1600 bushel grain cart

[flea beetle]

Harvest starts in the spring. If your neighbours are going, why are you sitting for a week? If ground conditions allow, put it in the ground as you will gain days earlier in the fall when the weather is better.

The dryer is cheap to run in august when the weather is nice and you can maintain top grain quality. You can't makeup days, so take any and all opportunities possible.

Crop choices can also spread out harvest. Is it possible to add some pulses that can be harvested earlier or some flax on the other end?

Sometimes its best just to accept a little downtime. Tell the combine guys to stop and take 20 minutes for supper. Run into far more $#&^ups and injuries when trying to run your balls off. There is such a thing as being too efficient and lots of the farms that have spent considerable capital trying to improve efficiency are on shaky ground when a blip happens.

Starting a week later this year amounted to 20 bushels per acre more on barley, 5 bushels more on canola, 40-90 bushels per acre more on oats as the very early oats crops made an absolute zero, and wheat was close to the same yield. Got paid very well for waiting a week. These are numbers from trusted neighbours that don’t bullshit on yields. And I know for sure I am the lightest on fertility as well in the group.

That is $180/acre on barley, $115/acre on canola, and $420-$945/acre on oats.

Have found in our area, you are better off waiting than not. Seems if the crop comes up and suffers from the cold, it is a laggard all year. Again, a “here” thing.

You pay a little on the tail end with fighting the later fall weather some years, but as you can see, you have to lose big time in fall to bring this years yield differential back to even.

[flea beetle]

Drying grain with aeration can be a real misnomer. For a plethora of reasons.
However, I wouldn't dream of building any bin whatsoever without air.

Do you gain a week, two weeks, two months in storage on 20 moisture grain in a bin before it will heat? I genuinely don’t know. Never aerated.

If 16.5 or dryer it goes in the bin here. If over that it goes in bags or else in the dryer and then binned depending where we are at in harvest. I’m sure you gain a lot of time in that 17-18 range though.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Do you gain a week, two weeks, two months in storage on 20 moisture grain in a bin before it will heat? I genuinely don’t know. Never aerated.

If 16.5 or dryer it goes in the bin here. If over that it goes in bags or else in the dryer and then binned depending where we are at in harvest. I’m sure you gain a lot of time in that 17-18 range though.

If you have enough fans and power to run them, I would say grain would keep indefinitely above 20% moisture. Even canola ( with the right type of aeration). I've pulled wheat or barely out a year after the it went in at those extreme moistures, and everything was fine. Just need to run the fans occasionally until it gets cold enough to freeze it hard, then its safe till May or June at least. Just don't book any extended holidays because it will need babysat.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Starting a week later this year amounted to 20 bushels per acre more on barley, 5 bushels more on canola, 40-90 bushels per acre more on oats as the very early oats crops made an absolute zero, and wheat was close to the same yield. Got paid very well for waiting a week. These are numbers from trusted neighbours that don’t bullshit on yields. And I know for sure I am the lightest on fertility as well in the group.

That is $180/acre on barley, $115/acre on canola, and $420-$945/acre on oats.

Have found in our area, you are better off waiting than not. Seems if the crop comes up and suffers from the cold, it is a laggard all year. Again, a “here” thing.

You pay a little on the tail end with fighting the later fall weather some years, but as you can see, you have to lose big time in fall to bring this years yield differential back to even.

I was going to answer for you, because I find the same thing. Later seeded nearly always beats early seeded for me, and it is always a different reason, this year was the heat wave in June and the hail in early September. On a year like this, it was drastic.
I'm consistently the last one to start seeding. I farm a lot of heavy wet ground, and it takes that much longer to be fit to seed, I'm also almost the only one direct seeding, so it takes longer to get enough weed growth and for the soil to warm up, plus the additional frost risk to canola under all the residue.

It definitely makes harvest much more challenging, but I only get one chance per year to grow a crop, and I need to maximize it, I'll take extra $ per acre, over convenience any day.

[jazz]

The late seeding theory is just that. We had a week of -10 temps just before seeding and it didnt make a difference in yields.

After 2019, I would rather lose 5bu an acre than trying to combine in November and May and turn bins in January but thats just me. Piece of mind is priceless in this business.

[ry0972]

The late seeding theory is just that. We had a week of -10 temps just before seeding and it didnt make a difference in yields.

