2013 LOGAN COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com October 25, 2013 Page 27
down on time and manpower because your employee
isn’t waiting in line at the elevator.
You won’t find a lot of arguments against the benefits
of on-farm storage. Some producers are shocked at
how much more profitable it can be, and most agree it
is more beneficial. It is just a matter of the extra work
and management, and if it suits their operation.
There are a few considerations a producer must make
when deciding about purchasing on-farm storage.
The first is that there is more work involved and more
management. Bringing it to the elevator puts the
management of the grain in the hands of the elevator
operator, but on-farm storage means the farmer must
maintain what is stored in his own bins.
This means that the farmer should make a weekly
check of the contents of the bin, and that means
climbing to the top to check. Failure to check the
health of the stored crop and the moisture levels in the
bin can cause the whole bin to go sour.
Another downside is that you handle the grain
twice (this can mean extra trucking cost), and many
will say that it damages the grain more. This is
marginally true: It is damaged more,
but not significantly, as naysayers
believe. And with newer conveying
equipment, the damage is almost
completely negated.
Haning says the last advice they
always give their customers is to
not just update or right-size for now,
but leave room for expansion in the
future. Think several years down the
road and give yourself room to grow.
On-farm storage gives the local
producer the ability to shape their own
economic outcome and, in turn, shape
the entire industry by withholding
grain from the market when prices are
low, thereby driving prices up. The
option to store a portion of your own
crop in your own storage can increase
your long-term profitability and puts
you in charge.
Jim Youngquist with information from Tyler Haning
