Having made the decision to invest in a new grain drying system to increase the capacity for temporary storage of wet grain and increase the level of automation around drying crops before storage, Ian and Tom Jackson chose to continue to deploy an electric automatic Mecmar SSI 28 T mobile drier, supplied by McArthur Agriculture.
“We purchased our previous Mecmar from DMI Mechanical Engineers, now part of McArthur Agriculture, in 2016 and it served us extremely well,” explained Ian Jackson, who with son Tom and another joint venture, farm 1,000 hectares in and around Bowsden near Berwick upon Tweed. Cropping is split 60/40% between winter and spring crops.
“When we took the decision to invest in a new 5,000t grain store to house a small grain drying plant which would allow us to add further automation features, we capitalised on the initial investment by refreshing our existing Mecmar with a new Mecmar SSI 28 T, electric, automatic, mobile drier with aspirator cleaner. We were entirely satisfied with our previous Mecmar and could find no reason to change either the drier or the supplier!” added Ian Jackson.
Space to increase capacity
“The new grain store gave us the space to increase our capacity for the temporary storage of wet grain. We already had one 30t hopper and we purchased a second, enabling us to hold 60t of wet grain in front of the drier,” continued Ian Jackson.
Both hoppers are filled using the farm’s loading shovel with a 3t capacity toe tip bucket. The existing hopper feeds directly into the Mecmar’s loading auger and the second hopper uses a new 8” auger to transfer grain across automatically when the first hopper empties.
When the new Mecmar and the two hoppers are full the Jacksons can now dry and cool 84t of grain without operator intervention, saving crucial man hours during harvest.
Initially the new Mecmar was located at the gable end of the new store so open to the elements. As a result of losing some days during harvest due to bad weather and the need to pack the drier away for winter, the Jacksons extended the grain store with an open sided extension to provide protection from the weather for the drier and the hoppers.
As well as providing a cost-effective automated grain drying solution, the Mecmar also conditions the grain as it is constantly moved around during the drying and cooling process helping to improve bushel weight.
Once dried the grain is currently discharged into a heap inside the grain store and then moved and pushed up to fill the store with the loading shovel.
Plans have been made for the future to increase the automation of the plant, the aim would be to reduce valuable man hours by using an incline conveyor to transfer grain from the drier to a top belt conveyor which would transport grain to the required location within the store.
The new plant meets the Jacksons’ increased grain handling requirements and has also allowed them to take the initial steps in building a more automated solution. They have the opportunity to add increased automation and integration bit-by-bit without needing to make one large capital outlay.
“I had worked with DMI Mechanical Engineers since 1996 and had a long and trusted relationship with its senior management which has carried on without interruption with the transition to the McArthur Agriculture team. The installation and ongoing services they have delivered has been faultless,” said Ian Jackson.
“The end result is that working closely with McArthur Agriculture we have a plant that exactly meets our requirements for today and which can be adapted to meet future requirements. But importantly, it is a flexible and adaptable solution, which should the farming landscape significantly alter due to the unprecedented changes that are currently taking place across the agriculture sector, we could pack-up the entire grain drying system and sell it, which would not be the case with other solutions. We really do have a plant that will allow us to take the business forward in whichever direction is necessary,” concluded Ian Jackson.
