Paul R Towns Ltd – Agricultural Traders

On 30 September 2014 we went to Paul R Towns Ltd. to learn about what happens to crops after they have been harvested. His company is just outside of Scalford on the site of the old station, so we walked there.

When we got there we met Mr and Mrs Towns who showed us to the weighbridge. This is where the trucks drive on to be weighed. A full truck weighs about 44 tonnes and an empty truck weighs 15 tonnes. We then weighed ourselves on it! The Year 5s weighed 180kg, the Year 6s weighed 380kg and Mr Leonard and Mr Riley weighed 160kg.

Crops such as wheat, barley, beans, oats and oilseed rape are stored in huge sheds which are split up into sections for different grain types and grades. Lower quality grain is used for animal feed and high quality grain is made into food for humans.

There were hundreds of tonnes of grain in the sheds from lots of farms around the country who sell it to companies like this one. Trucks come and empty the grain into the large sheds. They use hydraulics to push the trailer up and the grain comes out the other end.

The grain is tested for moisture and sometimes it needs drying. Some of the grain also needs cleaning before it can be sold and be made into other things. A percentage of the grain was also milled.

Then we went inside to see what happened in the office and we also learnt about another company based here called ‘Harby Agriculture’ - a recycling service for farmers.

At the end of the visit we had a drink, biscuit and we all got a goodie bag! For more information you can visit:

http://www.paulrtowns.co.uk/
http://harby.co.uk/home/

By Verity, Eleanor, Jamie, Tommy, Ethan & Isabel