New grain drying, handling and storage system from McArthur BDC more than halves drying hours for Scottish Borders family farm

With his drier ageing and harvest volumes rising, Stewart Cavers of John Cavers & Sons turned to McArthur BDC to increase drying capacity and significantly reduce manual grain handling on his farm in the Scottish Borders.

John Cavers & Sons is a family-run mixed farm near Kelso. It grows 1,150 acres of wheat, winter barley, spring barley, spring oats and winter oilseed rape, plus 85 acres of peas and 65 acres of rotational grass. It finishes 500 head of cattle and fattens 400 lambs a year.

The farm's existing Mecmar mobile batch drier had been outgrown by the farm. Neither it nor the existing intake pit could cope with the volume coming from a high-capacity combine. With no handling equipment, every tonne was moved manually which was very labour intensive.

A recently built grain store gave Cavers a much-needed chance to upgrade.

An existing McArthur BDC customer, Cavers first looked at a Mecmar at the LAMMA show in 2013 and subsequently bought one. "I thought it looked a sturdy, well-built bit of machinery," he said.

Pleased with his old Mecmar, his relationship with McArthur BDC and the level of service it delivers, he saw no reason to approach anyone else to discuss his upgrade options.

Following discussions with the McArthur BDC team on how best to cost-effectively upgrade his grain drying, handling and storage system, Cavers chose a new Mecmar electric-driven 55t mobile batch drier - one of the largest Mecmar driers in the UK.

The Mecmar has a touchscreen control panel enabling remote monitoring via a PC or any mobile device, moisture monitoring capability and a drier-mounted aspirator cleaner – an optional extra.

Because the drier was to be located outdoors, it was specified with a fully galvanised chassis and silo roof.

Skandia Elevator handling equipment supports the Mecmar: a 100tph chain and flight trench intake conveyor, two 120tph chain and flight conveyors and a 120tph belt and bucket elevator. Grain is tipped from the trailer into the intake conveyor, which feeds the Mecmar directly. Once dried, it can take one of two routes.

It can go via a chain and flight conveyor to a small bunker in a shed, to be loaded onto lorries by telehandler. Or, it can go via the elevator and a second conveyor to the main grain store. The store has two bays, and a two-way valve selects which bay is filled.

Both routes save time and resources by freeing up the telehandler and driver for other tasks during harvest.

The Mecmar's inbuilt moisture monitoring capability prevents wet grain entering the store. Operators set the maximum moisture content for grain to be discharged via the touchscreen control panel.

Remote monitoring is particularly useful for Cavers' wife, Lesley, who works on the farm and operates the drier, as she is no longer tied to the drier or grain store.

The installation was ready for harvest 2026. The Mecmar was too tall to be built inside the new grain store, so the McArthur BDC installation team worked outdoors in the heat.

"Much respect to the guys, as the hot weather was challenging," said Cavers. "I'm confident the daily ice lollies got them through it!"

After sales service was a key factor in Cavers staying with McArthur BDC. "There is almost always an engineer on hand or, at the very least, someone on the end of the phone to talk you through your query," said Cavers.

The Mecmar's control panel also lets engineers log in remotely to see what operators see, so help is provided quicker.

"The new grain system has more than halved drying hours. Importantly the increased intake capacity gives Lesley more wet grain storage, which together with the Mecmar's additional drying capacity, means that she can easily keep up with a full day's combining and we can run the Mecmar overnight, if necessary," continued Cavers.

His advice to other farmers looking to build a new grain system or upgrade an existing facility is to see equipment working before deciding.

"Go and look at Mecmar driers integrated with grain systems on other farms as this will give you ideas around options you may not have considered. Every farm is different and has different requirements. Then you should talk to McArthur BDC. The team will guide you to the right equipment decisions for your farm."

On return on investment, Cavers said: "How can you put a figure on your time? It's invaluable, especially with the lack of capable labour within agriculture. We needed to upgrade our grain system and the new system is worth every penny."