Grain Drying

farmerfred86

Member
BASIS
Location
Suffolk
either invest in a opico type dryer and simple store - circa £150k should do it to a practical level for 900ac

or sell for harvest movement as is and take the moisture claims

or find a local commercial store to send it to and accept charges

use whatever income the existing sheds are bringing in to offset cost of the above ?

don’t buy CS - it makes no sense vs using commercial stores with no buy in
As Clive has said your choices are clear you just need to get on with it.
If cashflow wont allow a new building then selling at harvest will be on par with what you are currently doing.
 
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Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
If I went down the opico route I’d need at least a 20 ton model to achieve any improvement over my antiquated 3 tph continuous flow Almet system as cooling is the limiting factor, not drying.
We’re running a 12 ton Leccy drive mobile batch dryer. Cook it then set cooling timer for 1hr 15 mins. Will happily store for months at that whatever the ambient temp is we’ve found. Can do 5 load a day easy enough and have done 8 loads in a long day. Although been Leccy drive last load usually goes in at bedtime and is left to it as it switches its self off wen done.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
We’re running a 12 ton Leccy drive mobile batch dryer. Cook it then set cooling timer for 1hr 15 mins. Will happily store for months at that whatever the ambient temp is we’ve found. Can do 5 load a day easy enough and have done 8 loads in a long day. Although been Leccy drive last load usually goes in at bedtime and is left to it as it switches its self off wen done.
That’s what I wanted to hear. Thanks.👍
 

PSQ

Member
Arable Farmer
Not going to get into an argument with you on this but how it spending £x per tonne on storage at home + yearly runnings costs any different to spending £x per tonne on central store + running costs? It’s just in a different place and you share it?

A decent shed on a the farm lends itself to many uses; you can’t invite 120 of your mates to the central storage for a pre harvest p!ss up. Well you could, but the storemans not going to be happy.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
A decent shed on a the farm lends itself to many uses; you can’t invite 120 of your mates to the central storage for a pre harvest p!ss up. Well you could, but the storemans not going to be happy.
Yes a decent shed can be used for many things, not so if it has an on floor dryer installed. I like to keep things flexible. I don’t want a shed that can only be used for one thing. So for me an opico type batch drier and pedestals would probably work best with my multipurpose shed for not too much outlay. If it’s dry, tip it straight in to dry shed, the pedestals will cool it. If not dry, tip it in the wet shed, bucket or tip straight into dryer, unload into trailer and tip in dry shed. Push it about with telehqndler. No major amount of dedicated pain in the arse infrastructure needed, and we can sell it and still have multipurpose shed there if we need it. Crack on.
 

Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Yes a decent shed can be used for many things, not so if it has an on floor dryer installed. I like to keep things flexible. I don’t want a shed that can only be used for one thing. So for me an opico type batch drier and pedestals would probably work best with my multipurpose shed for not too much outlay. If it’s dry, tip it straight in to dry shed, the pedestals will cool it. If not dry, tip it in the wet shed, bucket or tip straight into dryer, unload into trailer and tip in dry shed. Push it about with telehqndler. No major amount of dedicated pain in the arse infrastructure needed, and we can sell it and still have multipurpose shed there if we need it. Crack on.
Set mobile drier up right to empty thru side of shed or into a trailer.
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
I kinda agree with having your own shed, but realistically, what other uses are there for it, as it's probably storing at least some grain for most of the year.
It only really comes into it's own when you give up growing corn. Anyway, I find an empty shed seems to attract all the boat owners and caravanists from a 10 mile radius. Those that don't fancy paying the going rate at proper boat yards that is..........
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Our old multipurpose shed does sheep lambing , then pressure washed then grain tipping and sometimes loading onto wagons if dry with bucket. Or bucket it round into antiquated dryer and long term storage from where it’s bucket loaded into wagons. Then we tip beet in it from September to February from where it’s loaded into wagons through cleaner loafers. But we do have a newer multipurpose shed which presently is machinery store and Worksop. It was build as a new grain store in case the antiquated system was condemned as a lot if it is housed in a 200 year old stone building, rendered and whitewashed inside contained elevators conveyors and all that 1950’s and 1960’s grain drying and handling kit. Even still had an upper wooden floor for sacks that looks like a ballroom.
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
sling up sheds, not for storing grain but making money other ways with little effort. Put all your grain in a commercial or central store and go to the pub.
 

Flat 10

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Fen Edge
Our old multipurpose shed does sheep lambing , then pressure washed then grain tipping and sometimes loading onto wagons if dry with bucket. Or bucket it round into antiquated dryer and long term storage from where it’s bucket loaded into wagons. Then we tip beet in it from September to February from where it’s loaded into wagons through cleaner loafers. But we do have a newer multipurpose shed which presently is machinery store and Worksop. It was build as a new grain store in case the antiquated system was condemned as a lot if it is housed in a 200 year old stone building, rendered and whitewashed inside contained elevators conveyors and all that 1950’s and 1960’s grain drying and handling kit. Even still had an upper wooden floor for sacks that looks like a ballroom.
Why do you need a dryer? Without being rude you aren’t growing a big acreage, even historically within your farm area are you ? What with grass and beet? You have been talking about spring barley only? How can you afford to dry it? To be fair I realise you are quite a bit later in N Lincolnshire. But it’s not Scotland is it?
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
Why do you need a dryer? Without being rude you aren’t growing a big acreage, even historically within your farm area are you ? What with grass and beet? You have been talking about spring barley only? How can you afford to dry it? To be fair I realise you are quite a bit later in N Lincolnshire. But it’s not Scotland is it?
Apart from a really Really wet harvest like 2012 buying a big second hand 5/6 year old lexion 780 would probably be the most cost effective way of doing it. That’s what I would do I think.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
Sounds just like our place except we have a 3 ton per hour Almet continuous flow further limited by 2 radial blown bins which provide enough cooling capacity to do a grand total of 20 tons per day. The Almet runs from 8 am till 2 pm then the cooling bins need to run on for a couple of hours to cool and condition the grain before it’s moved into long term storage. It works very well but it’s incredibly slow, has a control panel bigger than Cape Canaveral and if just one thing backs up it all comes to a squealing belt burning smoking halt. I have wracked my brains to come up with a better system but 150 acres of cereals won’t pay for it.
2nd hand mobile drier. There was a 12t masters one this time last year, old but serviceable £4000 would have bought it.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
Will it store safely in non blown shed straight out of a mobile opico type drier? Just asking as i have a large multipurpose shed at my disposal should my old system breakdown big time or fail unsiection. Or would grain out of an opico need further conditioning from say pedestals?
Pedastals aren't essential unless it is very hot. I wouldn't be without mine though as it gives me the option to tip when warmer and cool with the pedastal fans.
 

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