Allied Grain Systems was engaged by Coulton Farming, of North Star NSW, to design and construct an automated grain handling system that incorporated supply and commissioning of large grain storage and handling systems on their “Getta Getta” property at North Star NSW.
Will from Coulton Farming is a fourth generation farmer and says that the North Star and Boggabilla regions have been used agriculturally for grain growing for more than 100 years now.
Will knows how important his mates in the grain industry are, which is why he relied heavily on their advice when deciding on a grain storage solution that was right for his 12,000 hectare property.
With the help of his wife Trudi, parents Ben and Pru, and 14 full-time staff members, Will produces wheat, barley and chickpeas in winter and cotton and sorghum in summer. On top of this, the family farm also joins 900 Angus cows!
Will decided to invest in a high-quality grain storage solution because the silos he had were “small, outdated, inefficient and unhygienic.” Luckily, Will’s mates in the grain industry were able to point him in our direction. “They are excellent. They give us reliability at harvest and they allow us to store grain in a cool, dry and clean environment without having to worry about hassles such as weevils. It also gives our trucks the flexibility to truck into a specific market which is a better price than what you’d get at the initial harvest.”
With Allied Grain Systems’ (AGS) new installation Coulton Farming can now unload trucks, load from their silos and blend grain at a rate of 260 tph on wheat.
In doing so, AGS supplied:
- MFS Guaranteed sealed three flat bottom silos with a total capacity of 4,650 tonnes on wheat, silos exceeded AS2628-2010 when pressure tested, silos fitted with two sets of spiral staircases to allow easy access to all 3 silos from either staircase
- AGS designed T aeration system with 20 hp Centrifugal Fan on each silo
- 260 tph drive-over truck hopper.
- 260 tph bucket elevator,24 metre discharge height.
- Bucket elevator structural tower 27m high.
- 260 tph Hutchinson Double Run Grain Pump Conveyor across three MFS Model 48’-12 sealed silos used solely for filling of silos using ground operated gates on each silo
- AGS designed and fabricated sealing valves at roof cap on each silo to ensure gas tight sealing is maintained
- Silos reclaim Hutchinson Mass-ter Flow chain and paddle conveyor for emptying silos and blending of grain, 170 tph capacity
- 12 Inch Commercial Sweeps with 14 inch 25 degree unload heads
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The Hutchinson double run grain pumps are designed to allow silos to be built without costly overhead walkways, as they are self-supporting, allowing access to outlet valves via silo roof access ladders.
Coulton Farming’s new system enables it to reduce staff at harvest, as it is now only a push button operation to fill and empty silos and has been designed to allow easy expansion at a later date.
Sealed and aerated silos provide greater marketing opportunities to Coulton Farming, according to John White, director of Allied Grain Systems. Grain can be stored and preserved as effectively as possible, maximising the opportunity to reap top dollar. He explained that with an automated on-farm storage system, Coulton Farming is not beholden to the price over the local bulk handler.