After 2019, I would rather lose 5bu an acre than trying to combine in November and May and turn bins in January but thats just me. Piece of mind is priceless in this business.

Later seeding paid HUGE this year in this area!!
Barley seeded late April to May 14 yielded 3 to 10 bpa with lots of thin kernels.
Barley next to it seeded late may and early june went 30 to 35 and nice big heavy sample.
Extra 20bpa X $8.50+$170 an acre. Or extra 30 x $8.5=$225 or a much smaller or $0 contract buyout cheque!!!
The last 3 years with frosts until mid May burnoff has been poor, some fields have had to be sprayed twice incrop and the weeds still caused significant yield loss.
Next year it could freeze hard Aug 1st and seeding April 24 will be the winner??

[flea beetle]

The late seeding theory is just that. We had a week of -10 temps just before seeding and it didnt make a difference in yields.

After 2019, I would rather lose 5bu an acre than trying to combine in November and May and turn bins in January but thats just me. Piece of mind is priceless in this business.

On the above $/acre gain, on a 4000 acre farm, equates to roughly $800,000. Can turn a lot of bins for that!

[blackpowder]

Do you gain a week, two weeks, two months in storage on 20 moisture grain in a bin before it will heat? I genuinely don’t know. Never aerated.

If 16.5 or dryer it goes in the bin here. If over that it goes in bags or else in the dryer and then binned depending where we are at in harvest. I’m sure you gain a lot of time in that 17-18 range though.

There are far more qualified people to write the tome this question deserves.
Bin aeration is a priceless storage management tool. It is not a grain dryer.
Best investment made last year was to put special pressure gauges on the plenum post fan.
Specifically calibrated for your fan size. Indicates head in inches and cfm.
Essentially, depending on grain type, air flow drops dramatically when bin full to top.

I have tried to dry grain at various temps and moistures with mixed results.
The variables at play innumerable.
The inestimable value I place on aeration is management.
I can store and control tough not wet, grain.
I can always eliminate the seasonal convection current in the bin.
I never have a crust of spoiled or sod. I never have bugs.
Once chilled completely below freezing I can walk away.
Put cables in all your bins of course.
I've also stored 12+ canola with pockets of 15 in a 15000 bin with full floor air and kept it, not dried it.
Not a practice I recommend, I got lucky.
I've only ever successfully "dried" malt barley taken at 16.5 in August before the rain.
Even that needed turning as was older bin with too small air floor. and bin was full.
High humidity zone gets 2/3 up and stalls. Made malt though.....
Same with peas or I assume oats. Take em early quality and turn on the fan.

Access to proper electrical service deserves another column but have discovered a few revelations there as well.

[woodland]

Flea beetle

I would recommend looking at a dryer to speed things along. Set one up that’s easy to use and start threshing earlier. Our season out west in the bush is short at best and I believe it’s the only way to go. When your temps are nice in September the cost of gas is a fraction compared to December. I realize it means handling the grain once more but the extra days it buys is priceless.

We put up this used dryer last year for under $120k and it’ll easily do 800 bph at 5% with minimal babysitting. That cost includes the gas hookup, concrete, diesel genset, new dry auger, and the dryer.

The bins were here already and it’s paid for itself already. When you have 30% canola in the field and snow coming shortly it’s go time. Just gotta clean out the wet bin daily so it don’t start heating. Better than adding another combine in my eyes.

[jazz]

On the above $/acre gain, on a 4000 acre farm, equates to roughly $800,000. Can turn a lot of bins for that!

Are you harrowing down stubble in the fall, blackening things up?

Just about every acres is getting HH around here now. I think thats easily gained most guys a week on seeding in some years.

Some of the research in wheat has shown that seeding it earlier in colder temps doesnt have much of an effect on yield. Our neighbors seeded durum a full 2 weeks ahead of us this year and it all looked the same come harvest time.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Are you harrowing down stubble in the fall, blackening things up?

Just about every acres is getting HH around here now. I think thats easily gained most guys a week on seeding in some years.

Some of the research in wheat has shown that seeding it earlier in colder temps doesnt have much of an effect on yield. Our neighbors seeded durum a full 2 weeks ahead of us this year and it all looked the same come harvest time.

