Page 26 October 25, 2013 2013 LOGAN COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com
Looking at some of the bins
constructed recently, on-farm
storage looks like a costly
expenditure, but according to Tyler
Haning of Huffman
Farm Supply
Inc., most of their
customers pay for a
bin in three to five
years. In certain
years, customers
can pay for a bin in
less than one year.
Put in those terms,
the on-farm storage
option sounds like
an affordable way
to go.
In addition to
being affordable,
there are other
options on-farm
storage brings a local producer.
On-site drying is cheaper than the
elevator charges, and your own
grain does not have to be “shrunk”
to 14 percent. Drying cost can be
only marginally lower, but many
think it is much higher. This is not
true; normally individual farmers
will dry for about 60 percent of
the elevator charge. This includes
patronage checks or drying cost
refunds that some co-ops offer.
Haning says they have definitely
seen a change in the drying trend
in last two to three years. Prior
to 2009, the trend was natural-
air drying and not being overly
concerned about capacity or
expansion.
Recently, continuous-flow dryers
have become increasingly popular.
As capacity for on-farm storage
rises, farmers are producing
more bushels, harvesting more
efficiently and hauling faster. This
has increased the demand for on-
farm systems to perform in more
of a “commercial” facility realm.
With all these variables taken into
consideration, a continuous-flow
dryer is the most effective and
efficient way to dry grain. Farm
operations are
growing, and these
on-site systems
continue to get
larger.
Haning said, “This
last year we had
several customers
put up drying and
storage systems,
and they had never
had either before.”
Commercial
grain farming has
become more of
a business instead
of a way of life.
Farmers are cutting costs and
making money by saving pennies
where they can, while becoming
more efficient. Usually, it doesn’t
take long to notice the benefits of
on-site storage and drying facilities,
especially on the large scale.
On-farm storage allows farmers to
operate longer and farm more acres
because with their own storage,
they can run even when the
elevator isn’t open. This also cuts
