From Seed to Sale: Why Grain Cleaning Machines Are Essential for Wheat Farmers

“You reap what you sow.” This old saying is still relevant today. However, in 21st-century farming, the result of what you reap can and should be influenced by modern technology.

In particular, the competitiveness of wheat in the market directly depends on how well it is cleaned. This also affects how long the product can be stored before sale. Below, we will explain how “Metra” grain cleaning machines help speed up and simplify the sorting process while lowering costs.

Purity, Appearance, and Other Quality Criteria

When we buy any product, we first evaluate it visually: do we like how it looks? Wheat is no exception. The first quality indicators are:

• Uniformity—no foreign materials
• Consistent size
• Consistent color

Only after this do buyers request supporting documents and check additional factors for large batches, such as fiber quality confirmed by laboratory tests, moisture levels, and whether the grain has been tested for pests or mold.

Why Is Wheat Cleaned? Grain coming from the field always contains impurities. These include:

• Mineral—soil, sand, or small stones
• Organic—weeds, insects, animal hair, wheat stems, etc.
• Grain-based—defective kernels such as sprouted, immature, dried, or damaged grains, as well as seeds of other plants like barley or wild species

Each type of impurity affects the quality of the harvest differently. Stones and soil add unnecessary weight, while organic impurities pose risks—one unnoticed damp leaf can cause an entire batch to develop mold or fungus.

Grain impurities may seem harmless since they share the same chemical properties as the main batch. However, they still need to be removed because they lower the wheat’s grade and, therefore, its value.

Three Solutions for Grain Cleaning

Farmers typically face multiple tasks. To accomplish them, they use three or four types of wheat cleaners with different functions or attachments to:

• Remove all listed impurities
• Dry the grain
• Sort it based on specific parameters, depending on its intended use

The highest requirements are usually for seeds that will be used for the next planting season. These grains must not only be high-quality but also perfectly selected.

Metra Technologies—Smart and Efficient Grain Cleaning Metra machines were designed to make farming easier. That’s why, in addition to basic features, they include advanced options like color differentiation, disease detection, and automatic removal of affected kernels.

The 6th generation of these machines combines aerodynamics, artificial intelligence, high-resolution optics, and improved structural design.

Aerodynamic Cleaning

The entire grain mix is processed using airflows only. In a single pass, the machine:

• Removes impurities of all kinds
• Sorts seeds by relative density into five categories:
  • Whole grain, size A
  • Whole grain, size B
  • Damaged grain and husks
  • Large impurities
  • Small impurities

If similar crops, like wheat and barley, are mixed, the machine can separate them by up to 60% in one cycle.

It also prevents infected seeds from mixing with healthy ones and even removes the finest dust.

Optical Sorting

These machines are equipped with high-resolution cameras, allowing them to sort wheat by color. Any grain that stands out in shade or tone is automatically separated.

Metra’s grain cleaning solutions are designed to tackle these common challenges, ensuring that small-scale farmers can maintain the highest standards of grain quality.

Contact us today to explore how our grain cleaning solutions can elevate your business

Cost-Effective and Universal

Metra machines are suitable for both large agricultural corporations and small farms. They save time and optimize workflow while offering:

• 2.5 to 3 times lower energy consumption than competitors
• No need for additional maintenance, like lubrication or part replacement

A specialist from Metra explains, “This efficiency is achieved through a unique design innovation. The working wheel now serves as the power unit that precisely controls the airflow.”

Final Thoughts

Growing wheat is a meticulous and often unpredictable task. The harvest is influenced by weather conditions, while market prices fluctuate due to geopolitical changes and currency shifts. Yet, wheat remains a highly demanded product.

The Metra wheat cleaning machine processes grain to first-class quality in just a few hours. It works just as efficiently for all cereal crops, from the smallest clover seeds to legumes.

Additionally, seeds cleaned using Metra’s aerodynamic technology yield up to 40% more. But there’s one condition.

While this is an intelligent yet easy-to-use machine with around 30 cleaning programs, operators must remember to select the correct setting. If you face an unusual challenge, you can contact Metra experts, who can provide consultation and remote assistance to solve the issue.