grain storage: February 2011 Archives
When's the last time you checked all your canola bins? The Canola Council of Canada reminds you to get out there and do it now. And, yes, that means every bin and a thorough check — not just a poke in around the door or roof hatch (but that's a start).
Canola that went in the bin with high green counts, high dockage, a little moist or any combination of these factors can and will heat, given the right conditions. The larger the bin the higher risk of undetected pockets of spoilage ruining your hard-earned production. The council reports farmers losing entire bins to heating and spoilage; don't be one of them.
The cold winter months do keep bins relatively stable, however warming trends and the increase in sunlight creates warming fronts in the bin. For clean, dry canola bins, that's not a problem, but for those at risk of heating, temperature fluctuations can accelerate spoilage at a surprising rate.
What can you do? Get out and check each bin by removing at least a third of the volume. Only probing at doors or hatches won't give an accurate measure of what's happening at the center or sides of a bin. If you already have a sense of which bins are at risk, check those first — it may be prudent to turn the entire bin. With canola prices where they are, it's no exaggeration to say that even a significant investment of time and energy could save you thousands of dollars.
Canola that went in the bin with high green counts, high dockage, a little moist or any combination of these factors can and will heat, given the right conditions. The larger the bin the higher risk of undetected pockets of spoilage ruining your hard-earned production. The council reports farmers losing entire bins to heating and spoilage; don't be one of them.
The cold winter months do keep bins relatively stable, however warming trends and the increase in sunlight creates warming fronts in the bin. For clean, dry canola bins, that's not a problem, but for those at risk of heating, temperature fluctuations can accelerate spoilage at a surprising rate.
What can you do? Get out and check each bin by removing at least a third of the volume. Only probing at doors or hatches won't give an accurate measure of what's happening at the center or sides of a bin. If you already have a sense of which bins are at risk, check those first — it may be prudent to turn the entire bin. With canola prices where they are, it's no exaggeration to say that even a significant investment of time and energy could save you thousands of dollars.
Profile
Grainews editor Lyndsey Smith answers readers' questions, asks her own and, now and then, discusses what's new and interesting in western Canadian production agriculture.
