Nobody likes procedures, but they are a very useful tool for organising and streamlining work due to their uniformity and repetitive nature. On the farm, they help to organise production processes better, and this leads to lower costs, improved work organisation and stable, high-quality products.
A basic procedure on the farm is soil analysis, preferably every production year, as soil is a biologically active environment, chemically variable and subject to many physical phenomena. In today’s reality, a lack of knowledge of the characteristics of the soil in use, its abundance, pH, organic matter content, structure, is an ignorance that is very costly and potentially threatens to degrade the farmer’s basic working tool. More in Area 7: Nutrient Management.
Production procedures from sowing to harvesting are at the heart of a farmer’s work. They – optimal sowing, fertilisation and protection – produce the maximum yield, with the best quality that is realistically achievable. Any “shortcuts”, neglect and omission, inconsistency in action will take revenge with lower and inferior yields. Read more in Area 5: Sowing and planting.
It is imperative that crop storage procedures are respected so that the good quality of the product is not spoiled by poor storage. Disinsectisation, cleaning of the warehouse, proper maintenance of all equipment and installations are a must, as is maintenance and inspection of the elements covering the warehouse to avoid the effects of the weather.
Every product from field production, cereals, root crops, pulses, oilseeds, etc., should enter storage after pre-cleaning, which makes it possible to separate impurities: weed seeds, crop residues, stones, dust and dirt. This reduces the risk of product deterioration during storage. Before storage, it is necessary to reduce excessive humidity to the desired moisture content, the value of which depends on the planned storage time. The stored product must be constantly monitored, the temperature tested and aerated or flipped as necessary. It is also possible to apply preventive protection against cereal storage pests.