Friday December 6, 2013

Day 30..

Selling a tractor or buying??? Today in machinery lesson (slight change to the timetable) we were given a tractor brochure and looking through it discussed the significant points, what were the usp's, what was #salesbanter!!! And what information it gave us that was techy. New terminology to me included CVT which stands for Continuously Variable Transmission which is most useful with regards to applications and flexibility because the transmission can change seamlessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values! And Semi Powershift - which means there is a manual option and it is the transmission whereby a tractor that can be shifted two or more speeds without clutching, must be clutched to shift ranges! The brochure we viewed was for a range of massy ferguson tractors with slightly different engine sizes and therefore which one to choose depends on what jobs you need it to do for example lots of field work, or road work etc.

This afternoon we were split in to teams and sent off to research a specific part of growth in grass ready to give a talk and discuss our findings to the rest of the group later. My team included dale and joe and we had to research the male parts of a grass flower incorporating stamens and pollen. our research started off in the library but we then resorted to the internet. I managed to find a diagram in my notes and copied this with all the significant parts relating to the male function, while the boys noted down information relating to stamens and pollen. As a class, each group read out their findings while others took notes and when it was our turn the diagram was displayed on the whiteboard so that we could explain more about the male processes.
It is significant to note that grass growth occurs in two separate phases vegetative and floral and for best livestock management grass in this vegetative stage is far more productive with higher yields per hectare!