Key facts
- Larger combines require complementary grain handling equipment to maximize productivity.
- Investing solely in bigger combines without upgrading handling systems creates imbalance.
- Improper grain handling can compromise crop quality, leading to rejection by international buyers.
- Field belts and U-trough conveyors offer gentler and faster grain handling than traditional augers.
- Higher-capacity systems can significantly reduce trailer loading times, potentially by half.
The increasing size and capacity of modern combines, such as Class 9 models with over 600 horsepower and grain tanks holding 450-550 bushels, necessitate a corresponding upgrade in supporting grain handling equipment. Philip Korczak, sales manager at Brandt Industries, highlights that a lack of investment in transport augers, swing augers, field belts, and grain carts can create logistical bottlenecks and imbalance within the harvest system. This is crucial not only for efficiency but also for preserving crop quality, especially for specialty crops destined for international markets. Ron Kleuskens, a technical sales rep for AGI, notes that buyers in Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea demand the highest quality, unblemished Canadian crops. He points out that alternatives like field belts and U-trough conveyors can operate at higher speeds and handle grain more gently than traditional 10-inch augers, potentially reducing trailer loading times from 30 minutes to half that. Korczak emphasizes that grain harvest logistics are an interconnected system, and modernizing only one part, like combines, without addressing grain handling, can limit overall performance and potentially compromise the value of the harvest.