Engineering Notes Index
Update Drying Systems this Summer
It's way too early to predict crop moisture at harvest, but for
crops that were planted late, cool, cloudy weather this summer could
lead to wet grain this fall. (It seems like IUve said that before.)
Many drying systems on Minnesota farms are at least 20 years old and
in need of updating; a year with potentially wet crops is a good time
to do it.
What should you consider when updating grain drying, storage, and
handling systems? Mainly, you need to think long term; bins and
dryers installed today will probably last 20 years into the
future.
- Think big. Crop yields, acreages, and equipment sizes will
probably continue their upward trend, so allow plenty of room for
vehicles and for expansion.
- Plan for high capacity grain movement. Include large dump
pits, surge bins, and high capacity conveyors. You have better
things to do than sit around waiting for grain to be transferred
from one point to another.
- Consider energy efficiency and do what you can to keep energy
costs down. This is especially important since future energy
prices are difficult to predict.
- Keep grain quality in mind. Which quality characteristics are
important depend on what the grain will be used for, but in
general, for cash market grain, youUll want grain with high test
weight, low breakage susceptibility, low amounts of fines and
foreign material, and no mold. Provide for grain cleaning in your
handling system, select conveying systems that handle grain
gently, select dryers that dry and cool grain gently, and install
aeration systems in all storage bins.
- Allow for flexibility. There are already good opportunities
for marketing grain with special quality characteristics (for
example, high oil, high protein, low breakage susceptibility,
organic). To take advantage of these opportunities, you will need
to handle and store these grains separately (identity
preservation), so install a variety of bin sizes and flexible
handling systems.