Agronomy

MAINTAINING  QUALITY
GRAIN  IN  STORAGE
 

Management of the grain environment is more important than treating the grain.  Properly prepare bin before grain is stored.  Thoroughly clean the bin including under the floor.  Spray an in bin treatment to kill any insects in the cracks and crevices that cannot be cleaned properly.  Do not over fill the bin.

If you had $15,000 to $30,000 in cash sitting in a grain bin, would you check it often?  You know you would.  So why not check your grain that is worth that much?  With the price of grain, it can represent a considerable amount of money.

When you store wheat, oats, soybeans, shelled corn, or any other grain on your farm for extended periods, you must take steps to preserve its quality and prevent economic loss from insect and mold damage.  For long term storage, a grain protectant applied at time of storage might be good insurance.

Properly managing grain in your storage bins, it is important to maintain quality.  Factors that can cause grain to go out of condition are:

1. Presence of insects
2. The amount of fines and foreign-material left in the stored grain during filling of the storage
3. Initial quality of grain going into storage
4. Grain moisture content
5. Grain temperature

The market or feed value of infested grain may be substantially reduced if the number of insect-damaged kernels is sufficient to lower the grade of the grain to be designated “infested” on the grade certificate.  Producers often have to pay discounts to buyers finding live insects in their purchased grain.  And some grain dealers may refuse to accept heavily infested grain that might contaminate their storage facilities.

Heavy infestation of insects and mold greatly reduces the feed value of grain.  Molds can produce toxins that can cause abortions, low fertility, poor production and poor growth rate.

In a long term Ohio State University study of grain storages, grain weevils were not found to be a major factor in grain problems.  Most problems came from insects that feed on molds, fungus and small bits of grain.  This indicated the grain had not been properly cleaned or dried before going into storage.

Insects in farm-stored grain will also affect its eligibility in the Commodity Loan Program for farmers.  Conditioning of the storage structure and that of the stored grain are factors that must be considered by the Farm Service Agency commodity inspectors when determining eligibility for a farm-storage loan.  A reminder also, that grain placed under loan through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation and the Farm Service Agency requires the condition of the grain be maintained.  The borrower is responsible not only for the quantity of the grain, but also the quality.  If upon random monthly grain inspections on the farm, FSA detects quality problems and if the condition is not corrected promptly, the loan may be called or an over-disbursement of loan funds determined.

Grain temperature must be controlled to limit moisture movement through the grain.  Lower grain temperature decreases molds and insect activity and increases safe storage times.  More grain goes out of condition due to temperatures not being controlled than for any other reason.  When the grain temperature is lowered to 50° F insect activity begins to cease, at 40° F insects start to die.

Specifically for the 2007 crop, and in particular for soybeans, the harvest season was exceptionally warm and conditions dry.  Soybeans were subsequently placed in storage bins what appeared relatively good condition.  However, due to the warm temperature of the soybeans themselves when placed in storage and the subsequent cooler temperatures apparent recently, deterioration is evident in most storage bins, including crusting and mold, and exceptionally higher moisture – reports between 14-16.5%.

As spring and summer temperatures warm up, it is very important to monitor the temperature and moisture in the stored grain.  Temperatures can increase quite rapidly and that will increase insect activity.  The grain in storage needs to be monitored often to prevent temperature and moisture increases and increase in insect activity.

There are insect traps available that can be inserted into the grain mass to monitor insect activity.  If you value your money in the bin, keep a watch on the grain for insect activity, temperature rise, and excess moisture.