A Norfolk farm has expanded its post-harvest capacity and streamlined operations with a new on-farm grain drying and storage plant. Farm managed Leopold Stolberg said he wanted to make operations simpler by having a drying and storage plant closer to where combinable crops were being harvested at Eaubrink Farm, near King’s Lynn.
The 4,400ha (11,000-acre) business grows winter wheat and barley and spring barley, sugar beet and beans. Previously, grain was transported to a drying facility some distance away – and then brought back to farm to be stored.
More efficient
A new on-farm plant would result in a significant reduction in transport costs and manpower hours, said Mr Stolberg. “In recent years, we simply didn’t have enough capacity and didn’t want to keep relying on outdated facilities.”
The new grain processing system comprises a Svegma 54t/hour continuous flow grain dryer, two 3,200 tonne Sukup aeration silos and Skandia elevator handling equipment.
The handling equipment includes a below-ground trench intake with a capacity of 100t/hour, two belt and bucket elevators, four chain and flight conveyors, two paddle sweepers and a dust and chaff remover.
The preferred supplier for the project was McArthur BDC, which is exhibiting at the Midlands Machinery Show. Other on-site contractors included civil contractor DG Scales and Neil Whicker Electrical Services.
Working together
“From day one, I had a feeling that working with its team, we would be in very professional hands,” said Mr Stolberg. “Collaboration played a key role in bringing the project together.”
The site layout was optimised to keep harvest traffic flowing. The trench intake is positioned next to the weighbridge and new plant office so that loads can be weighed, tipped and turned around quickly without disrupting other farm operations.
Grain enters the plant via the 100t/hour trench intake conveyor. The conveyor then either feeds the dryer line – or bypasses the dryer, allowing grain to be transferred straight into storage aeration silos.
Grain fed to the dryer line travels via the Skandia belt and bucket elevator, through the dust and chaff remover. It is then transported to a Skandia chain and flight conveyor into the Svegma drier.
Distribution
Once dried, grain is emptied via another conveyor into a second elevator. This in turn feeds a conveyor which distributes grain to one of the two Sukup silos.
Additionally, a secondary conveyor allows grain to be taken directly from the silos into the adjacent store. This conveyor also enables lorry and trailer loading through a centrally positioned outlet along the new roadway between the silos and store.
When emptying the silos, each silo is fitted with a Skandia paddle sweeper and grain is discharged into the outloading system, feeding into a vertical auger that allows grain to be loaded directly into lorries for simple and efficient bulk loading.
The system is operated using a touchscreen control panel, integrating automatic drier control, remote monitoring, live access, and email/text alerts. Mr Stolberg says it has successfully met Eaubrink Farm’s post-harvest requirements.
It provides an additional 6,600t of storage capacity, with the dryer capable of handling peak harvest volumes. It also minimises downtime and bottlenecks by moving grain quickly between dryer, silo and the existing story.
Flexibilty
This gives full crop flow flexibility while maximising storage utilisation and ensuring safe drying and storage under optimum conditions, reducing post-harvest losses. Operational efficiency has significantly improved and handling times reduced, says Mr Stolberg.
“We can now maximise throughput during the short harvest window and reduce bottlenecks, enabling better use of labour and machinery. Its design also gives us the flexibility to expand in future.”