HGCA Grain Storage Guide 3rd Edition is released

Published on December 5, 2011 in Drying Advice and Grain drying industry. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The HGCA has now released its most recent edition of their go to guide for grain storage. The Grain Storage Guide for Cereals and Oilseeds is an invaluable resource when considering grain drying and storage options.

Safe, effective grain storage is key to assuring crop quality and helping prevent loss of premiums through claims and rejections.

The economic benefits of storage are clear. The capability of storing grain for a November delivery will attract a £4/tonne premium over the harvest price, with May movement giving a further £7/tonne. Understanding the costs of storage is crucial. Grain drying is key factor in effective storage and the best practise guidance laid out in this booklet is endorsed by DEFRA, the NFU and FERA among others.

HGCA’s Grain storage guide was first published in 1999 and has become a key reference for most assurance schemes. This third edition of HGCA’s grain storage guide combines information from the previous edition and the results of a five-year Defra and industry-funded LINK research project in a new risk management approach to grain storage based on HACCP (hazrd analysis and critical control point) principles.

The guide recognises that achieving target moisture content within the shortest time possible is necessary to prevent the risk of mycotoxin formation and quality degradation. It looks are the various ways that this can be achieved. The full document can be downloaded here.

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Mecmar Factory – Powered by the Sun

Published on December 1, 2011 in Manufacturer and Who are Mecmar. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
Earlier in the month a new solar panel plant was installed and turned on at the Mecmar factory, near Verona.

The up take in photovoltaic (PV) panels in the UK agriculture market looked set to be significant but recent cuts to the feed-in tariff scheme have taken the shine off the returns. In Italy the sun is in much better supply and the factory has recently installed a solar plant on its extensive roof space.

The energy generated by the panels provides power for the manufacturing plant and accompanying office space. The solar plant is part of a long-term commitment to reducing manufacturing costs while also helping the environment. Below are some pictures of the new installation.

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Secondhand Grain Drier: Mecmar D 20 T

Published on November 25, 2011 in Secondhand grain driers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Mecmar Grain Drier D 20 T

Mecmar Drier, D 20 T, 2003, 483hrs, 19.5 tonne capacity, three phase electric drive, aspirator, diesel/kerosene Riello burner, telescopic screen, gravity empty through the screens to both sides.

Extensively refurbished by Mecmar Driers, re-painted, all wearing parts replaced with genuine parts where required, full burner and control panel overhaul. Supplied with a full one year warranty.  Continue reading ‘Secondhand Grain Drier: Mecmar D 20 T’

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Farmers Weekly – Mecmar Drier Gets More Versatile

Published on November 4, 2011 in Buying a grain drier, Press and Who are Mecmar. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
MecmarEarlier this week Mecmar attended the UK Grain 2011 exhibition at the East of England Showground at Peterborough. The event was a good opportunity to showcase our latest improvements to our range of mobile grain driers. It was also an opportunity for Farmers Weekly to have a chat with Stewart regarding the latest tweaks to our automatic systems.

Below is the short article produced by Farmers Weekly, look out for it in one of the upcoming issues.

“One of the biggest trends in mobile driers has been the move to automated control system that mean they can largely be left on their own to get on with the job. However farmers often want to still retain some ability to make changes even when an automatic system is working.  Continue reading ‘Farmers Weekly – Mecmar Drier Gets More Versatile’

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Mecmar Grain Drier Maintenance – Dust Control

Published on August 27, 2011 in Drying Advice. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
Grain drier maintenance is crucial it ensures safe and efficient drying. Failure to clean the drier during harvest will increase the likelihoodof faults, resulting in the loss of precious time.

Limiting dust around a recirculating grain drier is a difficult business. The Mecmar grain drier features many dust control measures, such as solid screens and bubble top auger and an optional aspirator. These do reduce dust emissions but around a grain drier will always create a dusty environment. Low level maintenance is essential to maximise efficiency and safety in these conditions.

