Farmer Focus: Wheat and bean bi-crop was worth the faff
© Jason Bye I promised last time that I would let you know about the separation costs and turnout of our winter wheat and bean bi-crop from harvest 2021.
As mentioned before, it did take longer than we had budgeted for, at 13 and a half days instead of the predicted eight.
The budgeted cost of just getting a gravity table in to separate the wheat and beans cost £8/t.
See also: Guide to growing a successful spring bean break crop
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This figure included our own hours worked but not the static tractors and trailers we used to receive and deliver the crop, which meant overall it ended up costing us just under £17/t.
Out of the 617t of mixed crop, we got 407t of wheat, 177t of beans, 31t of screenings and 2t lost on the floor.
Part of the reason why the process took more time than expected was that the beans had to be put through the cleaner again, as I gauged the admix to be more than 2%.
However, the screenings will be excellent feed for wild birds which we will spread across the farm over the next two winters.
Although there was quite a bit of faffage, the extra yield of wheat we got from a poor crop of beans made the exercise hugely financially worthwhile.
I am pleased we have a similar area in the ground this year, which currently looks magnificent with a better bean population compared with last year.
What I will do is look at alternative ways of separating the crop, to try to bring the cost down and hopefully make the process a bit quicker.
January has been the month of the two Oxford conferences which ended up being online, and so we juggled between the two at the kitchen table.
Both were extremely stimulating and I now have a raft of new ideas to put into place for the new year. We are so lucky to have them.
