Yesterday the seed cleaner came to grade all our seed ready for sowing season. It is the maddest contraption I've ever seen! It looks like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - you know, an old boot goes in one end and a gorgeous chocolate bar comes out the other!
James has been grading seed all his life and this truck is about 30 years old Farmer Phil thinks. It has all these wheels and pulleys and augers coming out of it everywhere. It's a real work of art!
It's a bit of a production line when the seed cleaner is here and lots of co-ordination of trucks and bins to grade into and out of. All the seed goes into the truck and is then separated into sowable seed and the rest (the seconds) are graded out. The seed is sometimes pickled or treated with a chemical to stop pests whilst it's stored in the silo and for when it's sown at cropping time. The barley you can see being augered out of the semi is bright blue!
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