By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

CRESTON, Iowa — With a record harvest last fall, farmers may have had to store their grain surpluses either outside or in insufficient storage facilities this winter, which will likely raise other concerns – especially as warmer weather arrives around spring planting season.

“In these less-than-ideal storage situations, it will be really challenging to keep grain at safe storage moistures,” said Clarke McGrath, Iowa State University agronomist and extension and on-farm research coordinator for ISU’s Iowa Soybean Research Center.

For example, with corn to be sold by spring, McGrath said the maximum safe grain moisture content is 15.5 percent. “For storing up to one year, it’s 14 percent; for more than one year, it’s 13 percent. For soybeans that will be sold by spring, the maximum is 14 percent; for beans to be stored up to one year, it’s 12 percent.

“It isn’t fun or easy to do when we have grain worth less than the cost of production,” he added, “but in some cases, we might have to move grain from temporary storage to market or to covered and aerated storage as soon as possible if it is becoming troublesome.”

In fact, McGrath said, any uncovered piles that were rained on are a pretty big concern. “Depending on intensity and amounts of rain, water can penetrate a few feet to a couple of yards deep into the corn. That never ends well in terms of moisture content for that grain.”

Dirk Maier, ISU professor of agricultural engineering and post-harvest engineer, said while most on-the-ground storage in Iowa took place at cooperatives and commercial elevators rather than on the farm, last fall’s unseasonably warm temperatures should also raise some red flags.

“Even if corn was put in the bin by farmers, my concern is that we had relatively warm fall weather, which delayed cooling of stored grain,” he explained. “Even recently (as December 2017), it has been warmer than usual.

“This has taken out some of the allowable storage life from crop that cannot be recovered. Fortunately, the crop was generally dry and so spoilage concern due to mold development is less of a concern.”

Greg Brenneman, ISU extension agricultural engineer, said several things come to mind for all stored grain – especially any stored insufficiently. He advises farmers to ask the following questions about their crop: “Has the grain temperature and condition been monitored over the winter? Are there any signs of spoilage or the corn going out of condition? If left outside, was the corn covered? If it wasn’t covered, how much precipitation has that site had since the pile was made?

“Also, was there any rain while the pile was being made that got incorporated into the pile?” he added. “This will significantly increase spoilage risk.”

In fact, even bins need regular checking if the grain was a little wet when put into storage or not properly cooled, McGrath advised. “It really needs watching and probably some aeration to cool it down to limit crusting, hot spots and spoilage,” he said.

“Many elevators and growers use a combination of grain probes, temperature cables and running fans regularly to watch grain temperatures and conditions. Keep good records so you can catch any significant temperature changes each time you check grain to see if any hot spots are developing.”

Brenneman agreed, advising farmers to use some form of aeration for corn.

“Has the corn been cooled down here in the last several weeks (if not before)?” he said. “For every 10-degree drop in corn temperature down to 30 degrees, allowable storage time is roughly doubled. Get the grain moved as soon as possible.”

Moreover, as the weather warms in the spring, Maier said farmers need to make sure they have their marketing plan in place, which includes identifying which bins to empty first, versus corn that can be safely stored in the spring and summer.

“Make sure all bins have been cored (or will be cored as part of shipping some corn sold),” he said. “That will make it easier to monitor head space and grain surface conditions. Invest in a CO2 (carbon dioxide) monitor (which will cost about $500) and ‘sniff’ your stored corn” for mustiness.

“If expanding on-farm storage pays, then I’d invest in adding more permanent steel bins. If not, then make sure the local elevator has sufficient capacity to receive your grain during the harvest rush. Silo or grain bags work well for temporary storage.”

Ben Brown, program manager for The Ohio State University’s farm management program, said taking extreme caution and having at least one other person around while inside a grain bin is highly recommended.

“In fact, since some grain bins are located on the edge of the field without a readily known mailing address, making sure the address is posted somewhere visible is just an added layer of preparedness in case emergency help is needed,” he said.