Noise from grain drying bins

[CathyA]

I live in the country. We're not farmers. I appreciate that there has to be noise from grain drying bins. One neighbor farmer put up wood panels in front of his motors/fans so as to blunt the noise, which was very nice of him.

Another farmer just added some bins to his farm, and even though he is probably a mile across an open field from us, when his dryers are running, we get a loud hum inside the house.
I don't want to sound like I'm complaining to him, but I'd like to ask him if he could put those panels up in front of his motors/fans too.
Should I just leave an unsigned note in his mailbox? Should I risk him getting PO'd at me and sign my name?

Even though I prefer to be direct and honest with people, if I can get the job done with an anonymous note, I guess I would prefer that route. Not everyone is open to reasonable requests.
I wish Float On was here to comment..........maybe when she gets back from her little vacation, she'll be able to contribute. (since she grew up on a farm).
thanks for your input!

[redfox]

An anonymous note is fine, IMHO. However, it all goes better if one has a relationship with the individual. May I suggest taking them a pie or cookies, and inquiring about the sound? This may lead to a conversation about it all.

[goldensmom]

There are 5 huge grain dryers 2 miles west of our farm that we hear but we do not hear the noise in the house. Even though we farm and are used to the various farm noise/smells from our farm operations that bothers others, the noise from giant drain dryers bothers me as well. In the fall the dryers are going 24 hrs a day but only occasionally this time of year. If any part of our farm operation bothers anyone I'd appreciate being contacted personally and I would not mind being given suggestions if you know of something that works like the wood panels you mentioned.

I like redfox's suggestion, it's a soft approach and I don't know a farmer that doesn't like to begin a conversation with pie or cookies.

[dado potato]

I am no fan of anonymous notes.


Rather, is there some way to start off a conversation with the pronoun "we"... as in, "We seem to have a noise problem out here"?

[Mrs-M]

Is the option of planting a sound-deadening barrier an option for you, CathyA? Thuja (Emerald Green Arborvitae), upright Junipers, Siberian Pea Shrub (hedging).

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone.
I'm just not a take-a-plate-cookies-to-someone kind of person. I don't know these people. Actually, I checked it out on google earth and we're 1.33 miles from them, but there's open field between us and the fans/motors are pointed right at us and they are also in the dominant wind direction in the winter.
They don't have anything in front of the motors/fans, which some farmers do to ease the sound a bit.
It wouldn't bother me except that we hear this loud hum in our bedrooms.

Mrs.M, we have woods on that side of the house, but it doesn't seem to do anything. We're in a bit of a little valley, so whatever we put up would have to be awfully tall. Its pretty amazing how much sounds can carry out here in the country, especially if they are carried by the wind.

I used to not be a fan of anonymous notes, until I approached people directly. They don't take it well, no matter how nice I try to be, unfortunately. So why do that to myself again?

I'm careful not to complain too much about "country" sounds, since they're ALOT better than a racetrack or a mall! but.....we all share the same air space. If I made a racket all the time, I wouldn't expect people to just accept it. I'm sure this is a problem for the farmers too. "Back in the day", there probably weren't enough houses around to bother anyone. And most people were farmers and accepted it, because they were doing the same thing. Oh........and they didn't have these dryers too far back either!
I have adjusted to our neighbor's hog operation and hearing hogs screaming alot. (they moved in 10 years after we did). I've adjusted to all the loud tractors/grain-hauling semis all during the Fall. But to have this loud hum 24/7 is just plain irritating.

If I do write an anonymous note, it will be very reasonable and diplomatic.

[Mrs-M]

I find the older I'm getting, the more susceptible to sounds I'm getting, particularly irritating sounds (steady repetitive ones are the worst). I don't remember sounds bothering me as much when I was younger.

[CathyA]

That goes for me too, Mrs. M.

[bae]

I suspect some farmers would respond far better to a personal conversation than an anonymous note.

[razz]

We have a farm and would be quite disappointed to receive an anonymous note as we try to be on good terms with our neighbours although we don't spend much time with each other. If anyone needed a hand, we all do and would help but we butt out otherwise.


What about a white noise appliance for your bedroom?

[goldensmom]

If I got an anonymous note, no matter how nicely worded, whenever I saw a neighbor I'd think 'is it you?' but that is my personality. In your case the farmer might not care. Another thing to think about when considering anonymity is security cameras. The farmers around here have security cameras. We have a security camera set up at the end of our driveway because we live so farm from the road, we'd surely see who the note is from.

By the way, points for enduring the hog farm. There was a hog/chicken farm a mile from us years ago and when the wind was in our direction is was unbearable.

[CathyA]

Actually, the dryer was off this afternoon, so that was a nice break. I think I'll wait and see. The thing about being honest with people is that you don't know how its going to go, until you step in it. Then there's no turning back. Like I said, most of my life I've been really direct with people. But then it went south and I'm just more cautious now.
The lady who lives closest to us had an outside dog several years ago that barked 24/7. I called her and asked as nicely as I could if she could try to stop him from doing it all the time. She was really ticked off. She said, "Yeah.....he's a dog."
She called a couple days later and said she'd talked to her lawyer and the sheriff, and she didn't HAVE to do anything about it. And this was a lady we were on good terms with (until then).
So much for niceness.
I'm extremely careful not to disturb anyone. I just would like the same back.
I think farmers with dryers should automatically put up barriers. Its just a couple posts and a piece of plywood.