Bushel and EMAR chaff deck help to reduce harvest loss
Since he began using the Bushel Plus harvest loss reduction system three seasons ago, Victorian farmer Ian Ruwoldt has noticed some substantial savings. The Bushel Plus system is an integrated combine harvester calibration system that is designed to help quantify your harvest loss, and more accurately calibrate your combine. Running a 2018 Case IH 7240 Case combine with a Macdon D65 12-metre header, Ian said the secret to using Bushel Plus was to check it at least twice a day.
“This is quite easily done when changing crops or at regular time intervals, and it is amazing how much difference a timely adjustment on the rotor or header can make in terms of more efficient grain yield,” Ian said.
He said that when used in conjunction with the EMAR Chaff Deck, the Bushel Plus system allowed him to measure grain loss much more accurately in the field; helping him to achieve savings of between 2% and 5% per year. An estimated saving of $33,000 per year.
Mr Ruwoldt, along with his brother Greg, runs a 1600-hectare mixed crop farm in the Wimmera, about 30 km north-east of Horsham in Victoria. Growing canola, wheat, barley, lentils and faba beans, he said the Bushel Plus system had really come into its own when guiding him in adjusting the rotor speed and concave module selection for each crop type.
“What Ian has been doing in checking his losses reinforces the work done by Peter Newman GRDC on harvest loss,” said Peter Broley from Primary Sales. “Unless you measure it, you cannot manage it. That 20% of growers using drop-pans to measure and then recalibrate their sensors during harvest are putting an extra $20,000 back in their pockets is fantastic. This level of saving fits with what we are hearing from customers, like Ian, using the Bushel Plus system.
“That Ian can also use his dedicated Bushel Plus for the EMAR Chaff Deck to check that his setting up his header to best capture his weed seeds for HWSC is an additional benefit.“ Peter said.
“We have been using the EMAR Chaff Deck in conjunction with the Bushel Plus for the past three seasons, and it has proved a worthwhile investment,” Ian said.
“The Chaff Deck’s real effectiveness lies in its ability to segregate the weeds into the tramlines at harvesting, and this really helps keep the weed seeds in check.
“It has also made summer spraying much easier since the sprayer is driving over chaff lines - rather than dry soil in the field - and this really helps reduce dust.”
Ian said using both together had proved an excellent addition to his armoury for his farming program, as they had minimal running costs and were easy and cheap to maintain.
“It has been quite dry in our section of Victoria of late and anything that can help increase output and make farming more efficient and better for the environment is good by me,” he said.
For information about the Bushel Plus or the EMAR Chaff Deck click here. And to read more on the GRDC GroundCover article by Jo Fulwood click here “Harvest gains through online networking"
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