for storing grain. You can store the bags anywhere that’s convenient (field, farm, or other lots), you have unlimited capacity, you have fewer labour constraints, you can move grain faster, and you can segregate grain variety easily into different storage bags. Overall, the processes during harvest are completely streamlined and made as productive as possible with grain bagging.

3. Improves commodity marketing.

Grain bagging preserves grain due to the ideal environment for grain within the bags themselves. When the bags are sealed, they are airtight, which eliminates the need for preservative chemicals and retains the grain quality. If commodity prices are low, and where storage constraints exist, bagging provides flexible unlimited storage. This allows farmers to control and plan the right time to market the crop for top dollar.

4. Reduces labour problems.

Because fewer trucks are required with grain bagging, your labour inefficiencies and costs will naturally reduce. Grain can be stored in the field where it’s bagged, which lowers the need for additional labourers.

5. Provides a storage solution for rented land.

For farmers who rent additional land and either don’t have their own storage bins, don’t have room in storage bins, or don’t want to deal with the cost and inconvenience of using the elevators, grain bagging allows easy storage for those rented land crops. There are virtually endless amounts of storage when you bag your grain.

6. Allows for unlimited storage capacity.

Even if you don’t rent land, if you have a bumper crop, or if your previous year’s crops are taking up storage space, you can utilize grain storage bags to safely and effectively store unlimited amounts of grain directly in the field.

7. Is a cost-efficient storage option.

You can store your grain in bags for about 7 cents per bushel (or less, in some cases). Alternatively, traditional grain bin storage can range anywhere from 14 cents to 37 cents per bushel, a massive expenditure in comparison to grain bagging.

8. Reliable and easily transportable.

After grain bags are sealed, oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide increases. This change in the environment can eliminate several strains of fungal diseases and insects without having to use harsh chemicals. Plus, when you are ready to market and sell the crops, you can unload them after harvest when it’s a more convenient time, more labour is available and truck costs are more sensible.

9. Expands the harvest window.

Farmers can start harvest operations earlier in the season and run later into fall by bagging grain that is higher than average moisture. You can unload the grain and dry it at a later time to lower the chance of bottlenecks at a grain dryer.

10. Improves the ability to avoid weather-related harvest issues.

Because your harvest operation will be moving faster and more efficiently, if there are weather delays or setbacks, you’ll be able to easily pivot and adjust your timeline. Your larger window for harvest also allows greater flexibility in dealing with weather restraints.

To learn more about grain bagging and to see which grain bagging products could improve your harvest capabilities, get in touch with us. We would be happy to walk you through everything you require for your grain bagging needs and answer any questions you might have.

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Now offering discounted pallet pricing when you buy four or more pallets of grain bags. For more information, talk to one of our agriculture specialists at your nearest Flaman location. 

-----
Click here to view the original blog post by our friends at Pro Grain Equipment.
 

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with Pro Grain grain bags grain bagging grain baggers grain storage harvest | More articles by Calla Simpson

Harvest 2019: An unconventional way to dry your grain in wet conditions

Posted by Paul Boechler Oct 09, 2019

The 2019 harvest is shaping up to be frustrating for most.  It’s no secret that harvest is well behind this year, with only 34% of crops being combined in Alberta (47% 3-yr avg), 47% in Saskatchewan (75% 3-yr avg), and 71% in Manitoba (85% 3-yr avg) as of last week.  Wet weather has plagued the prairies, with record rainfall in Manitoba and snowfall in southern Alberta & Saskatchewan in September.  A combination of high moisture levels and widespread crop damage has contributed to diminished grade.

It’s now a race to get remaining crops off the field and although we can’t control the weather, we can help you maintain the grade of your grain by getting it dried faster and limiting spoilage.  The most effective option is a NECO dryer from Flaman, which can be scaled to the size of your operation.  However, dryer installs are contingent on many environmental and logistical factors and it’s far from a guarantee that a dryer purchased today would be installed before the end of harvest. 

So, what does a farmer do if he or she can’t get a dryer installed in time?

Our team in Saskatchewan has heard a lot of stories from our customers who’ve resorted to unconventional methods to dry their grain. The overwhelming favourite by local farmers has been the Frost Fighter (available only at our Saskatchewan locations), which is a diesel-powered 350,000 BTU industrial heater designed to heat remote construction sites and shops. As it turns out, they are also easily adaptable to a bin aeration system and can pump heat into two bins simultaneously. It’s been a lifeline given the soggy conditions.

Kelly Stewart, the operations manager at our Flaman Moosomin location, was the man who made this idea a reality:

“I saw a video a couple years ago of an Alberta farmer using a similar method and he claimed it worked like a charm. It inspired me to try it out given how wet it’s been this year. Some local farmers put it to work and were extremely pleased with the results.  It’s not a perfect solution and we know it’s not recommended by the manufacturers, but desperate times have forced us to think outside the box.

