Miller Magazine Issue: 125 May 2020

59 COVER STORY MILLER / MAY 2020 1,200 cooperative enterprises. The commodities business plays an important role for Raiffeisen: at more than 148 locations, about 1 million tons of grain are traded annually, which corresponds to a quarter of the grain harvest market- ed in Bavaria. WAITING TIME IS A THING OF THE PAST During the long harvest days, Norbert Graf and his col- leagues drive their tractor trailers and trucks to the Raif- feisen plant to deliver their grain, be it wheat, barley or rapeseed. With the combine harvesters working nonstop in the fields during the summer months, farmers are always feeling the pressure of time. Especially at the old location in the center of Kallmünz, with an hourly capacity of maximum 60 tons, its intake ca- pacity was much too low for peak harvest times. Waiting times of multiple hours happened frequently. But when the new plant was commissioned in 2017, no one needed to wait any longer. "The transition time has improved for us so that we hardly have to wait at all any more. Arrival is also better as our route is now a very short 3 kilometers. It’s possible to deliver with one vehicle and turn around and go right back onto the field to the com- bine harvester," says Norbert Graff. "We used to have to load the grain on a trailer after harvesting and drive distances up to 15 km. With the new storage building near- by, that has changed. Two runs of 8 to 15 tons are sufficient." Gottfried Glaab, the head manager of commodities for the agricultural site, also confirms this. "The closer the storage build- ing is to home, the easier it is. Farmers pay attention to short distances. "The high capacity is only one reason why the new plant is significantly more effective than its prede- cessor. The new, high-capacity machines, and especially the automation, also play a central role. HIGH LEVEL OF AUTOMATION AT THE AGRICULTURAL SITE The scales for loading and unloading the trailers are lo- cated directly behind the entrance of the large-area facili- ty. Samples are taken automatically from each delivery and tested for moisture and protein content in the laboratory within minutes. This enables the silo master to evaluate the data within a very short time and thus determine the ideal storage location. And, it also helps to ensure rapid receiving of the product. But that is not enough. In order to also prevent the grain