Every area is different, so I'm not about to tell anyone else what to do when my climate and soils, and therefore experiences are so unique.
And I believe flea beetle is also in a wetter cooler area from what I remember. We don't have to worry about getting crop seated early to take advantage of the limited moisture available, or to try to beat the summer heat. Some of the most amazing crops we have grown have been green feet or swathgrazing seeded in June or even July, they get to take advantage of the heat, and avoided the annual June monsoons. Crops almost never recover from the excess rain early in the season.

[ry0972]

Are you harrowing down stubble in the fall, blackening things up?

Just about every acres is getting HH around here now. I think thats easily gained most guys a week on seeding in some years.

Some of the research in wheat has shown that seeding it earlier in colder temps doesnt have much of an effect on yield. Our neighbors seeded durum a full 2 weeks ahead of us this year and it all looked the same come harvest time.

I usually heavy harrow every acre in fall and again in spring.
I feel it helps get weeds growing and seals cracks and helps warm soil.
BUT I did not do any fall harrowing the last fall or this fall to save stubble to catch snow and for snow melt to soak into cracks in spring.
The early harvest then fall rain we did get, got regrowth/volunteers and weeds growing nicely.
So I sprayed everything in late October with glypho and 2,4-d and dicamba or glypho and DB-878.
I will spring harrow cereal stubble but unless it rains a couple inches I will leave the pulse stubble untouched .

[flea beetle]

Heavy harrow in fall, and shallow high speed disc every acre in the spring.

And yes no difference in wheat early seeding vs later seeding here either. Other crops, not so much.

[furrowtickler]

I usually heavy harrow every acre in fall and again in spring.
I feel it helps get weeds growing and seals cracks and helps warm soil.
BUT I did not do any fall harrowing the last fall or this fall to save stubble to catch snow and for snow melt to soak into cracks in spring.
The early harvest then fall rain we did get, got regrowth/volunteers and weeds growing nicely.
So I sprayed everything in late October with glypho and 2,4-d and dicamba or glypho and DB-878.
I will spring harrow cereal stubble but unless it rains a couple inches I will leave the pulse stubble untouched .

We did much the same here
We generally hit all the stubble in the fall with the gates coulter harrow . It blackens the soil just enough but still leaves 50-70% of the stubble standing.
Helps with the end of May , early June frost damage on canola . Showed big time last spring . Blackened areas were virtually untouched even after 3-4 frosts, only about 20 % loss in plant stand . The few areas with more straw cover were nearly wiped right out 70% loss in plant stand. We have a frost prone area here for the most part .
It’s fairly critical for us with the planter at 2 lb seeding rate . One of the reasons we try to blacken most low spots completely where seeding canola and leave as much standing in average to high spots .
This year we’re left the vast majority and just went after all low areas .
Who knows what next spring will be like
I would rather lose 20% plant stand in spring than 20-30 % yield loss or worse from an early fall frost .
Losing a bit in spring has really no affect on fall yields we find .
We are not “early” seeders but try to get canola in between the 10th and 20th May . Before that it’s too risky here, frost and flea beetle damage way too high , after the 20th can be very costly in yield loss in general.
By decreasing spring frost potential, you also vastly reduce flea beetle damage unless flea beetle pressure is extreme like some areas last spring .
We have not had to reseed canola yet after 5 years with planter at 2 lbs or had to spray for beetles much other than outside rounds . It was close this year on our first fields that we did before the 10th. We feel that blackening the soil, even some helps tremendously in our area .

[flea beetle]

Flea beetle

I would recommend looking at a dryer to speed things along. Set one up that’s easy to use and start threshing earlier. Our season out west in the bush is short at best and I believe it’s the only way to go. When your temps are nice in September the cost of gas is a fraction compared to December. I realize it means handling the grain once more but the extra days it buys is priceless.

We put up this used dryer last year for under $120k and it’ll easily do 800 bph at 5% with minimal babysitting. That cost includes the gas hookup, concrete, diesel genset, new dry auger, and the dryer.

The bins were here already and it’s paid for itself already. When you have 30% canola in the field and snow coming shortly it’s go time. Just gotta clean out the wet bin daily so it don’t start heating. Better than adding another combine in my eyes.

I have a neco 1680. A little smaller dryer than what you have. Probably 500 bph at 5%. I guess I should utilize it more in early harvest like you say.

I just can’t bring myself to do it unless I absolutely have to. Always say in my head, in three days it will be dry. But I guess that is 3 days of combining!