Avonlea Recommendations For Safe Grain Storage

The objective of grain storage management is to prevent the grain from spoiling in the bin. As you can see from looking at the Wheat Storage Time Chart, you can increase the safe storage time by cooling and/or drying the grain.

Even when a crop is harvested dry, it is important to cool the bin. Grain will go through a sweat process after being harvested and it is critical to remove the heat and moisture from the bin. The larger the bins are, the more critical proper aeration becomes.

The Sweat Process:

In the fall as the weather cools down, the grain against the walls of the bin cools first. Cool air will then move downward inside the bin and settle along the floor. The cool air displaces the warm air at the center of the bin and forces it upwards. This warm moist air then collects at the top of the bin and will often form a crust where mold and insects thrive.

In the spring the opposite occurs and spoilage occurs along the floor. To prevent the spring and fall sweat cycles from damaging your grain Avonlea recommends that you keep your grain within 10 degrees F of the outside air temperature. A low volume aeration fan will do this job for you. A higher volume aeration fan will also do the same job more quickly. Avonlea recommends that you monitor what is happening in your bins with temperature cables. This will eliminate the guesswork and the power saved could easily pay for the cables.

By using a grain temperature monitoring system you can manage all of the above concerns with confidence.

1: Temperature cables will tell you what the harvest temperature of the grain is. You will be amazed how much variance there is in grain temperature throughout the day.

2: Temperature cables will tell you how long to run aeration fans as you cool the grain. Running the fans too long wastes power and leaving a hot spot in the bin can be disastrous.

3: As the weather cools in the fall and winter it is very important to monitor grain temperatures. As shown above convection will occur in the bin and the grain must be cooled to within 10 degrees of ambient air temperature. The same is true in the spring or condensation will form on the aeration/concrete floor and spoilage will occur.

4: Temperature cables will provide peace of mind by allowing you to see what is happening in your bins. One hot spot in a canola bin can easily pay for a system for your entire farm!

For more information on how temperature monitoring systems work please CLICK HERE.