Preparing Bins for Grain Storage

Before you harvest your corn and soybean crops this year, make sure you have taken all of the necessary steps to prepare your bins for storage. 

Agriculture.com provides a helpful checklist to help farmers prepare their grain bins for this year’s fall harvest.

• Clean empty grain bins: Remove old grain, clean and sanitize aeration ducts, augers and other places insects could feed on dust and fine material

• Service and operate grain bin fans: Inspect burners, fan housings, fan blades, belts, guards, bearings, and electrical controls and switches

• Inspect dryers and operate prior to use: Calibrate your grain-moisture meter to avoid over-drying or under-drying grain and then finish the job with a thorough cleaning, particularly of stand-alone dryers

• Install a monitoring system in every grain bin: Such systems employ moisture and temperature sensors suspended from bin roofs that help analyze data and use preset moisture and temperature target goals for each bin

• Check fan capacity on large grain bins: It is crucial that larger bins (42 to 48 feet in diameter) be equipped with fans capable of pushing .3 cubic feet of air per minute per bushel through the bin

• Pull auger flighting from grain bin un-loaders and check for wear: 10 to 15 percent of wear can decrease an auger's capacity by 25 percent and increase grain damage

• Core grain bins immediately after the harvest: Remove the accumulation of fine material that often builds up in the center (core) of the bin during filling so that the grain stored there receives adequate airflow

What have you done to prepare your grain bins for the fall harvest? Do you have any tips that weren’t mentioned?

Photo obtained from: wayne.osu.edu