Since the end of February, my Miscanthus has laid in the swath, been rained on, and even buried in snow – and now here it is, stacked in threes, awaiting collection and stacking. The bales are, in the main, in the moisture range of 12% – 15%. Both ground and cane have dried well over the last ten days. The cane is in good condition, and baling has left little in the way of wheelings.
The bales are triple-stacked, keeping strings to the side, which will speed up collection from field to store in the next day or two. They will be collected using a number of flat trailers (some borrowed from neighbours), onto which they will be loaded using a triple bale grab. In the meantime, the small stacks reduce the risk of rain damage, and also make counting and sampling easier.
I must admit to finding the odd bale with a wetter patch in it, where the cane has been run over or lying in water. It is inevitable that there will be some such bales after the weather we have had this spring. The important thing is to avoid leaving wet bales in with others that do meet moisture spec, as this will result in higher costs and wasted time in the long run. It’s best to keep wet bales completely separate and declare them upfront on the harvest declaration form to avoid confusion.
We are now starting to receive harvest declarations from Terravesta growers, and movements will be starting this week. If you have any questions about harvesting, or any aspect of growing Miscanthus, please get in touch today.
