Where are the vents located on your grain bins? If they’re too low, you could comprise grain quality by creating a pool of hot, moist, dead air at the top of the bin that can rain on your grain. You can learn how to avoid this problem and properly place vents when you check out… Read More
Tag: Helmut Speiser
Real Agriculture agronomist Peter Johnson is overwhelmed by the number of corn drying questions he’s getting from farmers. We decided it was high time we put together answers to some of the most frequently asked questions in regards to safe drying of corn. In Part 1 of our Corn School grain drying video series, Johnson… Read More
Do you know what quality impact moving corn through your handling, drying and storage set up has? It can be significant, but if you’re not sampling (and sampling properly) at several points in the process, you can’t know for sure. What’s more, a good chunk of damage, either through too hot/too fast drying or moisture… Read More
If the soybeans are mature, but a wee bit damp yet, do you let them stand or get them in the bin so you can dry them down? Helmut Spieser, agricultural engineer with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, would call leaving the beans out a “gutsy” move, and not one that’s… Read More
Knowing whether or not the nozzles on your sprayer are doing the job they’re supposed to is something you shouldn’t have to learn the hard way. Being able to evaluate things like spray pattern, flow, wear and performance before you hit the field saves you time and money. In this video featuring OMAFRA’s Helmut Spieser,… Read More
The high clearance sprayer isn’t the sexiest of machines on the farm, but so much is riding on it doing a perfect job every time. Fall is a great time to give your sprayer a little attention and the respect it deserves so it’ll be ready to roll first thing in the spring. We caught… Read More
Once your corn is in storage, the story isn’t over. There are still some aspects that need controlling and monitoring in order to maintain the value and quality of your crop. Conditioning your corn isn’t as simple as turning on the fan. Proper airflow is essential to even and effective aeration of your crop. Anything… Read More
In a year like this, drying your corn properly can involve some legwork. Periods of rain, varying maturities and other harvest delays can all cause variations in the moisture content of your crop. If those variations aren’t addressed properly, they can have an impact on overall quality and test weight. Things like proper calibration of… Read More
With all this wet weather, disease concerns start to come into play, and protection against things like septoria, powdery mildew, and fusarium head blight become very important. As we look at providing that protection, proper application becomes critical. When spraying fungicides there are many considerations that need to be taken into account. Nozzle selection, nozzle… Read More
The storage of your crop is one of the most important steps in the cropping cycle but it is one that is quite often mismanaged and not properly executed. Every farmer has a part of a bin before no matter good of a farmer you are. At the Southwest Agricultural conference Helmut Spieser, OMAFRA talked… Read More
Whether you farm in Ontario or the west it is time to start thinking about spraying your winter wheat with fungicide to protect it from leaf diseases like septoria or powdery mildew. When spraying fungicides there are many considerations that need to be taken into account. Nozzle selection, nozzle position, water volume, and sprayer boom… Read More
Have you ever had visitors to your farm that wish never came? Some of the worst unwanted visitors to you your farm are bugs in your wheat bin. Farming is very hard work. It takes incredible fortitude, perseverance and a little luck to get the crop in the bin in a timely manner with high… Read More
Many times farmers think that once the wheat crop is harvested the pressure is off and it is time to relax. A lot of things can go wrong inside the bin. One of the troubles many people have is that they cannot see into the bin. Ignoring the grain temperature, moisture and some other things… Read More