Dauk Farms is a picturesque century farmstead on the shore of Madison Lake, Minnesota, currently run by fifth-generation farmers Scott and Chris Dauk.
As their acreage and production expanded, they added more on-farm grain storage and drying capacity to their operation. Their most recent additions were a drive-thru receiving system, a Brock wet bin, and a new VECTOR® ENERGY MISER® Mixed Flow Dryer from Brock.
Find out some of the reasons Chris Dauk of Dauk Farms chose a VECTOR® ENERGY MISER® Mixed Flow Dryer in this informative video.
.
Dauk Farms is located by Madison Lake, Minnesota. Scott and Chris Dauk farm about 2,000 acres and also raise beef cattle.
“We’d outgrown our current setup, and we’re planning to expand further in the future, so it was time to add to our system, explained Chris Dauk. “In 2020, we built our first Brock bin and we’ve been super happy with the quality of that product. With the old drying system, it was basically running 24 hours a day just to keep up with the bushels coming into our farm. So in 2023, we were looking to add a 20,000 bushel bin for wet grain and a larger capacity dryer.”
Choosing the VECTOR Mixed Flow Dryer.
Chris described some of the key features that made them choose the Brock VECTOR Dryer. “We looked at tower dryers, but economically those are more expensive. The mixed flow is the new wave of the future. It seems everybody’s going that direction. We feel it’s a better quality product the way it mixes the grain. There’s also less maintenance with a mixed flow dryer. No screens to clean. So that’s why we went the direction we did.”
“We looked at one other brand of mixed flow dryer. We chose the Brock Vector mixed flow dryer because of the quality of grain it puts out and the technology behind the control system.”
Integrated control.
“Our old dryer was a Brock dryer and I really liked the integrated control system. Now Brock has updated the system significantly with the INTUI-DRY® Control. It’s not an aftermarket add-on system, it comes with the dryer from Brock. So we only have one company to contact if we have any problems, and that’s something we really liked,” said Chris.
“We have the ability to put it in auto mode, so the VECTOR Dryer controls both the unload speed and the temperature automatically. It decides what temperature it should be drying the corn at, so you don’t have to worry about overdrying or underdrying. It’s a set it and forget it type of thing. That’s something the other mixed flow dryer we looked at doesn’t do.
“I also really like that it’s an internet-connected touch screen. I can use my phone from anywhere to check on things or even make adjustments to the dryer if we’re out in the field, in the trucks, or on the tractors. I don’t have to go all the way out to the dryer system in the middle of the night. I can just pull out my phone and take a look.
Consistent moisture.
“From what we’ve seen the first year of operation, we’ve had a very consistent moisture reading. Probably the whole year, we calibrated maybe three times.
“The TrueGrain Moisture Sensor System has been very accurate for us. Whenever we check moisture against our manual tester, it was always very close to the actual set reading.
“So with our old system, it’d be once every day or two that we’d have to be calibrating it. With the VECTOR Dryer, whenever I would check the moisture with our manual tester, it was almost always right on or very close.
“Our old moisture sensor system was on the side of the dryer auger. So we dealt with lots of fines or condensation skewing the reading. Now with the TrueGrain System, the sensor is in the middle of the grain flow. It’s a much more consistent and even reading versus any of the other systems.”
Simplified unloading.
“With the Brock EVENFLO® Unload System, there’s no metering rolls for anything to get caught in. It’s just one chain, one motor, one system that unloads the entire dryer. It’s much less maintenance and nearly foolproof. You don’t have to worry about it collecting debris, plugging up, or anything like that. It’s much more gentle on grain.”
Safety first.
“I’m big into safety,” said Chris. “So I tend to avoid ladders. With the VECTOR Dryer, the ladders are integrated. As you climb up one ladder, you only go about 10 feet to the next platform.
“A lot of dryer ladders are on the outside or you just have one handrail to hold onto. With this platform system, the ladders are completely surrounded by the platforms themselves. You just feel a lot safer.”
Brock quality and durability.
“We work with our Brock dealer, Agri-Systems, because they stand behind their products and they do what they say they’re gonna do in a timely manner. We’ve been super happy with those guys. They are right on top of any service questions or concerns. You call or text, and you’re going to get a response for sure the same day, but usually within half an hour.
“Brock is a name that we see out there quite a bit. We just feel it’s a higher quality product. We’re strong believers that you get what you pay for. At the end of the day, we believe that Brock has high quality equipment and great service that will last for many years to come.