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Harvesting and Drying Grain with High Energy
Costs in Mind
By
Laura Skillman
PRINCETON, Ky., (Aug. 16, 2006) – Within a few weeks farmers
will begin the task of harvesting this year’s grain crop under a
cloud of continued high energy costs.
Harvesting, drying and storing grain use a lot of energy, but
there are some things farmers can do to try to lessen the usage,
say engineers with the University of Kentucky College of
Agriculture.
Farmers should make sure they are operating their combines,
tractors, trucks and other equipment as efficiently as possible,
said Scott Shearer, UK agricultural engineer. That means doing
things as simple as using the proper tire inflation levels for
field and road driving and changing fuel filters. Tires should
have higher pressure levels for road use and lower pressures for
field use to maximize efficiency.
Combine operators should keep the threshing mechanism full when
possible, he said. This enables the machine to operate at peak
performance, thereby harvesting the most grain for the least
fuel.
Farmers should also minimize engine idle time while equipment is
warming up, while waiting to fill a truck or wagon with grain,
and while waiting to unload. They may want to also consider
major changes in field practices, Shearer said. It may be time
to begin asking questions such as, does the benefit of chopping
stalks justify the additional expenses, or is it time to
consider reducing or eliminating tillage operations?
Drying harvested grain can be costly depending on the amount of
drying needed and the type of fuel used. Most farms in Kentucky
use liquid propane gas, along with electricity, as their main
energy source for drying grain. The price of LP gas is higher
than it was a year ago, while natural gas prices have dropped.
For farmers with the ability to use either source, natural gas
looks to be the better deal based on current pricing, said Sam
McNeill, UK agricultural engineer.
A fuel cost comparison spreadsheet has been designed by McNeill
and is available on the UK College of Agriculture’s biosystems
and agricultural engineering department’s Web site at
http://www.bae.uky.edu/smcneill.
Allowing grain to dry in the field as much as possible before
harvest can greatly reduce costs, but this must be weighed
against possible harvest losses, especially in fields suffering
from insect damage where weakened stalks could lodge, he said.
Most farmers won’t have a fuel option and for those the question
comes down to how long to allow for natural field drying.
 The
answer depends largely on harvest capacity, dryer performance,
the price of corn and drying energy (gas and electricity), and
labor costs. But the trade off often boils down to weighing the
cost of excess harvest losses against energy costs for drying,
McNeill said. Excess losses are those incurred by leaving the
crop to dry in the field and can be 2 to 8 percent above normal
loss levels of 1 to 2 percent that have been reported for timely
harvest.
To test for stalk damage, which can lead to high yield losses,
push stalks above the ear about seven inches off center and see
if they return. If they do not, there could be a potential
lodging problem, said Chad Lee, UK grains crop specialist.
Fields with a high potential for stalks to fall and lodge should
be harvested first to reduce possible yield losses.
To evaluate their harvest decision, producers need to look at
typical yield levels, harvest losses and corn prices at a fixed
drying cost for their operation, McNeill said.
For example, consider a potential corn yield of 150 bushels per
acre, excess harvest loss of 5 percent above normal losses of
1.5 percent and a selling price of $2.50 per bushel. The value
of the extra corn left behind in the field, 7.4 bushels, is
$18.47. Comparing this figure with the cost of artificial drying
shows that $16.59 per acre is needed to remove five points of
moisture from a bushel of corn. Energy costs are based on $1.40
cents per gallon for LP gas and 7 cents per kilowatt hour for
electricity. So, the economics for this situation favors heated
air drying.
On the other hand, if corn moisture must be dried by 10 points
and all other figures remain the same, the cost of drying
increases to $26.87, which is $8.40 per acre more than allowing
it to dry in the field. However, this cost can be justified if
weather threatens the crop or harvest losses approach 7.5
percent.
Each farmer must determine the best option for his operation,
but to help in his decision making, cost comparisons between
artificial and field drying can also be found at
http://www.bae.uky.edu/smcneill. |
Contact: Sam McNeill, 270-365-7541, ext. 213
Scott Shearer, 859-257-3000, ext. 218
Chad Lee, 859-257-3203 |
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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Copyright © 2001-2006 University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture,
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