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Temperature a key to successfully storing grain

An extension crops specialist is reminding farmers to factor in temperature when putting corn into storage.

Dave Nicolai with the University of Minnesota says aeration should be used to cool the grain and prevent moisture from migrating throughout the bin.

“(migration) will really start to increase when you get that 20 degree temperature difference between the grain mass and the outside temperature.  So the recommendation is to cool (the grain) with aeration, especially when you have a 10 to 15 degree difference between the grain and the outside temperature.”

As an example, he says corn at 30 degrees with 20 percent moisture can be safely stored for more than 300 days.

Nicolai tells Brownfield there’s another advantage to cooling the grain.

“We know that a lot of insect activity will slow down and a lot of insects are killed when it gets down to 30 degrees, so whatever you can do to get that temperature down to avoid that moisture migration will help for long-term storage.”

Nicolai also recommends keeping bin vents open and checking stored grain every two weeks during the winter.

He says each check should involve verifying moisture is at a safe level, sampling grain temperature, scouting for insects, and looking for potential problems like condensation.