Not all seasons are favourable for the farming and harvesting of corn. Wet spring and colder summers are not favourable for the farmers. This is because if the temperature will be lower/ colder than the normal temperatures, there will be fewer chances of field drying. If the corn is left unattended and standing in the fields during winters, it is going to cause losses of about 220-40%. Harvesting the corn, even with the best agriculture equipment becomes difficult in the wet and snowy fields
Can you store corn at higher moistures?
Corn can be stored if they have higher moisture but that depends altogether on the prevailing atmospheric temperature. If the corn has 20% and the temperature is about 40°F, then you can store the corn for up to 90 days. On the other hand, if the temperature of the corn is about 24% and the prevailing temperature is 40°F, then it is recommended to store the corn for up to 40 days safely. However, it is better to continuously aerate the corn that are stored in the bins, to ensure that the moisture levels are maintained appropriately.
The presence of 24% of moisture in the corn can be stored in the bin without further drying. However, if the moisture content in the corn is higher than 24%, then they need drying before they are moved to the bin for storage. Alternatively, you can dry the corn up to 20%, cool it and then store in the bin.
How to store the dried corn?
When you are storing the corn in the bin, ensure that the bin is ready first before you move the corn. Check for the grain dryer to see if it is working effectively and is able to dry the corn at the required temperatures. Clean the bin thoroughly for all foreign matters.
The dryer operations are relatively high if the temperature outside the bin is high. When the moisture of the corn is over 25%, then the continuous flow dryer will be more effective. However, if you are using the multi-stage dryer for drying wet corn, first dry the corn at a higher temperature and in a later stage, dry the corn at a lower temperature.
For aeration of the corn in the bin, the fan capacity should be at least 0.2 cfm per bushel and it needs to operate for about 75 hours to cool the corn.
Installation of Grain Temp Guard Dual System and Grain Moisture Sensors are necessary to monitor the temperature and moisture content of the corn. As the weather changes outside the bins, the temperature of the stored corn tends to vary accordingly. This is because the grains are good insulators. A change in the temperature of the corn will cause changes in the moisture content of the corn as well.
The Grain Temp Guard Dual System consists of one Grain Temp Guard Alarm – DT and Grain Temp Guard Alarm – HT (humidity/temperature). This is an effective device that acts as a grain manager. It is attached to the probes that are placed within the bin at various spots to detect the temperature. Grain Temp Guard Dual System is a grain monitoring system that is used to identify the temperature levels and the moisture content of the grain when stored in a bin.
Generally, one of the major concerns of farmers when storing grain is to access the temperature of the grain within the bin and to avoid any fluctuations that are not suitable for the life of the grain. The Grain Temp Guard Dual System and Grain Moisture Sensors can effectively solve this issue. Here is how you use the Grain Temp Guard Dual System in various sizes of the bin.
- Large Bins: If the size of the bins is large, then you would require four probes placed at various spots with one installation when storing the grain
- Medium size Bins: For medium-size bins, several temperature probes within the core of the grain and at the top are required.
- Small bins: If the bins are smaller in size, then probes are required at the lower portion of the bin and one at the top of the grain.
With Grain Temp Guard Dual System, you have the choice to use Dual DT, Dual HT or a combination of both for your bins.
