The Rural Voice, 1993-05, Page 27before the new ones grow.
Pre -season inspections in late
April and early May will also be
undertaken to make sure there wasn't
too much winterkill in the alfalfa or
that grass isn't coming on too strong
in the field. If it is, Canadian Agra
may opt not to take the field but the
farmer must be informed by May 15
if the company won't take the first
cut.
f all goes well the
three custom
operators will be in
the field by about
May 20, cutting the
alfalfa. Operating with
swathers as large as 42
feet in width, the three
operators can handle
500-600 acres a day
under ideal conditions.
When the weather is
good, the hay will lie in
the swath for a day and a
half to dry down to 45-50
per cent from the 80 per
cent moisture content the
standing hay would hold.
Once the hay is dry, the
forage harvesters move
in, blowing the alfalfa
into high -dump wagons.
Large semi -trailers take
the hay to the Cubing
Plant where the load is
weighed and the
moisture of the hay is
checked. The huge
receiving area allows two
trucks to be dumped (on
their sides) at a time into
the hoppers.
The weigh -slips keep
track of how long it has
been from the time the
alfalfa has been blown
into the wagon until it
reaches the plant. Any
load that is more than six
hours old will be
inspected by quality
control officers to make
sure it still meets the
standards.
The hay then goes to
the dryers where heat
exchangers make use of
the heat in steam from
the Bruce Nuclear Power
Development to dry the
hay down to six per cent
(corn, by comparison is dried to only
about 12-14 per cent). It's a low -heat
drying process, using air that is only
about 150 degrees compared to 600
degrees in a tumble -dryer.
While the interior of the alfalfa
has been made very dry, the exterior
receives a thin mist of moisture
before entering the four cubing
machines, each powered with a 200
horsepower electric motor. The high
pressure in the cubers creates heat
which, combined with the moisture
and the natural bonding agents in the
alfalfa, makes a tight bond in the tiny
cubes (grass won't bond as well so a
stem of grass may make the cube
shatter). The cubes come out of the
machine at 10-11 per cent moisture,
sticky on the outside and hot enough
from the friction that
they have to go through
cooler/dryers before
they can be stored.
The whole operation
is controlled from a
computerized control
room where the operator
can get readings from
computers and sensors
throughout the
operation. Another scout
roams the plant, in
contact with the control
room via walkie-talkie
The plant will be further
computerized in future
to maximize the
A 42 foot swather is part of the equipment that can handle 500-600
acres a day. Hay sits in the swath for a day and a half.
Harvesting alfalfa (above) and dumping it in the trucks to travel w the
plant (below). Quality control is ensured by speedy transportation.
efficient operation of the
machines.
The warehouse at the
plant is the most
distinctive feature from
a distance. It soars,
pyramid style, from a
wide base to a pointed
top. Inside it's one of the
most impressive spaces
this side of the
SkyDome. In fact, a
football field, including
end zones, could be
contained in its 420 -foot
length. It measures 170
feet wide at the bast, not
including a truck bay
down one side. 1t soar
85 feet into the air.
Inside, even in April,
are mountains of cubes
waiting to be shipped
out (shelf life for the
cubes is one year). The
warehouse can contain
30,000 tonnes of cubes.
In a nearby building, a
crew is at work bagging
cubes for sale. The
cubes arc only bagged as
needed and a relatively
small number of skids of
bags sit on one side of
MAY 1993 23
41.