With a little extra work, moving your grain around and monitoring your moisture levels closely, we’ve heard from many happy customers that have seen up to 30,000 BU dried in a week. Obviously, the best way to dry your grain is with a dryer but given how wet it’s been and with more precipitation in the forecast, this has been a great makeshift way to salvage what has been a tough harvest.”

Interested in learning more about grain drying? Talk to one of our agriculture specialists at your nearest Flaman location.
Posted in Ag news | Tagged with grain drying frost fighter neco dryer flaman harvest crops aeration | More articles by Paul Boechler

Saskatchewan Harvest 2017: A 48-year career farmer talks draught, agriculture technology, and facing the inevitable tough times

Posted by Amy Rederburg Nov 09, 2017

Harvest 2017 was a tough year for many Saskatchewan farmers.
 
Doug Jones of Whitby Farms was one of Saskatchewan's first to wrap up harvest 2017. He says it's thanks to a prototype loaner combine -- one of two sent for field testing in Western Canada -- on top of the two he runs every other year. And a family team that works together year round.
 
The Flaman Agriculture team caught up with Doug while he had a few fleeting moments of free time on his hands. We talked about what effect this years' terrible drought conditions had on his farm, agriculture technology that matters for harvest 2017, and his advice for young farmers facing a tough climate for growth. All before he left for the field to help one of his neighbours finish their harvest.
 
What does Whitby Farms do?
 
Whitby Farms manages around 11 acres of land and grows a variety of grain, cereal, and bean crops; raises cattle and trains quarter horses; offers grain hauling services; and much more in the country surrounding the Great Sandhills at Lucky Lake, about 150 kilometres south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
 
The family-owned Whitby Farms stays busy all year round. While Doug’s brother does seeding, his nephew sprays, his son-in-law manages cattle, and his daughter trains quarter horses. They have one hired man who's been with them for 10 years. After a decade of service you could say their hired man has become as close as family. In case you’re wondering, Doug refers to himself as “the gopher” of the operation.
 
We asked, "Who runs the combine at harvest?"
 
Doug jokingly replied, "That's the easiest job in the world! [With the automations these days,] mowing your lawn is way more complicated."
 
He likes that today's combines automatically update as conditions change, so you don't have to manually reset when something goes wrong. He thinks of driving a combine as the perfect job for a multitasker.
 
Harvest 2017 wisdom from a 48-year farming career.
 
Doug's been farming since 1969. And he says, "I never changed my mind once."
 
He recalls taking the leap just before the start of one of the worst periods in farming history, the farm crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, when anyone who started farming "went broke". This was due to a combination of bad economy, dried up foreign markets, and high debt resulting in thousands losing their farms.
 
But Doug was stubborn about his dream to become a farmer and raise cattle. He says it's the only thing he's ever wanted to do.
   
How did drought conditions in Saskatchewan affect Whitby Farms for Harvest 2017?
 
The lack of rain and the heat did a number on his crops, along with many other farmers around the prairies. Doug says his crops are located in the lowest rainfall RM in the province of Saskatchewan. And they didn't get a lot of rain last year, which means soil moisture was low this year. He admits they've had better looking crops in previous years.
 
Their lentils performed the worst and canola would have been a disaster without support from an agrologist.
 
He says, "When I started out farming, [this years' canola harvest] would have been less than 10 bushels in the acre." They got 20 this year, but they're used to an average of 50.
 
Despite a lackluster harvest due to the low moisture and extreme heat drought conditions, Doug remains positive. He thinks the new varieties of canola are "amazing" and credits their performance to scientific advancements in the seed.
 
But there was an upside. Whitby Farms came out with perfect quality lentils and durum over a string of three consecutive years with salvage value. Doug improved the crops’ success by implementing an irrigation system that uses water from nearby Lake Diefenbaker and a preventative spraying process.
 
He’s not the only one that’s happy with his yield given the dry conditions. CBC News reported that other Saskatchewan farmers were surprised at the quality of Harvest 2017.
 
The drought conditions affected the Whitby Farms livestock, too. Doug and his son-in-law had to dig one of the farm's springs out twice to get the water moving again. Their quick thinking likely saved the cattle and horses from heat stroke, unlike another unfortunate case that killed 200 cattle.
 
How do you stick with it during tough times like Saskatchewan Harvest 2017?
 
Doug declares, "Young farmers aren't used to the tough years!"
 
Since the farm crisis, Doug has noticed that the cycle has a way of repeating itself. He cautions many farmers face a similar fate without proper planning. 
 
"Work as hard as you can! It's going to stay dry. You'll hardly see a field that hasn't been affected by drought."
 
He adds, "[We farmers] are at the whim of markets and weather. [Have a plan in place] if your wage is cut in half."
 
Doug reminds young farmers to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, so you'll always stay ahead. The young farmers who have a lot of faith and prepare for hard times in advance can give themselves stability in tough years.
 
Doug’s final words of wisdom for Saskatchewan Harvest 2017:


"If you focus on it and stick with it through tough times, you'll make it out alright. You have to bear down. Take risks and buy some land."
 
