Report from the seminar in Choustník 2017

The participants of the seminar gathered in the premises of the agricultural cooperative ZOD Podhradí – Choustník in Budislav, where they successfully use the NECO 1690 dryer. The implementation here took place in two stages – the first one was already in 2014, when, in addition to the dryer, a HUTCHINSON 6″ grain pump and a PVT1020 grain cleaner were installed. The transport routes were also modified. Last year, a second phase was carried out, which consisted of the delivery and installation of the MFS all-grid floor into four power bins. Budislav is extremely satisfied with the dryer, which was confirmed to those present by the local director Ing. Jaroslav Kazda. The weather on the day of the event was almost arctic, with temperatures dropping more than 15 °C below freezing. However, the conditions were absolutely ideal for a demonstration of the dryer in practice, as even such climatic parameters – when most conventional grain dryers are faced with problems stemming from frozen screens – do not affect the precise performance of NECO dryers. The reason is simple – they have no screens and therefore no complications associated with them… After the tour of the Budislavice dryer, the programme continued with a seminar in the premises of the Dvořák Hotel in Tábor. The representative of FARMIX a.s. in the USA, Mr. Lee Case, was the first speaker of the seminar. He talked about the advantages of all-grid floors in grain silos. Proper silo aeration is essential, especially to maintain optimum moisture, which has the greatest impact on grain quality. During storage of barley or oats for a maximum of 6 months, the moisture content of the grain should be kept at 14%, and should not exceed 13% for longer storage. Grain quality can also be improved by cooling, which can also reduce drying costs by 10 to 15%. This was followed by another engaging video presentation, this time focusing specifically on NECO dryers. There are many reasons why farmers and processors should choose this technology. However, among the most compelling arguments is the very quiet radial blade fan, which can provide strong airflow even at low motor speeds. The dryer is designed in such a way that no grain damage (grain cracking, reduction of protein content in the grain, reduction of germination, reduction of oil from oilseeds, etc.) occurs due to overheating and subsequent rapid cooling in the cooling zone. Other advantages include the aforementioned absence of sieves, which not only eliminates the need to change sieves for different grain sizes, but also means that there is no change in the airflow when cleaning the sieves, nor is there any need for downtime for maintenance. Another benefit is the modular system of the dryer design, which is modular and can be easily expanded and the output increased by adding floors and fans with burners. Of course, the dryer is equipped with an input and output hygrometer, temperature sensors and a control panel with a PLC touchscreen display and a Commander control system that controls and records the drying process. This was followed by a presentation from another AGI representative, Mr Lee Goldhorn, who gave a more detailed presentation of the advantages of the grain desiccant dryers. In addition to the announced modular concept, users appreciate the ease of installation, reliability, safety, flexibility of operation and full automation. The operator has 100% control thanks to the optional remote management of the dryer. Also worth mentioning are the exceptional energy efficiency and the best ever grain moisture control on the market. The dryer’s innovative design is ideal for many crops including rapeseed, barley, wheat, sunflower and corn. The possibilities of subsidies from OP PIK (Operational Programme Enterprise and Investment for Competitiveness) were discussed by Ing. Aleš Kudláč. It is under this programme that support can be obtained for the replacement of a grain dryer. Natural and legal persons, agricultural entrepreneurs and cooperatives can apply. The basic prerequisite for replacing a post-harvest line under the call is that the applicant must have an existing post-harvest line that it uses and have at least two accounting periods closed. One of the lectures was also devoted to the presentation of the company Mráz Agro CZ, s.r.o. by Mgr. Vladimír Mráz. In particular, he mentioned the possibility of using brewery meal as a valuable feed, which, both fresh and dried, supports the health of livestock and milk production in dairy cows. Mráz Agro CZ is the largest Czech supplier of threshing flour. Foreign speakers included Dr. Josip Daud, DVM from Croatia, who presented the NutriBos product. It is a protected urea intended for feeding to ruminants. It takes up to 12 hours to dissolve in the rumen, allowing the microorganisms in the foregut to make good use of this valuable nitrogen source. The seminar was attended by many guests from abroad, including representatives of AGI from Belgium, France and Canada. From Croatia came Dr. Josip Daud, DVM, who presented the Nutri-Bos product. It is a protected urea intended for feeding to ruminants. It takes up to 12 hours to dissolve in the rumen, allowing the microorganisms in the foregut to make good use of this valuable nitrogen source. The seminar again concluded with a focus on subsidy opportunities. Ing. Václav Včelák from AGROTEAM CZ mentioned the opportunities for obtaining support this year. As the engineer pointed out, in the autumn round of the RDP it is possible to apply for support for commodity processing, but not for storage. Therefore, there is a chance to obtain subsidies for grain dryers in this respect. During the seminar, a very thought-provoking point was made – unfortunately often based on practice: “Once the grain reaches maturity, there is only one thing that can happen to it, and that is deterioration in quality.” However, those who choose to work with Farmix need not worry about this scenario.