Grain All Cozy By Christmas

The corn should be almost completely harvested. The beans and cereals have been in the bin for some time. Just because you have the combine cleaned out and all the equipment under cover doesn't mean you are done for the season. There may be a few things that you have missed at the bins. If you harvested corn, particularly if you stored immature corn of lesser quality, you should be nervous. This dry immature corn has about 50% of the shelf life of dry mature corn. Immature corn does not keep as well as fully developed corn.

Core The Bins

A good management strategy to eliminate surprises in stored grain, especially corn, is to core the bin. By removing two or three loads of grain from the bin and putting them back in the bin, you accomplish two things.

1. You remove that portion of the bin that contains the highest concentration of fines. Left undisturbed, these fines will restrict the flow of air through this central part of the bin. This could result in spoilage.
2. You establish the flow funnel through the grain. Come spring you know that the path to the unloading grate is clear.

Ideally these loads that you remove should be cleaned before they are put back in the bin. However, even if these loads are put right back in the bin without cleaning, the fines will be better distributed and won’t offer as much resistance to air movement. Just moving a couple of loads of grain out and right back in again, breaks up the high concentration of fines that typically end up in the centre of the bin.

Clear The Vents

Over time, material can be trapped on vent screens. If enough of the screen is covered, a reduction in airflow capability will result. The worst case could see vents completed blocked and the fan cause structural damage to the bin roof if the exhaust air has no place to go. Use a stiff brush to remove reddog and other materials from roof vents and eave openings. Having the fan on while cleaning the vents and eave openings will help blow this material outside the bin.

Cool The Grain

Aeration is done at this time of year to cool the grain as winter approaches. Keeping the grain mass within 5C^o of the average ambient temperature is crucial to prevent uncontrolled convective air movement within the grain mass. Convective air cells are moisture pumps. Convective air movement is caused by rising warm air. Warm air picks up moisture from the grain and when moist air contacts a cool surface it condenses and becomes water. Free water in a storage bin will lead to spoilage problems.

Run the aeration fan for sufficient time to completely cool the whole grain mass. Some fan run times to completely change the grain mass temperature for different aeration rates include; 1/5 CFM / bushel 75 hours, 1/4 CFM / bushel 60 hours, 1/2 CFM / bushel 30 hours, 3/4 CFM / bushel 20 hours and 1 CFM / bushel 15 hours.

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Bag the Fans

Fans that are not covered allow free air movement through the grain in the bin. This uncontrolled air movement through the fan, caused by wind, can change the grain moisture content and the grain temperature. The condition of the grain that you put in the bin at harvest may be changed as air moves through the fan. Freewheeling of the fan and motor can also cause component wear. The centrifugal start switch wears when the fan and motor are turned by the wind. These covers can be made of canvas or some other type of tarp material held in place with a bungee strap, plywood, metal or puckboard cut the same diameter as the fan opening and fastened to prevent wind entry. The fastening system has to be quick and simple. The most important part of this system is a way to remind the operator to remove the cover before the fan is turned on. This reminder should be located on the fan switch.

Clean out the Boot

The boot is the bottom part of the elevator leg. The grain is fed into the boot and picked up by the cups on the belt and conveyed upwards. Grain that fills the bottom of the boot is never picked up by the cups and will spoil quickly when in contact with moisture. The amount of grain accumulated in this space will depend on the size of your leg and how tight or loose the belt is. If you have recently tightened your belt there will be more grain in the bottom of the leg boot. It will be easier to remove this material before it freezes solid.      

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