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#2 Grain drying
by John Bowes, International Sales Director, Sukup Manufacturing Co.
Feed industry professionals, academics and business people learned about inner workings of a feed mill at the Build my FeedMill Conference on March 13 at VIV Asia. In conjunction with Milling and Grain, VIV Asia hosted 12 speakers who presented information about their feed mill and storage products. Those in attendance were led through the entire milling process, from intake and conveying to weighing, grinding, pelleting, drying and cooling and storage. Best practices in grain storage were presented by John Bowes, international sales director at Sukup Manufacturing Co. Following are highlights of his presentation.
C content than clean crops.
rops store best if they are cool, dry, and clean. Mould growth is dependent on both temperature and crop moisture content. Crops that contain considerable foreign material or broken kernels will be more susceptible to mould and insects, so it is important that crops are cleaned to reduce this hazard or dried to between one and two percent lower moisture
Checking grain
All stored grain needs to be checked on a regular basis. Check stored grain bi-weekly during critical fall and spring months when outside air temperatures are changing rapidly. Check at least once a month during winter, but more often if there are problems. Search for small changes that are indicators of potential problems, such as crusting or condensation on your bin roof. It may also be necessary to check the moisture of grain with a moisture meter. Any increase in temperature indicates a problem, unless outdoor temperatures are warmer than the crop. Check and record temperatures at several points in your grain bin. Testing the weight of your crops is another evaluation to ensure it is at its best quality and in peak condition.
80 | July 2019 - Milling and Grain
Filling and coring the bin
Best storage results are obtained when crops are level in the bin (See Figure 1). Lowering the centre core of stored crops improves airflow and makes checking the crop easier. Levelling can be done with a grain spreader or by withdrawing grain from the centre after filling. In most bins, normal grain discharge flow creates a centre core that flows directly down to the unload conveyor or unload spout. This creates an inverted cone in the surface grain that gradually increases in diameter. As unload continues, grain funnels down the centre core and to the conveyor or unload spout. A bin filled to the peak will not have uniform airflow. Peaked grain is hard to manage and is especially risky when grain is stored above its safe moisture content. Part of the peak in all bins should be removed by coring the bin. It is important to core bins filled with moist grain, especially if the bin does not have a powered grain spreader that levels the surface and spreads fines and trash. Coring bin will remove the majority of fines and foreign material because most fines tend to accumulate in centre of bin. This is important since fines are more susceptible to spoilage and will restrict airflow. This practice obviously improves airflow through grain, which reduces chance of spoilage and helps aeration fans work more efficiently.