By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

PRINCETON, Ky. — In the dead of winter with a half-foot of snow in many places, the growing season seems far away. But now is the perfect time to see to equipment needs, according to University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture experts.

Sam McNeill, UK agricultural engineer, said this is the time of year to look at equipment needs – and to use a little common sense when doing so.

“Winter is ideal for buying equipment because producers have some extra time to reflect on the past year and review their options,” he said. “And, as dealers are trying to plan out their workload for the year, equipment discounts are often available to those who plan ahead.”

The 2009 growing season proved to be a learning year as record crop harvests came in the midst of record rain, causing drying problems, which potentially cost producers money, especially to grain growers.

“In light of last year’s tough harvest, I’m getting a lot of questions on ways that folks can add capacity to their drying systems,” said McNeill.

“In the past many have been fortunate to get by with natural air-drying. Obviously if it’s out in the field, it’s going to dry faster. It’s harder to get much air to it in a deep bin.

“I have seen, in the past, people that will concentrate on getting in (the crop) and not looking at harvesting capacity. Sometimes that may trump building the infrastructure to support times when we do have a year like last fall, with tough drying conditions.”

McNeill also said in planning ahead, many farmers were put in a difficult spot with the conditions they experienced last fall, and would be looking to improve or increase their storing ability through a variety of means.

“I think there are farmers looking at many ways to add capacity to their drying system with somewhat minimal pain, yet at the same time give them more flexibility than what they have had in the past, so they can get ready to handle a crop in future years if we have a repeat of last year’s conditions,” he said.

“The crop was big, it was wet and it was late, and all those made it really tough for a natural air-drying system. Those three things were like a perfect storm of ag conditions to challenge that system.”

As with any situation, some people wait until there is a problem to consider doing things to remedy it. McNeill said based on the calls he has received, many producers learned a lesson the hard way and there is interest in improving their drying systems on the farm.
Of course, with the National Farm and Machinery Show coming to Louisville next week, many of those growers will be shopping around to see what is available, whether it’s for drying or storing their crop, or the latest in tractors and other equipment.

The 45th annual show will take place at the Kentucky Exposition Center Feb. 10-13 and will feature more than 850 agricultural displays, along with the Championship Tractor Pull.

(For details, refer to sections D and S in this week’s paper.)
McNeill suggests farmers use a little common sense and some hindsight while shopping as they plan for the upcoming planting season.

“I think you have to look forward, with your eye glancing in the rearview, because you can learn some lessons from the past,” he said. “It’s a tough call to know how to best invest in grain systems.
“It somewhat depends on what the local markets are in their areas. Some people don’t have to worry about high dockage rates at their local elevator if the crop comes in a little wet. But at the same time, some of the elevators were backed up and their systems were overloaded because of the late harvest.”

Producers should also consider other factors, including which piece or pieces of equipment would most improve their operation, their operation’s size, capacity of current equipment and harvesting strategy, according to McNeill.

“For some, it could be as simple as adding a heater to a bin to get more drying capacity,” he said. McNeill added that as grain varieties are produced with better yields in mind, farmers should get in the position of expecting higher volumes in the future.