How to Load a Grain Bagger Setup
Grain bags allow you to store large quantities of grain on site on your open field for up to a year and a half without the need for special chemicals or insecticides. The polyethylene bags are 9 feet wide and usually 200 to 300 feet long. The two outer laminated layers are white and keep ultraviolet rays out. The inner black laminated layer keeps ordinary sunlight out. As the bags stretch, compacting the grain, oxygen is depleted in a matter of days. This prevents insect infestation and slows down decomposition to keep your grain fresh and market ready.
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Things You'll Need
- Tractor
- Grain bag
- Grain bag filling machine
- Rope
- 9-foot long board
- Hammer
- Nails
Instructions
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Attach the grain bag to the bagging machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Different manufacturers use slightly different methods, but all involve securing the bag to the machine through the use of ropes looped through the bag and attached to spots on your machine. All the bagging machine manufacturers have support staff to help if you have lost your instructions.
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Hitch the bagging machine to the tractor. Pull the machine, stretching the bag as it fills up.
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3
Open the hopper at the top of the bagging machine. Grain can be fed into the hopper directly from your combine, grain cart or similar machinery.
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4
Pull the tractor forward in slow increments as the bag fills up. The bags are designed to stretch out. In the stretching process, the bags compact the grain, helping to reduce the initial amount of oxygen in the bag.
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Pull the tractor slowly forward when you have finished loading the bag, stretching it tight until a section of bag material beyond the grain lays flat on the ground. Lock the brake on the tractor.
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Cut the bag where it has gone flat, well in front of the grain. Insert the board along the lip of where you have cut the bag; then nail it shut and fold it back several times.
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Tips & Warnings
Every state has a Farm Bureau, which will help you when you deal with unfamiliar machinery. Different manufacturers suggest different stretching intervals as you are filling the bag. If you are not sure about how far you should go before braking, the rule is: the more compacted the grain is, the better. Do not worry about the air that is in the bag when you first seal it. Over the first few days, the grain will eat up the oxygen that is in the bag, leaving a carbon-dioxide rich environment that insects cannot survive in.
Always set the brake of the tractor securely before cutting the filled bag. This prevents the bagging machine from lurching forward when the tension is released.
References
Resources
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