HEADING WHEAT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 17, 20 January 1940, Page 8

HEADING WHEAT

STATE OF THE CROP

AND EFFECT ON MILLING

(By Telegraph—Pres;: Association.)

CHRISTCHURCH, January 19.

Excessive moisture content in header harvested wheat has been causing flourmillers some concern in the last few years, and an appeal was made today by Mr. R. J. Lyon, chairman of the New Zealand Flourmillers' Society, for the co-operation of farmers in avoiding this trouble in future. Before 1933, whe^a headers came in, Mr. Lyon said, the moisture content averaged 14 per cent. Headex*s had come into general use in the. last few years and last year when the harvesting weather was good the average was 16 per cent.

"The millers have to turn out flour averaging not more than 15 per cent.," Mr. Lyon said. "The wheat committee knows it cannot keep the wheat right unless it gets it from the farmers in proper condition. The millers realise that the header has come to stay and they are willing to do all in their power to help the farmers, but unless the farmer does his job and delivers his wheat with no excess of moisture over the regulation allowance there is always likely to be trouble over the quality of the flour."

Most of the difficulty about heading wheat arose, Mr. Lyon said, because the farmer was so anxious to harvest when he considered his wheat ripe that he often began operations before the crop was ready. That could be avoided by the farmer rubbing out a few heads of wheat from various parts of his paddocks and sending a sample in a sealed tin to the Wheat Research Institute, Christchurch, which would immediately report whether the wheat was fit to head.