Making grain.
Not surprisingly grain is a very important thing on every Farm.
We grow and make our own, this starts off in the spring when we plant our oats.
Not surprisingly grain is a very important thing on every Farm.
We grow and make our own, this starts off in the spring when we plant our oats.
We plant and harvest about 20 acres of oats, from this we get two crops, the oat seeds, and the oat straw.
This is shared between us, and our customers.
Oat straw makes wonderful garden mulch and bedding for animals.
This is shared between us, and our customers.
Oat straw makes wonderful garden mulch and bedding for animals.
We clean and dry the oats in our grain handling equipment, and then it gets stored in Grain silos, not as big a silos you are used to seeing, but still can hold 300 bushels.
(A bushel of oats is equal to about 32 lbs.)
We are very lucky to possess a very old and unique piece of farming equipment, it is called a palletizing mill.
This pelletizing mill is what we use to make grain for the animals.
The mill gets Feed from a hopper above it where the grain is stored, this makes it very easy to make the gain, all you need is to hook up the tractor to the PTO shaft, that runs the mill.
This pelletizing mill is what we use to make grain for the animals.
The mill gets Feed from a hopper above it where the grain is stored, this makes it very easy to make the gain, all you need is to hook up the tractor to the PTO shaft, that runs the mill.
I realize this may be a little hard for some of you who are unfamiliar with these terms and equipment to understand, that is why I am adding photos with small explanations of each thing further down in this blog.
Making grain is a loud and Dusty job, that is why I am completely in love with my Bluetooth noise-blocking headphones so that I can still hear my phone if my husband needs to call me because he has a flat tire.
(It happens pretty often)
It also blocks out at least some of the noise of the mill that is running.
Right now I am making two kinds of grain, I am mixing some supplements for our pullet chickens.
(Remember pullets are teenagers.)
(It happens pretty often)
It also blocks out at least some of the noise of the mill that is running.
Right now I am making two kinds of grain, I am mixing some supplements for our pullet chickens.
(Remember pullets are teenagers.)
Because they are young they need the exact right balance of minerals and nutrients until they are fully grown, so I'm mixing this into their grain which is separate from everyone else's.
It's very high in iron and would not necessarily be good for other animals.
(especially sheep, If we had any.)
It's very high in iron and would not necessarily be good for other animals.
(especially sheep, If we had any.)
I'm also making grain for the cows and the pigs this is simply oats mixed with some leftover Rye that we have and some black beans, which is good protein and fiber, very good for the cows and the pigs especially in the winter time.
(All of our grains are grown organically and are non-GMO.)
(All of our grains are grown organically and are non-GMO.)
The PTO shaft on the tractor is a star lock, that you hook the shaft too, this shaft spins the entire thing which turns on the other end of the mill.
This causes the wheels to turn when the grain falls into the hopper of the mill it gets crushed by the wheels.
This causes the wheels to turn when the grain falls into the hopper of the mill it gets crushed by the wheels.
Gravity and the weight of the Turning Wheels,
Then pushes it through the holes in the plate, that is in the mill, the plate sizes can be changed to have different sizes and types of grain.
Then the grain falling out underneath the plate get pushed out the spout into my waiting container or bag.
Then pushes it through the holes in the plate, that is in the mill, the plate sizes can be changed to have different sizes and types of grain.
Then the grain falling out underneath the plate get pushed out the spout into my waiting container or bag.
Because of the force and friction of the wheel the grain comes out hot, this is not because we are heating it on purpose this is just a natural side effect of using this type of mill.
A PTO shaft on a tractor is very dangerous and must be kept away from as much as possible.
I worry about the dogs and I'm sure to keep them away from it.
It is extremely powerful and if you catch a piece of loose clothing or some hair, it will wrap it up sort of like a blender would if you caught something similar in the blades. Except it is a lot stronger and can actually remove a limb.
This is why it is very important to be careful around the Grain mill.
So there you have it, 700 lb of grain made for my critters will last a little under a month. The cow gets a scoop twice a day, along with hay and grazing ability weather permitting.
The pigs get a 5-gallon bucket of grain mixed with water, warm in the winter. And whatever other kitchen scraps we have around, twice a day as well.
The chickens get their grain Hopper filled once a day and currently the meat birds are going through about 25 lb a day they are close to butchered time and I will be relieved when that finally happens because they're pretty much eating us out of house and home.
Oat grain pelites after grinding, with added vitamins.
The pigs get a 5-gallon bucket of grain mixed with water, warm in the winter. And whatever other kitchen scraps we have around, twice a day as well.
The chickens get their grain Hopper filled once a day and currently the meat birds are going through about 25 lb a day they are close to butchered time and I will be relieved when that finally happens because they're pretty much eating us out of house and home.
Whole Oats before grinding.
Oat grain pelites after grinding, with added vitamins.
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