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Article Source: Grain Storage - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST - AGInfo Ag Information Network
Grain Storage
GIVE YOUR GRAIN STORAGE SYSTEM A HARVEST ‘REPORT CARD’
Farmers keep a close eye on the yield monitor as their combines roll across the field. Ag expert Jeff Cravens recommends they should also monitor their grain storage system during harvest and rate its performance once the season’s over.
“Just like every other piece of equipment they use in their operation, they kind of do as they go through harvest, right? Especially with everything with tires and steering wheels, it’s a great time to see everything in your grain system function as well to see if it’s keeping up with your operation, providing your needs, something that even needs improvement from a maintenance standpoint, those types of things. So, it’s the perfect time to review everything.”
Cravens says the report card should focus on material handling and dryer and storage capacity.
“How well each piece of the system fits their operation and doesn’t cause problems, bottlenecks. They need to look at their material handling equipment, and if they got to dryer, those types of things. Is it a high maintenance item? Is it keeping up? Same way with the material handling equipment, dump pits, grain legs, conveyors, augers, were they broke down, did they make it through season, did it perform adequately, was grain moving fast enough through that equipment. Did they get through their daily harvest? They have to have adequate storage to both accommodate short-term and long-term marketing needs. So did that happen? that did not happen?”
Cravens adds that post-harvest maintenance is also important.
“What do you do to maintain it? You’ve got specifically a grain dryer and material handling and you leave grain and debris in them, that holds moisture, causes rust, so it’s got to get out of there and cleaned up, and then you can actually see and inspect them better as well. Look for worn bearings, those types of things. Also on the maintenance side, throughout your system, what required more attention than you would have liked to put toward it? There’s a lot of moving parts and a grain system, so it definitely needs a look over after it gets used.”
For more information, he says farmers can visit grainsystems.com.