What do you need to think about when drying grain? Lecture 2 What do you need to think about when drying grain?

Disadvantages of grain drying Cost of purchase (equipment) Cost of operation Cost of Maintained Equipment Risk associated with storage of grain Quality of grain deteriorates in storage

Requirements of a Grain System Moisture Removal Safe Storage Grain Type % moisture @ harvest % Moisture for storage Corn 14-30 13.0 S. R. W.W. 9-17 13.5 Soybean 9-20 11.0

How is quality determined? Government grading standards- no reduction in : Germination Stress crack occurrence Susceptibility to breakage Heat damage

How do you control? Dryer design Operation of dryer Drying air temp Air flow rates Cool down procedures Know intended use afterwards Feed Vs. Food

Sizing a dryer Operational issues $$$$ Labor Moisture that must be removed

Calculation Abbreviations Ww= Weight of water Wt= total weight of sample Wdm= Weight of dry matter Mwb= % moisture on wet basis Wt= Ww + Wdm

Formulas Mwb= Ww * 100/Wt Mdm= Ww * 100/Wdm To Convert dry basis to wet basis (which all moistures test on the wet basis) Mdb= (Mwb/(100-Mwb)) * 100 To convert wet basis to dry basis Mwb= (Mdb/(100 + Mdb)) * 100

Moisture Tester Considerations Several Types available Oven most accurate, but takes several days to use Most measure electrical property that is related to moisture content Factors that impact these reading include: Grain bulk density Foreign material Kernel shape & size Chemical Composition Getting a good measure of moisture is represntative of sample

Grain Quality 1 bushel = 1.25ft3 Bushel wt is based on minimum test wt listed in the USDA grain standards Corn = 56# Wheat = 60# Oats = 32 # Another reason not to over-dry your grain

Dry Matter Bushel In this situation the amount of moisture in the grain is adjusted to a “standard moisture content” Example in text 56# *((100%-15.5%)/100)= 56# * (.0845)= 47.3#

Shrinkage of Grain Loss of wt which occurs during the drying process Should you sell @ 25%? Or dry to 15.5 then sell? 1000 bushel of corn @ 25% = 56,000# or 888 bushel of corn @ 15.5% = 49,704 # = loss of 112 bushels But remember docking for wet grain & cost of drying