Three hay windrow inverters were field tested and compared on the basis of drying rate and shatte... more Three hay windrow inverters were field tested and compared on the basis of drying rate and shatter loss. One machine which combined inversion and widening increased the drying rate by 31% when the inverter was applied on the day of mowing. The same inverter increased the drying rate by 23% when it was applied a second time on the second drying day. When inversion was applied without windrow widening, the drying rate increased by 19% on the first day; inversion alone on the second day did not improve the drying rate. The combined inversion and widening treatment brought the moisture content below 25% after two days of good drying conditions. Shatter loss following two inversion treatments was less than 0.6% of the dry matter in a predominantly alfalfa crop.
P.-L. Lizotte, Graduate Student, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Dépt. des sols et de génie agr... more P.-L. Lizotte, Graduate Student, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Dépt. des sols et de génie agroalimentaire, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, <pierre-luc.lizotte@mail.mcgill.ca> ... P. Savoie, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils and Crops ...
The in situ dry matter disappearance technique (Ørskov and McDonald, 1979) evaluates forages for ... more The in situ dry matter disappearance technique (Ørskov and McDonald, 1979) evaluates forages for their rate and extent of degradation in the rumen. However, this method does not allow the evaluation of a large number of samples at one and the same time and therefore which limits screening of treatments applied to forages. The in vitro gas production method is faster and allows handling of many samples per batch; therefore, gas production could be an alternative to the use of nylon bags if the response to treatments between the two methods is similar among treated forages. The objective of this experiment was to compare results obtained with both the gas production and the nylon bag techniques for forages treated with four levels of maceration and conserved as hay or silage.
A pilot scale batch dryer was built with a capacity of six mid-size bales (0.81 . 0.89 . 2.44 m p... more A pilot scale batch dryer was built with a capacity of six mid-size bales (0.81 . 0.89 . 2.44 m per bale) on one layer or 12 bales on two layers. With a floor area of 2.44 . 4.88 m, the pilot scale dryer included a 102-kW propane burner and a 12-kW blower located at the end of the air duct system, thereby creating a negative air pressure. The side walls were made of plastic film which adhered to the bales because of suction. A re-circulation duct returned a variable fraction of the exhaust air to the input to improve thermal efficiency depending on the level of vapor saturation. Part of the dryer’s originality lies in its bi-directionality, i.e. heated air can flow alternately from the top plenum downward or from the bottom plenum upward. Bi-directional airflow was automated by two pairs of gate valves installed in two incoming air ducts and two outgoing air ducts. Results showed that one-layer batches reached an average moisture content of 12% in less than 5, 9, and 14 h with initial moisture contents of 21%, 24%, or 34%, respectively. Two-layer batches reached an average moisture content of 12% in less than 10 and 24 h with initial moisture contents of 21% and 30%, respectively. Total energy efficiency based on combustion heat and electrical energy for water evaporation ranged from 29% to 49% with an average of 38% in the first half of drying time and from 6% to 31% with an average of 17% in the second half of drying time. The difference between moisture content in the upper half and the lower half of bales was reduced with increased airflow inversion cycles. Because of lateral variation in final moisture content due in part to non-uniform initial moisture and bale density, some over-drying would be required to ensure that all bales are dried to a safe storage moisture level.
Three hay windrow inverters were field tested and compared on the basis of drying rate and shatte... more Three hay windrow inverters were field tested and compared on the basis of drying rate and shatter loss. One machine which combined inversion and widening increased the drying rate by 31% when the inverter was applied on the day of mowing. The same inverter increased the drying rate by 23% when it was applied a second time on the second drying day. When inversion was applied without windrow widening, the drying rate increased by 19% on the first day; inversion alone on the second day did not improve the drying rate. The combined inversion and widening treatment brought the moisture content below 25% after two days of good drying conditions. Shatter loss following two inversion treatments was less than 0.6% of the dry matter in a predominantly alfalfa crop.
P.-L. Lizotte, Graduate Student, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Dépt. des sols et de génie agr... more P.-L. Lizotte, Graduate Student, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Dépt. des sols et de génie agroalimentaire, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, <pierre-luc.lizotte@mail.mcgill.ca> ... P. Savoie, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils and Crops ...
The in situ dry matter disappearance technique (Ørskov and McDonald, 1979) evaluates forages for ... more The in situ dry matter disappearance technique (Ørskov and McDonald, 1979) evaluates forages for their rate and extent of degradation in the rumen. However, this method does not allow the evaluation of a large number of samples at one and the same time and therefore which limits screening of treatments applied to forages. The in vitro gas production method is faster and allows handling of many samples per batch; therefore, gas production could be an alternative to the use of nylon bags if the response to treatments between the two methods is similar among treated forages. The objective of this experiment was to compare results obtained with both the gas production and the nylon bag techniques for forages treated with four levels of maceration and conserved as hay or silage.
A pilot scale batch dryer was built with a capacity of six mid-size bales (0.81 . 0.89 . 2.44 m p... more A pilot scale batch dryer was built with a capacity of six mid-size bales (0.81 . 0.89 . 2.44 m per bale) on one layer or 12 bales on two layers. With a floor area of 2.44 . 4.88 m, the pilot scale dryer included a 102-kW propane burner and a 12-kW blower located at the end of the air duct system, thereby creating a negative air pressure. The side walls were made of plastic film which adhered to the bales because of suction. A re-circulation duct returned a variable fraction of the exhaust air to the input to improve thermal efficiency depending on the level of vapor saturation. Part of the dryer’s originality lies in its bi-directionality, i.e. heated air can flow alternately from the top plenum downward or from the bottom plenum upward. Bi-directional airflow was automated by two pairs of gate valves installed in two incoming air ducts and two outgoing air ducts. Results showed that one-layer batches reached an average moisture content of 12% in less than 5, 9, and 14 h with initial moisture contents of 21%, 24%, or 34%, respectively. Two-layer batches reached an average moisture content of 12% in less than 10 and 24 h with initial moisture contents of 21% and 30%, respectively. Total energy efficiency based on combustion heat and electrical energy for water evaporation ranged from 29% to 49% with an average of 38% in the first half of drying time and from 6% to 31% with an average of 17% in the second half of drying time. The difference between moisture content in the upper half and the lower half of bales was reduced with increased airflow inversion cycles. Because of lateral variation in final moisture content due in part to non-uniform initial moisture and bale density, some over-drying would be required to ensure that all bales are dried to a safe storage moisture level.
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