Doug Jones is a long-time customer of Flaman Agriculture in Saskatchewan, most recently purchasing a set of new grain bins and monitoring and a longer auger to reach taller grain bins.
 
Like learning about hard-working people, community roots, and new ag solutions? Subscribe to the Flaman Agriculture blog HERE. You’ll be the first to hear about the latest insights from the team!
 
Posted in Farm related news | Tagged with Saskatchewan Harvest 2017 grain bins wheatheart auger grain monitoring | More articles by Amy Rederburg

Is everybody ready for a potentially record setting crop?

Posted by Flaman Agriculture Jun 23, 2016

The potential for this year's crop to be a record setting event has been confirmed by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).  In a recent press release, APAS issued notice to rail companies to be prepared for what could be a large crop this year.  You can see their actual press release here.

APAS said it's anyone’s guess whether it will reach the record-setting levels farmers experienced in 2013 (38.4 million tonnes, according to Statistics Canada), but either way, APAS president Norm Hall wants rail companies to be ready.  “If you remember three years ago when we had the potential of a huge crop, and turned out to be the largest crop on record, the railroads used the excuse that oh, we didn’t know this was coming, we weren’t prepared for it,” explained Hall in an interview with News Talk Radio.

So, APAS is asking the railroads to be ready to handle the grain - but they are the end of the system - the system begins with farmers?

Are farmers ready to harvest the crop within the small window of opportunity presented by crop development and the weather.

Are the combine(s) fast enough? Are there enough trucks ready to move the grain to a bin or bagging area?  Maybe the ground is wet, so is a grain cart ready to move the grain off the field towards a truck, bin, or bagging area?  Is the bagger ready with enough bags? Are the transfers, augers or conveyors able to quickly unload the grain and move it, which allows for the combine to keep moving without having to wait for unloading?

And after moving the grain by rail, are the ports and ships ready?

APAS has put rail on notice, but what about the rest of the system?




 
Posted in Crop reports | Tagged with harvest augers carts bins bagger | More articles by Flaman Agriculture

Harvest Time - Around the Corner

Posted by Mitch Flaman Aug 21, 2014

Mitch Flaman  

Posted in Division News | Tagged with harvest last season weather | More articles by Mitch Flaman

Harvest Report: Crop progress and removing dockage

Posted by Mitch Flaman Sep 06, 2013

A few weeks ago when I started this blog entry, I was excited to report that agriculture equipment dealerships were approaching sold-out inventory levels and already delivering machinery to numerous producers province-wide. It was actually a bittersweet situation getting stuck on a secondary highway behind a semi hauling a combine for 16 miles with no option to pass. But, on the other hand, it was exciting to know that harvest was just around the corner. Needless to say, a few weeks later harvest is now in full swing and farmers are going hard.

To date, 14% of Saskchewan crops are combined and are experiencing above average yields (Sask Agriculture). “We haven’t seen crops like this in years,” one producer told me as he was gearing up to go swathing. “Let’s just hope the weather permits.” The 2013 crop season is looking to record bumper crops in many areas. One major worry for many producers is the fear of the dirty “F” word – frost. A late spring has consequently resulted in many crops province-wide maturing over a week late due to limiting seeding situations. This creates a vulnerable situation as the growing season is also extended by a week or more. On the plus side, we have been experiencing lots of hot and dry weather with no sign of frost in the near future. Fingers crossed, but if weather continues to cooperate there is going to be a province full of happy farmers with full bins.

As harvest is underway, producers are becoming more aware of volunteer varieties and other unwanted dockage in their crops. A windy harvest last year blew swaths all over fields and caused unwanted shelling of many commodities. Lots of these seeds germinated and grew into dockage this year. Flaman Grain Cleaning & Handling offers the answer to many of these situations, such as the Kwik Kleen grain cleaner. Whether you have volunteer flax in you oat crop or pesty Kochia growing in your wheat, the Kwik Kleen is designed to remove unwanted foreign material, as long as it can be sifted out.

Although the Kwik Kleen is not a “grain cleaner” in the sense that it is not designed to produce grain clean enough for seeding purposes, it can help clean out the bulk of smaller weed seeds from the larger sample. Kochia is a prime example of a weed seed that farmers would want to remove from their grain with a Kwik Kleen cleaner. Kochia’s high moisture content causes heating once it is mixed in a bin with other grains. This heating can ruin an entire bin full of grain, leaving it fairly useless to the farmer. The Kwik Kleen cleaner removes the Kochia from various grains like wheat, Durum, and other cereals by dropping it through a screen separation as it is augered through the Kwik Kleen before entering the bin.

I am pleased to say that in my opinion the future is looking bright for the 2013 crop year! Good luck to all the producers out there working from sunup to sundown and stay safe trying to get this year’s crop in the bin!

Happy Harvest
Mitch Flaman

 

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with Grain Cleaning Harvest Kwik Kleen uses removing Kochia | More articles by Mitch Flaman