BULK HANDLING OF WHEAT

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26633, 19 January 1952, Page 6

BULK HANDLING OF WHEAT

FARMERS INVITED TO EXPERIMENT LOOSE GRAIN FROM HEADER TO MILL The Canterbury wheat harvest in about three weeks will test bulk handling from the field to the mill for the first time in New Zealand. The experiment is being sponsored by the Wheat Committee, which has arranged the importation of special machinery and is now inviting farmers to try the new method in February. “This innovation could revolutionise, harvesting and we are keen that farmers in all parts of Canterbury should co-operate so that a complete trial can be undertaken,’’ said Mr R. McPherson, general manager of the Wheat Committee yesterday. Farmers, harvesting machinery firms, road transport operators, the Railways Department, wheat stores, and flour millers had joined in the arrangement. Some of the special machinery required had reached New Zealand and should be delivered in Canterbury soon. A new type of header harvester is being imported the experiment. It has a storage tank, with a capacity of 40 to 60 bushels of wheat, eliminating bagging by the two men usually carried in addition to the driver. One type has a built-in auger or screw conveyor. The lone header driver simply engages a clutch which discharges the wheat into a motortruck moving alongside while harvesting continues. It takes only a minute to a minute and a half to transfer 60 bushels of wheat without any interruption of work. This operation is required about every half hour in good working conditions. Another type of tank, mounted higher on the harvester, empties by gravity and the header and the receiving truck have to be stopped. Special Tanks on Harvesters

The tanks can be fitted to the headers now used in New Zealand and their manufacture is being investigated. The latest type of harvester has them fitted as this is the general method of harvesting in the big wheat-growing areas of Canada and the United States. Importation of the tanks, alone is considered uneconomical because of the heavy freight on their bulk rather than their weight. The motor-trucks used for bulk handling have a box body with walls about 30 inches high carrying more than 100 bushels of wheat. Provided they are well built, no special lining is required to prevent wastage. Some North American trucks have conveyor apparatus for unloading. In Canterbury conventional trucks will be used. Once loaded in the field they will go direct to the wheat store or to the local railway siding. Screw-drive conveyor equipment has been imported for the remaining stages of handling. Portable conveyors will be placed at railway sidings in districts where experiments are progressing. The trucks will tip their load into a hopper at the base of the conveyor which will carry the loose wheat into the railway waggons. The handling rate is about 1200 bushels an hour.

In the trial period it is likely that machinery companies will offer use of their equipment at cost. Grain stores have also made special arrangements for this experiment. Motor trucks will be able to unload direct into hoppers and railway waggons will be discharged by worm conveyors. Bucket conveyors may be used to raise the grain from receiving hoppers to storage. Some companies are trying silos. Others will simply make a deep hollow square of bagged wheat into which the loose grain will be poured. Besides reducing time and labour in the field, with the elimination of bagging, bulk handling is expected to allow considerable economies in the stores. Most labour will be saved where the laborious and dangerous job of stacking bagged wheat is not necessary. Moisture Content Difficulty Moisture content is the chief problem in bulk handling and this aspect will be watched closely in testing the workability of the scheme. Without standing in the paddock, wheat may be delivered with a moisture content of 18 to 22 per cent, and heating may cause difficulties. It is hoped that the various stages of handling will permit sufficient evaporation. An effort is being made to arrange ventilation under the railway tarpaulins. It is feared that some stores may not have sufficient space to* allow movement of wheat in case of heating, especially as ranid delivery is expected. The Wheat Research Institute will be watching these developments. Farmers desiring to test the new method are being asked to apply to the Wheat Committee so that a schedule can be prepared for moving equipment from North Canterbury southward as the harvest progresses.