Welcome to the Inner Circle...

The inner circle of what you may ask? I'm sure many of you have had to pull ALL the way off the road for a field bin to come past you at a grand total of 50 kms an hour. (Well that's what our little windy gravel roads allow, if you're in the wheat belt you can call us slow!) Have you ever seen inside the field bin though? 

First things first, these are our two field bins, the old 9G and the truck that are integral to our grain operation. 

The 9G is a beautiful old tractor, they just don't build them like this anymore. The motor still runs like a charm, the rubber on the steering wheel is giving way a little though... 

Trying to wrestle the old girl with no power steering left me with lots of 'black' on my hands to kick off 'com-Monday'. (You've got to have a little fun ;) )

So, this morning we escorted bin number one to the canola paddock we'll start in! Very exciting, we're a little later starting than we'd like but it won't have damaged the crops at all. We also emptied bin number two and I hosed it out.

Welcome to the interior of the field bin, I'm standing on the mesh safety cage that stops people ending up in the auger accidentally. The bin is angled down at the bottom and the auger swallows the grain and sends it up to the spout and out into the truck or whichever transport vehicle you're using. (As seen in the first shot)

iPhone panoramas are fantastic, this is what I see when I'm cleaning out the field bin. Between each variety or crop type the bins get methodically and meticulously cleaned. As those of you who work at CBH know it's important not to have any contaminants in the grain. This can be anything from rocks or sticks to canola in barley or vice versa. Clean samples are the key to good harvest and profits!

This is about how much grain we lose out of the bottom of the bin each time we hose it out and unfortunately it's always a  soggy job and often an itchy job when working with barley and oats.

How does the auger run? It's run by a PTO or a power take off shaft. Most tractors will accommodate this shaft. So you back it in, slide it on and keep your hands clear of the fast spinning universal joints! 

That my friends is the inner circle of field bins! I apologise if you already knew all of that and if you didn't then I hope you're better informed and enjoyed the photos. :)