The office yesterday

[Ovenpaa]

Some pictures from the office yesterday afternoon during the last of the harvest. For those of you interested in the capacity of such a thing, it was a new MF DELTA 9380 AL and I was harvesting between 59T/Hr and 65T/Hr at an average speed of 6.3km/Hr Cut width was 9.3m.

Scary part is the final 60 foot cut with a New Holland coming towards you with a combined speed of around 13km/Hr and you need to pass without missing any wheat. Think of it as playing chicken with a combined vehicle value of GBP600,000+

We missed each other :)

[safetyfirst]

I thought flying a helicopter was hard till I saw those controls.

[Les]

We missed each other :)

Isn't GPS wonderful!

[dromia]

Industrial farming is an abomination.

[Ovenpaa]

Isn't GPS wonderful!

It would have been if it had been powered up. The New Holland coming the other way was running on auto, I was doing it the hard way and I must admit I was very twitchy despite reassurance. One part that had me wobbling was when the observer opened the door and jumped off towards the end of one cut leaving me on my own thinking WAHH FFS!

The controls are complex and you have two screens to keep an eye on, left hand on the steering wheel, right on the joystick plus two banks of additional controls. You just drive and wait for the beep to warn of 75% full, immediately behind is an observation window so you can see the grain filling up behind you, there were three tractors taking the grain into trailers and the whole lot is done without stopping. I half expected the process to be entirely down to the machine however the driver plays a huge part in operation and productivity.

[meles meles]

Has an idea, picks up teffylone.

"Hello. Grim Reaper ? It is ? Good. Badger here. Business still good ? Excellent. We've had an idea for you. Increased productivity. Ideal for epidemics, wars, disasters, plague and pestilence, all that sort of thing. Bring you right up into the modern era. Yes. Air conditioned cab, no need to mix with the customers. Yes, we agree, filthy oiks most of 'em and so ungrateful... Big holding tank for the souls and drops the skellingtons straight out the back. "

[dromia]

Oiks have souls?????

[bradaz11]

how did you get the opportunity to do that?

[meles meles]

Joy riding is a bit different out in the sticks...

[Ovenpaa]

how did you get the opportunity to do that?

It was as easy as someone I know very well asked me if I fancied helping finishing off this years harvest and I said yes please. :)