Page 174 - Calculating Agriculture Cover 20191124 STUDENT - A

15-2 Metric Measurements CH 15]

Example metric B: Harvesting 240,000 kilos of grain at 22% moisture and the desired dried
moisture will be 15%. (a) Calculate the absolute dry matter for this
harvest, (b) the weight for the grain after being dried to 15%.
Solution
(a) Wet Weight % – Moisture % = Dry Matter %
100% − 22% = 78% Note: We often interchange
terms to mean the same thing,
such as the colloquial “kilos”
Total Wet Weight x Dry Matter % = Dry Matter refers to the formal “kilograms”.
240,000 kg x 78% =
240,000 kg x 0.78 = 187,200 kg

(b) Wet Weight % – Moisture % = Dry Matter %
100% − 15% = 85%
Dry weight = Dry Matter ÷ Dry Matter %
= 187,200 kg ÷ 85%
220,235.29 kg = 187,200 kg ÷ 0.85 (at 15% desired moisture)

Note that in the above examples the weights are not the same; their digits (numbers) are the same
which demonstrates that the algorithm does not change, but in comparison the kilo weight is greater
than the pound weight; 2.204 times greater. The 220,235.29 kg in Example metric B actually weighs
(220,235.29 kg ÷ 0.45kg/lb =) 489,411.76 lbs, whereas the 220,235.29 lbs in Example English A
consists of (220,235.29 lbs x 0.45kg/ lbs =) 99,105.88 kilos, (Refer to Table 15.1 for conversion
factors).

The next example demonstrates the ease of converting the final solution of the calculation at the
end of the algorithm as opposed to converting mid-problem or having a problem that consists of both
English and metric in the problem.

Refer to page 14-10 (mixed English and metric)
Example: Given the following feedstuffs in a ration, 100# wheat, 250# cracked corn, and 100#
of oats. How much, in kilos, is the total weight of this feed mixture? First sum the
weights and then convert that weight to kilos.

Solution algorithm A (convert all weights to metric):
a. Sum all of the feed weights for a total weight.

100 # wheat
250 # cracked corn
100 # oats
450 # total weight

b. Convert total weight to kilos (Refer to Table 15.1 for conversion factors)

kilos = total weight x metric factor
kilos = 450 # x 0.45 kg/#
kilos = 202.50 kg

In these next examples English and metric measurements are mixed to demonstrate how careful
the calculation needs to be to arrive at the correct answer.

Refer to page 14-10 (mixed English and metric)
Example: Given the following feedstuffs in a ration, 100k wheat, 250# cracked corn, and 100k
of oats, what percentage of the ration is oats after you first convert all values to kilos
and then to pounds?

INSTRUCTOR Copyrighted Material