Time For Thought On Farm Storage Of Wheat

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28750, 22 November 1958, Page 9

Time For Thought On Farm Storage Of Wheat

With the harvest only two toI three months away wheat growers I; should be giving some thought to | how they will store their grain i if they are unable to have it moved expeditiously from the paddock to mill or store. j Most farmers will probably be | hoping to quit their wheat quickly I and not to have to provide stor-1 age on the farm and if the season i was a showery one with the crop being harvested in spasms it is 1 conceivable that the grain might I be handled without any widespread need for storing it on the i farm. On the other hand, how- ' ever, if it is a dry summer, and the weather to date has been dry in the extreme, with a crop expected to produce 6m to 7m bushels of grain, which is more : than double last season’s production, it is obvious that all of thjis wheat could not be moved at the one time—it would be beyond the capacity of transport and intake facilities at mills, and stores to cope with it. Because the weather will naturally have such a large hand in moving the grain this harvest it is felt that it is quite impos- ■ sible to forecast which farmers ! will have to make provision for farm storage and who will not. In these circumstances farmers would be well advised to give this matter some thought. Suitable farm sheds are no doubt the most desirable farm storage where they will be available at the time. Lighter hay cuts this, season may result in some hay barn space being available. It is worth remembering where a shed with a raised floor is used! for storing wheat that Mr C. J. Crosbie. machinery instructor in the Department of Agriculture. Christchurch, has worked out that a single layer of wheat sacks will represent four times the weight of a layer of wool bales standing on the same floor. Against Vermin Even in sheds birds and rats and mice can play havoc with grain. At Darficld on the property of Sir Walter Mulholland it has been found that wheat sacks stacked on their ends two high as upright as possible has reduced incidence of vermin damage Rats and mice do most damage where the sacl.s touch each other and if the sacks sit almost on top of each other there is littß room for them to operate. Loose sack sheets have been hung over sack stacks to keep birds out and where a shed is darkened it is also less likely to attract birds. Where sacks are stacked on a recently laid concrete floor it will probably be necessary to lay duck boards to prevent moisture seeping into the bottom layer of sacks. When laying a concrete floor on whidh wheat is to be stored a moisture barrier can be achieved by spraying the concrete with sodium silicate, which makes it nearly water-proof, polythene sheet film has been placed between two layers of concrete with care being taken to see tha( the sheet is not punctured, or tar can be sprayed on the ground before the concrete is laid. On many farms, however, some form of outside storage may have to be used. There seems no reason to believe that wheat cannot be stored satisfactorily in the open selecting a high dry situation. possibly near the shelter of trees, placing the bottom sacks on planking or sleepers to keep them off the ground and using a top cover, perhaps of polythene sheeting. canvas or of straw properly anchored down. The possibility of bird damage will have to be kept in mind. In the days before the header harvester straw was used extensively to cover stacks of bags. Sir Walter Mulholland recalled recently that he always liked to put a layer of a foot or more of straw underneath a stack and to cover the sides of the stack as well as the top to keep out birds Old manure sacks were sewn together to form sheets which helped to keep the straw from blowing away. Sir Walter Mulholland says that most farmers will have hay making machinery with which they will be able to gather straw for covering sacks but the short straw left around the paddocks by the header is not so suitable for covering purposes as the straw left by the threshing mill. The return to large scale wheat months after shearing. The act extends the period for dipping or dusting from August 1 to April 30.

growing will revive interest in I bulk handling of wheat. A few' more farmers are interested in this procedure now but it is not likely to become a widespread practice very rapidly. Sir Walter' Mulholland has raised some | points which should be borne in mind by those who are contemplating embarking on this' method of wheat handling. Wheat in bulk exerts considerable out-j wards pressure and it should only! be stored in substantial sheds ori in one which has been “tied” to' give it extra strength. Damp l wheat can be handled more satis-! factorily in bulk than in sacks if it can be shifted from heap to heap, from silo to silo or from bin to bin preferably mechanically. Sir Walter Mulholland says that import controls may make it more difficult to secure equipment of adequate capacity to lift wheat from the bulk motor lorry into stores but where the floor was strong enough and there was a ramp or other means of entrance it might be possible to use a tip I truck to unload grain into store. Similarly, while it is possible to procure equipment to pick grain up from a level floor and elevate it into trucks when grain was being loaded out. it might also be possible, where the shed had a strong floor and sufficient height, to use a light tractor with a bucket fitted to the front-end loader. An essential prerequisite of any venture in bulk handling must be early arrangement with a mill to receive the grain. The Wheat Committee recently announced that in addition to a hold- ! ing increment of 2d a bushel in April, 4d in May and 6d in June, a further 3d would be paid, making a total of 5d for delivery in April, 7d in May and 9d in June. The additional 3d will be paid only’ where wheat is stored on the farm in a buildings or weatherproof stack. The acceptance of these proposed payments without serious criticism indicates that farmers regard them as ! reasonably satisfactory.