GRAIN Drying

[Davylad]

Every year I dry all cereal crops and store , hoping for a better price than at harvest time .. And for long number of years now it has disappointed. What are people’s thoughts on Drying and storage. There’s a lot of work with a Batch dryer and little reward.Plus the added cost of drying to 14% realistically to ensure it’s below 15 % at loading out of store . You like to read people’s opinions. TIA.

 

[Zippy768]

Take to Commercial store?

 

[Chae1]

Feed barley rose from £140 to £200/t pretty quickly here in past few months. It's more down to your skill at marketing than anything else. You need a crystal ball with your drier.

The harvest price has traditionally been lowest, as merchants take advantage of farmers without storage, who just want crops shifted to make room for more.

Could also sell forward throughout the year so not at mercy of low harvest prices.

Like most things in farming it's a gamble, take your chances.

In our own situation, we'd sell a third at harvest, third forward and store a third. It's all about averages in my opinion.

 

[bankrupt]

In our own situation, we'd sell a third at harvest, third forward and store a third. It's all about averages in my opinion.

Same here - turned out fairly well for us ever since the 1960s.

In fact that was still the best of the HGCA's set of 7 published marketing strategies right up until 2022.

Then, of course, the best strategy became to sell all your stored 2021 crop, all your current 2022 crop and all your future 2023 and 2024 crops on 10th May.

Probably, somebody actually did.

 

[teslacoils]

Send to store. Forget about it. Not my problem then. Sell as late as allowed. Its not a "strategy" but means I dont have to think about it.

 

[fieldfarmer]

Feed barley rose from £140 to £200/t pretty quickly here in past few months. It's more down to your skill at marketing than anything else. You need a crystal ball with your drier.

The harvest price has traditionally been lowest, as merchants take advantage of farmers without storage, who just want crops shifted to make room for more.

Could also sell forward throughout the year so not at mercy of low harvest prices.

Like most things in farming it's a gamble, take your chances.

In our own situation, we'd sell a third at harvest, third forward and store a third. It's all about averages in my opinion.

Similar here, I sell a set amount of wheat every month of the year, sort of my own long pool, (cash flow), then lump sell for big cash flow reasons like fert or high chemical demands months , then try and be clever with the rest and aim for the tops of the markets but in reality finish up about average.

 

[Zippy768]

Similar here, I sell a set amount of wheat every month of the year, sort of my own long pool, (cash flow), then lump sell for big cash flow reasons like fert or high chemical demands months , then try and be clever with the rest and aim for the tops of the markets but in reality finish up about average.

Last 2 years marketing here has been pretty poor. Nailed it the year before tho

This harvest I'm just gonna sell a load a month.

 

[Chae1]

Think the key is to stick to same strategy, don't chop and change. Some years it will work, some it won't.

Same with buying fertiliser.

 

[Davylad]

Thanks Gents for above replies ..Doing a mixture of the above… .. Good luck with your harvest and hopefully good weather and yields !

 

[fudge]

Every year I dry all cereal crops and store , hoping for a better price than at harvest time .. And for long number of years now it has disappointed. What are people’s thoughts on Drying and storage. There’s a lot of work with a Batch dryer and little reward.Plus the added cost of drying to 14% realistically to ensure it’s below 15 % at loading out of store . You like to read people’s opinions. TIA.

I would add in our area drying feed grain below 17% is a very marginal/pointless activity. Storing @16 until Feb/March goes fine here as long as it is cool. The deductions at those levels are less than the cost of guaranteed 14.5% on every ton.

 

[warksfarmer]

Every year I dry all cereal crops and store , hoping for a better price than at harvest time .. And for long number of years now it has disappointed. What are people’s thoughts on Drying and storage. There’s a lot of work with a Batch dryer and little reward.Plus the added cost of drying to 14% realistically to ensure it’s below 15 % at loading out of store . You like to read people’s opinions. TIA.

Underfloor drying means tip it and turn the fan on, then sell a set amount each month unless the price reaches £300 then sell it all on that day.

 

[goodevans]

Same here - turned out fairly well for us ever since the 1960s.

In fact that was still the best of the HGCA's set of 7 published marketing strategies right up until 2022.

Then, of course, the best strategy became to sell all your stored 2021 crop, all your current 2022 crop and all your future 2023 and 2024 crops on 10th May.

Probably, somebody actually did.

I was talking to him last night ,lent on the bar

 

[bankrupt]

I was talking to him last night, lent on the bar

Did you manage to get him to tell you what to do this time, or did you let the opportunity slip?

 

[goodevans]

Did you manage to get him to tell you what to do this time, or did you let the opportunity slip?

Trouble is I was lent on the bar as well and can't remember

 

[ewald]

If you never get a moisture claim, you are over drying it!

Obviously don’t want rejections, but the odd claim of 0.5% or so suggests that you got it about right.

 

[john63]

We don't have a drier, only on-floor in 3 bins. 80% of the time we're able to dry it to <15% just using ambient air. But then we are able to pick and choose when we combine, so we aren't usually combining >17%. Would be handy to have a batch drier as a backup though.

 

[principal skinner]

If you never get a moisture claim, you are over drying it!

Obviously don’t want rejections, but the odd claim of 0.5% or so suggests that you got it about right.

My farm owners (in-laws) like to dry to 13% they can’t get their head around the odd load at 15.1% is financially better. We have a farm 5 miles away and they used to cart grain home, dry to 13% (to be sure) and cart back and tip. Now anything under 16 is tipped on floor and blown. Still get bollcked for moisture claims even though we are better off.

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

Sounds like they add up the claims but not the fuel bill...

 

[bankrupt]

Sounds like they add up the claims but not the fuel bill...

Easy error to make.

Some of us oldies still like to take a bit of pride in not having had any claims, rejections, etc. and certainly never any HP (now commonly called "leasing", apparently).

 

[fudge]

Easy error to make.

Some of us oldies still like to take a bit of pride in not having had any claims, rejections, etc. and certainly never any HP (now commonly called "leasing", apparently).

Back in the day the standard was 16%! Just saying.