The pulling of milk contracts in the Aberdeenshire area by a large dairy company meant that Roy Mitchell, of Lofthillock Farm, Inverurie, Aberdeen, had some tough decisions to make.

After much soul-searching, he decided that his dairy herd had to go – he would finish some beef cattle and significantly increase his arable output, which would require an upgrade of the farm’s existing grain handling capabilities.

“Previously, the crops were used to feed the cows but increasing my arable to 70 ha of winter barley, 80 ha of winter wheat, 50 ha of oilseed rape and 130 ha of spring barley presented a big challenge,” explained Mitchell.

Over the years he had hired different makes of batch driers during harvest and there had been no need to invest in a drier of his own.

“I didn’t have the drying or storage facilities, or the staff to be able to handle my increased grain tonnage,” he added. “I had one large grain store and a telehandler but nothing else in place for harvest 2021.

"Using a contractor for combining, I am not always able to pick and choose the incoming moisture content – which in this area is historically higher than other parts of the UK, so I had to find a solution pretty quickly.”

After doing some research and talking to other farmers, he decided that his best option was a modern 30-tonne batch capacity drier from Master Farm Services as its driers had a proven record in terms of drier technology and build quality. Plus, the high residual values and flexibility of batch driers appealed to him, having just experienced how quickly the farming landscape can change.

Following conversations with George Young, of Master Farm Services, it was clear that its drier integrated with Skandia Elevator handling equipment, supplied by BDC Systems, and installed by Ravenhill, would meet the requirements, and at the right price.

John Wilson, BDC Systems’ area manager for Scotland and North-east England, advised on the design of the upgraded plant and the choice of Skandia handling equipment to match the capability of the Master drier.

“It was key that we supplied the right intake to and discharge from the drier to maximise the drying and handling process,” explained John. “We based everything around installing 80tph Skandia I-Line equipment.”

Roy’s plant included a large shed to hold wet grain, which is then tipped into a 12m Skandia trench intake feeding the intake hopper of the 30-tonne drier. With the intake capacity at 80tph and the drier intake auger at 90tph, there is no chance of overloading.

Filling the drier, which has a dust extraction system with an additional gravity cleaner fan, at this rate maximised the drier’s daily throughput. “The drier’s dust extraction and cleaning features are giving me an average of five points on my bushel weight, which is extremely helpful,” stated Roy.

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From the drier, grain heads to the grain store via an inclined 8m Skandia 80tph chain and flight conveyor, while two more 80tph Skandia chain and flight conveyors – one of 14m and another 26m long – take the grain to two separate stores. These conveyors are fitted with R and P remote slide outlets with three-way and two-way valves allowing grain to fill either stores one or two.

“The upgraded plant has been a huge success. I avoided employing additional harvest staff, thus helping the bottom line and although the 2022 season was one of our easiest, the drier came into its own with its excellent cooling and cleaning capabilities,” added Roy, who believed that his return on investment (RoI) around the upgraded plant would be pretty quick.

“The biggest saving for me will be in the potential losses I would experience if I had to sell the grain straight off the combine, or put it into a commercial store for drying and storage. With the high moisture content we experience here, it doesn’t take long for any profits to be wiped out if you can’t dry and store your own grain,” he pointed out.

Additionally, he now had the ability to market his grain to whoever he wanted, when he wanted, which will also speed up RoI. The improvement in bushel weight is a factor, as potential buyers see the benefit that batch driers can deliver in terms of grain quality.

“As a one-man band, I would highly recommend a plant which consists of a batch drier combined with such handling equipment. It has significantly reduced grain handling and is very easy to operate.

“Of course, you need to work with grain handling experts to make sure that all the different drying and grain handling components work together. Master Farm Services, BDC Systems and Ravenhill are the people to talk to – by working together, the three companies delivered an upgraded grain processing plant which has hugely reduced my stress levels during harvest and that is priceless,” concluded Roy.

* Master Farm Services is holding an open day hosted by Roy Mitchell at Lofthillock Farm, Keithhall, Inverurie, Aberdeen, on Thursday, March 9, to view the systems.