With this in mind we have prepared a quick guide to some of the key areas to keep an eye on.  Continue reading ‘Mecmar Grain Drier Maintenance – Dust Control’

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Mecmar Refurbishment – Recent Projects

Published on August 8, 2011 in Who are Mecmar. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Recent years have seen an increasing interest in high quality secondhand grain driers. To meet this demand we started to extensively refurbish Mecmar grain driers. Using the experience of working on new grain driers we are able to undertake highly challenging refurbishment projects. The high standard of our refurbished driers means they carry the same warranty as a brand new Mecmar grain drier.

Build quality has always been the principal area of focus for Mecmar grain driers making them particularly suitable for refurbishment. The robust chassis design, highly specified wearing parts and inox stainless steel screens are just a few of the factors that contribute to the Mecmar driers durability. Since the 1990s Mecmar drier’s have been designed to be increasingly modular making on farm maintenance of the drier simpler, while also allowing thorough refurbishment to be undertaken.

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Mecmar Farmers – Steve Lee, Blackdog, Devon

Published on August 2, 2011 in Case Studies, Mecmar Farmers, Press and Who are Mecmar. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Following on from a recent interview with Andy Pendry of Burden Bros, Kent. Another grower has brought the Mecmar grain drier to the pages of the Farmers Weekly. This time in an interview published today on FWi, Devon farmer Steve Lee, talked to Farmers Weekly about harvest progress to date.

So far this harvest has seen his 80ha of oilseed rape cut in just three days and also consistently exceeding yield expectations. Despite the dry spell over which the oilseed rape was cut the moisture content varied between 8 and 13%. This allowed Mr Lee to try out his new Mecmar grain drier, an S 40 T, which he said got on extremely well.

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Drying Oilseed Rape

Published on July 22, 2011 in Drying Advice and Grain drying industry. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .
With harvest getting going and driers starting to run the first batches of harvest.It is a good opportunity to revisit a post from last year looking a little closer at drying of oil seed rape. In short, based on manufacturers guidelines, industry best practise and years of practical experience we suggest a hot air drying temperature of 80-85ºC for Mecmar grain driers. However, these temperatures should are a guideline and air temperatures should be judged based on local atmospheric and crop condition.

Many farmers around the UK are now filling or preparing to fill their grain driers for the first time this season. The first crop through is commonly oilseed rape (OSR). We have been receiving several calls from Mecmar owners to check our recommended drying temperatures for OSR. Some relatively recent HGCA research is a good source of information on drying OSR. Continue reading ‘Drying Oilseed Rape’

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Grain Driers Demand Attention to Detail

Published on June 9, 2011 in Drier Options, Press, Unique Features and Who are Mecmar. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
Attention to detail is crucial when constantly developing agricultural machinery. Mecmar has been doing this with mobile grain driers since the early 1980s. This process has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of improvements, alterations and adjustments to the original design of the grain driers all with the aim of maximising performance, reliability and durability. This long process of design and improvement, trial and error allows the farmer to have confidence in the Mecmar grain drier.

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The Mecmar grain drier factory

Published on April 29, 2011 in Manufacturer and Who are Mecmar. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
Mecmar has been active as a manufacturer in the agricultural industry since the 1960′s. In the early 1980′s Mecmar began to specialise in grain drying equipment. Mecmar now has the most up to date and modern grain drier manufacturing plant in the Europe following the completion of a new assembly and warehousing hall complete with additional office space.

Mecmar grain driers are specifically designed to allow rapid manufacture of any model from the extensive stock of componentry held in the factory. This allows Mecmar to deliver new driers right up to the beginning of and into the harvest period. The ability to quickly manufacture and deliver new driers to UK farms marginalises the need for farmers to compromise on specification by selecting from stock driers held in the UK as harvest nears.

The photos were taken during a trip to the factory earlier this month.

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