It’s that time of the year again when Bedfordia’s Arable and Grain Services teams start their
preparations for the harvest. The full time crew have been busy cleaning, servicing and
repairing our machinery and equipment and the summer support will be arriving over the
next few weeks.
Throughout the year, our crops of Wheat, Barley, Oilseed Rape (OSR) and Beans have
been carefully monitored to keep the plants healthy; to produce a high yield. Which means
that by harvest time there is a lot invested in making sure the crops are successful and often
with the weather being very unpredictable, this can be a very stressful period.
With thousands of hectares to harvest, planning is also essential to keep the operation
running smoothly. An outline map of what, where and when (weather permitting) is prepared
that tries to match harvest needs to working within the local community.
Health and Safety is understandably high on our list of important to-do’s, not only for our
team but also for the community, so we run multiple training sessions for our staff to ensure
that they keep themselves, their colleagues and the public safe.
Here are a few pointers for you to consider during harvest:
Be mindful of the increased amount of traffic – our combines are large and slow-
moving so watch out for them in country lanes and please be patient, we are trying to
go as fast as we can and will pull over to let you through, if an opportunity presents
itself.
There will be tractors and trailers carting grain throughout the day (and sometimes
the night), which may cause hold-ups, especially on the A6 when entering and exiting
Milton Parc.
Please keep all gateways clear, so as not to block access.
Harvesting is a dusty business and will throw up a cloud of debris, please watch out
for this and needless to say, it’s not a great idea to put any washing out when we are
combining in the vicinity!
When walking on a footpath, please keep a safe distance away from the combines
and tractors, as with all the dust and noise, it can be difficult to see or hear people
approaching on foot. Always keep children away and dogs on leads.
A licence is required and permission needs to be granted to fly a drone over private
land. A drone might cause dangerous distractions when our team are operating
heavy machinery or might even cause harm to the operator.
Here’s to the weather being kind to us and it being a successful harvest. We appreciate
your patience and understanding at this time and will endeavour to keep the disruption down
to a minimum. If you have any concerns, please get in touch by emailing
info@bedfordia.co.uk – thank you.