The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-08-12
WEFGRAIN May /.
REDUCE PROFITS
That Containing Over IA Per
Cent Moisture Should Be Cut
With Header or Binder

Unevenly ripened and moist grain
threatens to wipe out much of the
advantage of a high protein premium
this year unless every caution is OBJ
served In harvesting the crop, report
county extension agents in many i'm
portant grain growing sections Of
the state. Irregular planting, err
ratio rains and other factors have
caused a serious harvesting situation
on many farms.
A meeting to consider means of
avoiding losses from wet grain was
held by county extension agents and
crop specialists at Bainville last
week. 1t was agreed that no grain
should be cut with a combine-har-
vester if it has more than IA per
cent moisture. Grain with a high
moisture content not only carries
with it the danger of heating in the
bins but it brings a reduced price.
Farmers who do not care to let their
grain stand until all parts Of the
fields are thoroughly ripe and dry
may do we'll to use headers and bind
ers thus giving the grain a chance to
dry in the shock or stack.
At the Bainville meeting it was
brought out that Montana has pros
poets of a good wheat crop with in
d%ications of a comparatively high av-
erage protein content. At the same
time the nations wheat crop is rath-
er low in protein thus indicating the
probability of a strong demand and
correspondingly high premiums for
Montana's wheat. Under these con-
ditions it was pointed out that farm
ers may well observe every possible
precaution to market the highest
quality of grain possible.
To determine whether grain is suf-
ficiently low in moisture content for
successful harvesting with the COM
bine-harvester farmers should secure
a pint sample Of grain from their
fields to be sent to one of the grain
testing laboratories at Bozeman,
Great Falls Or Bainville for a mois-
ture test. The laboratories have
made arrangements to make the ear
Hest possible reports on such tests
Samples should be representative OF
the grain field and may be secured
by crossing each field diagonally anC
!; picking average heads.
A small threshing outfit has beer
invented by w. o. Whitcomb, super
intendent of the Montana grain lab
oratory at Bozeman, which is being
, used by many farmers to thresh on
: grain samples. In many communi
! ties farmers have gone together tt
{ purchase the machines which are fur
: nished at the cost price of 500.
The moisture problem is particu
4 larly serious where the cOmbine-har
l vester is used, according to crol
specialists. Grain so harvested l
: taken direct from the field to tn
e grain bir.. The drying of wet grail
: is expensive and is usually not prac
e teal on a large scale except at ter
f minal points where the necessar.
S equipment is available. Thus it
. essential for farmers to know tina
their grain has less than IA per cen
moisture before harvesting with
e ripen unevenly some farmers max
d a practice Of cutting around all gree
S spots in the field, leaving the imms
ture grain until later. In other case
/ it is probable that many farmers wi
prefer to use the header or the binde
thus avoiding the danger of ha
while waiting for the grain to be-
come thoroughly ripe.
b Because of the conditions prevail
IS ing this year county extension agent
4 report an unusual demand for tn
lie bulletin, Reducing the Cost Of Nor
n tana's Dry Land Wheat Harvest" il
n sued by the Montana Extension sci
2 vice. This bulletin, by M. l. Wilso
l. and Fl. E. Murdoch, describes man
IS methods and devices for reducin
t. wheat harvesting costs when binder
= or headers are used. Copies may
IS secured without cost from extensic
10 agents or from the Montaan Extel
sion service, Bozeman.