THE COST BENEFITS OF GRAIN STORAGE

As every year passes more and more growers are looking to capitilise on price spikes, by investing in on-farm storage. The ability to store more grain will directly benefit the nature and profitability of a growers grain harvest logistics.

We are seeing our clients returning to us multiple times with a plan to steadily increase the capacity of their on-farm storage, as they experience the benefits of having flexibility with their yield.

So what are some of the other benefits of on-farm grain storage?

IMPROVED HARVEST TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS

We hear it constantly from our clients; installing silos has improved harvest logistics. How? To start with, they aren’t needing to do “twenty trips in and out of town each day in the truck”, as Southern NSW grower and Optimum Silos client Bruce Thompson put it.

These constant trips to the weighbridge are time consuming and seem to drag the harvest season out for growers who are just looking to strip their crops quickly. In addition, being able to store on-site reduces your need to employ more contractors to run your trucks back and forward. 

FLEXIBILITY TO MARKET GRAIN WHEN IT SUITS YOU

When you know the costs of your product, you know where to set your market prices to ensure costs are covered, and there is a margin for profit from year to year. 

Having a plan to store your grain will allow you to foresee and avoid poor market prices, and choose to sell when there is certainty you will break even at the very least on your yield. 

ENSURING GRAIN HEALTH AND QUALITY

Of course many growers worry about grain health and quality when their yield is being stored on-farm. The answer, as we have previously mentioned, is aeration.

Another of our past clients, Roly Dye, had had previous issues with weevils, and was a little gun shy about using silos to store his grain. Including aeration in his silos meant that the grain remained cooled to a temperate where weevils wouldn't be able to breed, and moisture migration would be prevented.  

When your grain stores are properly set up and continually maintained - with aeration fans and proper gas-tight sealing - you’re in the box seat. You know you’ve got a high quality asset on hand; now it’s up to you to choose when to sell.

The general consensus is that growers who are approaching on-farm grain storage with a well thought through plan are doing it well, and being rewarded for it; with insect free, high-quality grain that they can reap the maximum benefits from when the time is right.