GIANTS Software - Forum

Illinois Farmer wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:14 pm We get our seed in either pallets of individual bags or bulk in a black tub that you would put into a seed tender. We buy enough for that year, and unopened bags or black tube will be return to the seed company so we get money back. Also I always get the seed delivered and if we didn't order enough for some reason they will deliver as many more as we need. Now for fertilizing, we use a lot of our own solid and liquid manure. We put on anhydrous, but for solid fertilizer, like potash, or lime we have the local co-op spread it.

crash wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 10:12 pm In norway seed and ferteliser are sold in big bags, or 40kg bag if thats a thing anymore, when i was a kid it was atleast. But farmers could also save their own grain, get it cleaned and reuse as seeds.

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:28 pm
Wait, you spread anhydrous ammonia? How does that work? That stuff is lethal.

Illinois Farmer wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 11:45 pm

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:28 pm
Wait, you spread anhydrous ammonia? How does that work? That stuff is lethal.

You knife it in with an applicator. The anhydrous is in a tank and it travels through hoses and into the ground. Yes it can be if you aren't careful.

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:03 am The famous training video was always a part of my nuclear, biological, chemical training when I was in the medical field for 25 years.

Illinois Farmer wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 4:09 am

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:03 am The famous training video was always a part of my nuclear, biological, chemical training when I was in the medical field for 25 years.

Illinois just required the video for all farmers who use anhydrous and people driving the tank because in a suburb of Chicago one dumb farmer at 6 a.m was transporing the applicator and tank with the valves wide open and he snagged his hose and spilled the big double tank all through Grayslake. The fire department and 911 services thought it was a big fire so didn't tell people to not go outdoors so lots of people got burn.

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 4:21 am Lucky if all you get is a burn. The was an incident in Texas where a plant had a leak. Several vehicles drove through the cloud, killing some people. A plant in Ohio I think, don’t quote, sprung a leak. A video camera showed the advancing cloud. No one died but most of the vehicles close to the facility were completely stripped of paint within a few weeks. Anhydrous is different than other gases as it stays low to the ground. And deadly as it absorbs moisture from everything in the path.

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 7:58 pm How likely would you be buying single pallets of seed and fertilizer? Obviously this depends on farm size, so for argument’s sake, let’s say a large farm. Would it be more likely to have seed and fert delivered by truck? Do you keep unused seed? Or would you only buy seed for what fields you’re using for that crop type? What about a massive dairy farm that’s chopping corn for cattle?

There isn’t any type of significant farming where I live. We have huge open pit coal mines with haul trucks tipping scales at nearly 200k pounds, and draglines so big they have to be assembled at the pit. But farming, no. A scattering of small foraging farms for supplemental food for beef cattle and horses in the cold winters. The climate is arid, the wind is strong, and irrigation is sparse so farming isn’t something I’m familiar with. Large ranches, yes. Some ranches over 80k acres. Teeny ranches of 1500 acres, all beef of course. Some sheep ranches scattered about. And seems like many beef ranches only need a fencing tool and pliers. Of course there’s more to beef ranches than barbed-wire fences, but you won’t see big corn fields for silage that’s for sure.

Yeahrightio wrote: ↑Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:32 am

LittleWatt wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 7:58 pm How likely would you be buying single pallets of seed and fertilizer? Obviously this depends on farm size, so for argument’s sake, let’s say a large farm. Would it be more likely to have seed and fert delivered by truck? Do you keep unused seed? Or would you only buy seed for what fields you’re using for that crop type? What about a massive dairy farm that’s chopping corn for cattle?

There isn’t any type of significant farming where I live. We have huge open pit coal mines with haul trucks tipping scales at nearly 200k pounds, and draglines so big they have to be assembled at the pit. But farming, no. A scattering of small foraging farms for supplemental food for beef cattle and horses in the cold winters. The climate is arid, the wind is strong, and irrigation is sparse so farming isn’t something I’m familiar with. Large ranches, yes. Some ranches over 80k acres. Teeny ranches of 1500 acres, all beef of course. Some sheep ranches scattered about. And seems like many beef ranches only need a fencing tool and pliers. Of course there’s more to beef ranches than barbed-wire fences, but you won’t see big corn fields for silage that’s for sure.

Well littlewatt, that is a good question. It really depends on what part of the planet you live on. Here in Australia we have one of three options. A. Being you buy it in a bulka bag which is 1000 kg for smaller paddocks, and you’d move them around with a Tele handler and a Ute, B. Being you get it delivered and dumped onto concrete from which you take out with a bucket conveyor. And C. Being you go and grab it from your farm supplier and have them put it into what smaller holdings call a “drill fill” which is a hopper with a belt that can fit on a table top truck most of the time although bigger ones to go on 40ft flat tops do exist. My old man used to be a bulka bag person because we had a mechanical combine ( seed drill) but now we an airseeder it’s a bigger man’s game so we go and buy it in bulk with our truck. Every seed counts and nothing is left to waste. Here it’s just to expensive unless you have it left over from last season. If you have to purchase say sorghum seed look out because it will hurt financially. A lot of time and planning goes into selecting which crop will give the most return in terms of grain output, ground benefit, pest/ fungal issues and value. Dairy farming is another great question, and that’s a whole nother kettle of fish. Here we don’t always grow corn, it’s very water hungry here and it’s bloody expensive, so we grow Sudan grass for example. It doesn’t have as much punch as corn does however it is more suitable to our climate. Although in saying that corn uptake in the southern irrigation regions is getting high.

Hopefully that sums it up for you , or at least from an Australian perspective anyway haha .