Agricultural
2 November, 2022
Preparing silos now will help growers manage a wet harvest
Recent heavy downpours and more rain on the forecast has eastern Australian grain growers bracing for another wet harvest, with logistical and grain quality issues already front of mind.
While growers are very much at the mercy of the weather when it comes to harvesting crops, they can begin to prepare their silos above the deliverable moisture content to open up selling options.
This is the topic of the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) recent podcast, where GRDC’s National Grain Storage Extension Project Coordinator, Chris Warrick discusses what growers should be doing now to prepare their silos to store wet grain.
Mr Warrick said while some growers might delay harvest giving crops the chance to dry out and get back to the desired deliverable moisture content, others might have to harvest wet grain to avoid future rainfall events.
“Preparing silos so growers have the option to take grain off above the desirable moisture content is a tool they can use to manage the difficult logistics of a wet harvest,” he said.
“The ideal setup at a time like this is having drying facilities available; however, that won’t be the case for a lot of growers, and it may not be possible for them to access this equipment so close to harvest.
“The second most common management option, and the one that can be underutilised by the industry is, aeration cooling.
“Growers can use aeration cooling to hold grain, preventing it from moulding, until it can be dried or blended with dry grain to sell.”
Mr Warrick said the most important factor to consider when using aeration cooling to store wet grain is ensuring the system is set up to match what growers want to do with it.
“Drying with aeration requires really high air flow and growers will need fifteen litres of air per second per tonne or more to carry the moisture out of the grain,” he said.
“Aeration cooling only requires 2-4 litres of air per second per tonne and can be retro fitted to cone bottomed silos, sheds or bunker sites.
“If you’re going to store grain with higher moisture make sure you monitor it regularly. Smell the air, check the temperatures and ensure it’s cooling down nor heating up.
“When using aeration cooling fans to hold higher moisture grain, growers will need to run fans continuously whenever conditions are under 85 per cent relative humidity, regardless of temperature.
“Without constant air flow, higher moisture grain is likely to heat up, sweat and turn mouldy.”
Mr Warrick said that if growers are planning to retain seed from this harvest they should be prioritising these crops to maintain the seeds quality.
“Give priority to retaining seed, get it in the silo and store it at low moisture content and in low temperatures,” he said.
“This will ensure a higher germination percentage and greater seeding vigor can be maintained through to sowing in 2024.”
The GRDC YouTube channel has a video series on effective grain storage including aeration cooling.
