Corn In Storage Next Thing to Watch
Don't ignore corn already binned during harvest.
Tom Bechman
Published: Oct 17, 2011
Garbage in, garbage out, or so the old saying goes. What's going in the bin this fall as far as corn may not be garbage, but in parts of the country where drought and heat stress hit worst, it may not be premium quality either. The point is that even though you're still harvesting more corn or other corps, you will need to pay attention to the corn you've already stored on farm. Is it as dry as you want it? Are you providing adequate air flow to finish drying if you binned it about 15%? Are there unusual odors around or in the bin? Have you cored the bin yet, pulling out fines from the center?
Coring bins is especially important if you didn't use a grain cleaner to remove fines as the corn entered the bin. Fines, parts of broken kernels and other debris, tend to end up in the center of the bin. They can block airflow that is trying to move up through the grain as a drying front. If you remove a load or two from a full bin, you usually get the cone from the center flowing into the truck first. That gets lots of fines out of the bin. Besides removing a possible roadblock to air flow, the fines portion is where spoilage and insect-related grain storage problems sometimes begin.
Are there hot spot sin the bin? You're only going to know this if you have a temperature cable system installed in the bin. If you do, monitor it carefully. If one point rises several degrees above the rest, it's a sign that respiration is going on there meaning molds are likely active. Spoilage will result unless you take action.
You can also check from the top of the grain pile inside the bin with a probe. If you do this, be sure to follow all rules for safe entry into a bin. The unloader auger should be locked out, even if you're not ready to unload the bin, unless you're pulling out a truckload or two, depending upon the size of the bin, to get cores and the concentration of foreign material that builds up in the middle out of the bin.
Follow recommended procedures for running fans for your part of the country. Make sure you understand if the bin is equipped with a low horsepower storage fan, or a high-power aeration fan of 10 horsepower or greater. You have more flexibility to move air and get fronts moving up through grain more quickly if you have large aeration fans.
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Tagged: SURE, farm, Drought, harvesting
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