Don't Let Your Grain Bins Turn Into Garbage Cans

It is all too easy for your grain to go out of condition in your bins  and resemble garbage. After you have worked hard and long to produce  a quality crop, you put it in your bin and now you think your work is done. Not so. 

Managing grain in bins is not rocket  science.  Maintaining quality grain in your bins requires the right environment in the bin. Grain is a perishable product, like food stuff. We either keep food in the refrigerator or dry it  to extend the shelf life of the food. Like food, when grain is dry it can be  stored at a higher temperature. When grain is higher in moisture content it must be kept at a lower temperature to keep from spoiling.  

Grain has a shelf life based on the temperature and moisture of the  grain. Corn at 15% / soybeans 13% moisture at 60 degrees F will store  for 275 days. Corn at 18% / soybeans 16% moisture at 60 degrees F will  store for only 57 days.  

Not only do you need the right equipment to keep your grain in your  bins in top quality condition, just as important you need to operate the  equipment correctly.  

Air is the key to keeping grain from turning into garbage in your bins. Aeration airflow (as low as 1/10 cfm per bushel) is for maintaining dry grain in storage.  

Drying airflow (minimum of 1 cfm per bushel) is for changing the  moisture of the grain in a drying bin. The humidity of the drying air will  determine the moisture that the grain will dry to. Running the fans with  low humidity air will over dry (shrink) the grain in the bin. Running the  fans with high humidity air will spoil the grain in the bin. 

Condensation on the grain or the bin walls will spoil the grain in the  bin. Keep the grain temperature within 15 to 20 degrees F of the outside  air temperature to eliminate condensation and grain spoilage. Trapping warm air in the peak of the roof causes condensation under the roof and drips down into the grain causing crusting and spoilage on top of the grain.  When unloading the grain, the crusted junks of grain will flow into the stream and plug the unloading auger. Or the grain flows out from underneath the crust and causes a bridge across the bin. When the grain quits flowing before the bin is empty and someone enters the bin to break up the crusted junks of grain is when entrapments can happen. All too often when entrapments happen to someone in the bin they suffocate when they get buried in the grain and die. 

The Steps to keep your grain bins from turning into garbage cans. 
1) Know the limits of your grain bins.  
a. Know the cfm’s per bushel airflow of the bin.  
b. Know the static pressure the fans are creating.  
c. Know your airflow requirements for natural air-drying wet grain. 
d. Install the required roof vents in the bin roof. 

2) Filling your bins with grain. 
a. Keep the grain level as you are filling the bin. 
b. Spread the fines uniform throughout the bin. 
c. Do not over fill the bin, based on grain moisture and airflow requirements. 

3) Operating the fans/heaters on your drying bins. 
a. Run the fans when the humidity can dry the grain to the desired moisture. 
b. Turn the fans off or turn a low temperature heater on when the humidity is higher than 70% when drying with natural air.  
c. Watch the grain temperature when the fans are off when drying wet grain. 
d. If the grain starts warming up in high humidity conditions, run the fans only long enough to cool the grain. 

4) Operating the fans on your storage bins. 
a. Run the fans when the outside temperature can get the grain to the right temperature for the season. 
b. Watch the humidity when you run the fans to eliminate shrink and spoilage in the bin. 

Always be safe when drying and storing grain! 

STEPS GMS has affordable tools and the experience to help  you keep your grain in condition in your bins. 

STEPS GMS 
www.StepsGMS.com