baleflipper
Well-known member
I recently learned of a new scam by custom sprigging contractors. I hired a contractor from an add in local paper. This contractor agreed to put 30 bushels of sprigs to the acre for $80 an acre. His equipment got here and there was only one trailer hauling sprigs. The Sprigging machine had a shop added table on the rear third of the sprigging machine with expanded metals sides. A man rode on this table forking spriggs onto the conveyor bottom of sprigging machine.
The field in question was 40 acres. To my understanding 40 acres at 30 bushels per acre would equal 1200 bushels of sprigs.
The trailer the contractor was pulling was a common 4 wheel "cotton" trailer.It was 20 foot long ,7 1/2 foot wide and 4 foot sides on rear and sides.front was open to the deck. The tires were 15 inch 5 hole wheels,typical 2000lb axles.
The men planted the whole 40 acres with one trailer load of spriggs. By my calculations that trailer only held 400 bushels.
When I asked the contractor he said the machine was set to plant 30 bushels of spriggs an acre. The trailer I was told held 600 bushels of spriggs because they were "compacted". You do the math ,A bushel takes up 1.24 cubic foot or a cubic foot holds .8 bushels. It should wind up about 480 if it was a rectangle ,the front same height as the rest. As there was no front on the trailer the first 1/4 of trailer was at a 45 degree angle. So 80 bushels less on trailer than 480 would give 400.
The way this works is the machine is set to deliver 30 bushels per acre if loaded properly. By loading the spriggs onto the plat form and forking them into the machine the amount of spriggs planted per acre is controled by the fellow riding on the machine doing the feeding. Not the machine. So 40 acres can be planted with 400 bushels. The math I was taught this is only 10 bushels per acre.
The contractor is demanding the 30 bushel rate per acre. I dont know the proper authority to contact or if I am liable for the 30 bushels per acre rate when they only planted 10 bushels per acre.
BEWARE
The field in question was 40 acres. To my understanding 40 acres at 30 bushels per acre would equal 1200 bushels of sprigs.
The trailer the contractor was pulling was a common 4 wheel "cotton" trailer.It was 20 foot long ,7 1/2 foot wide and 4 foot sides on rear and sides.front was open to the deck. The tires were 15 inch 5 hole wheels,typical 2000lb axles.
The men planted the whole 40 acres with one trailer load of spriggs. By my calculations that trailer only held 400 bushels.
When I asked the contractor he said the machine was set to plant 30 bushels of spriggs an acre. The trailer I was told held 600 bushels of spriggs because they were "compacted". You do the math ,A bushel takes up 1.24 cubic foot or a cubic foot holds .8 bushels. It should wind up about 480 if it was a rectangle ,the front same height as the rest. As there was no front on the trailer the first 1/4 of trailer was at a 45 degree angle. So 80 bushels less on trailer than 480 would give 400.
The way this works is the machine is set to deliver 30 bushels per acre if loaded properly. By loading the spriggs onto the plat form and forking them into the machine the amount of spriggs planted per acre is controled by the fellow riding on the machine doing the feeding. Not the machine. So 40 acres can be planted with 400 bushels. The math I was taught this is only 10 bushels per acre.
The contractor is demanding the 30 bushel rate per acre. I dont know the proper authority to contact or if I am liable for the 30 bushels per acre rate when they only planted 10 bushels per acre.
BEWARE
