aeration Archives - Page 2 of 2

Keep safety top of mind when cleaning out grain bins

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association August 30, 2017

A key reason people become entrapped in grain is that grain stored in bins is out of condition. A farmer enters the bin to break down the crusted grain and tragedy strikes, grain comes tumbling down and the person is engulfed. If grain is kept in good condition, no one has to enter the bin, […] Read more

For all three setups, Chad Bown had the heater between the fan and the bin. This fan-heater-bin sequence is recommended for canola.

Canola, Crops

Turn up the heat on aeration fans when drying canola

Some growers grappling with a late harvest and high-moisture crops in 2016 added supplemental heaters to their aeration fans. This grower’s experience may inspire an upgrade to aeration setups for 2017

By Jay Whetter August 22, 2017

Things were a little off with Harvest 2016 and Chad Bown was desperate. The farmer from Ranfurly, Alta., was combining 14 per cent moisture canola in late November after a month or more of snow delays. Delivery locations were full, so on-farm storage was his only option. But aeration fans blowing cool air could not […] Read more

Crops, Features

Safer grain storage with automation?

PAMI tests a new Australian system that controls fans based on outside weather

By Leeann Minogue April 13, 2017

With more large bins on the farm, safe grain storage has become more important. And keeping grain from heating or spoiling is more complicated than it would seem. “The chance of spoilage really depends on two things. It’s both temperature and moisture,” said Lorne Grieger, the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute (PAMI) vice president for Manitoba […] Read more

Wilde Ag Ventures has introduced a pressure gauge with a special face calibrated to easily provide air flow readings for aeration bins.

Machinery

Specialty gauge for aeration bins

Special gauge face allows for easy airflow readings at a glance

By Scott Garvey February 28, 2017

A few people using aeration bins may be content just to confirm some airflow is coming out the top, but getting an adequate volume of air moving through the grain is critical to ensure efficient drying. Determining how many cubic feet of air per minute (CFM) is actually moving through any bin, though, depends on […] Read more

In the summer, farmers can be so busy that they leave wheat in the bins too long or fail to check it regularly.

Cereals, Crops, Features

Grain in the bin still needs your attention

Once the crop is in the bin, it still needs attention and careful management

By Geoff Geddes February 13, 2017

Success with wheat crops has much in common with being a good parent: You can do everything else to raise them right, but if you spoil them it’s all for naught. “Wheat needs to be managed in storage or you risk a huge loss of revenue,” said Dr. Joy Agnew, Project Manager — Agricultural Research […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canola, Crops, Weather

Damp, tough canola at risk for spoilage

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News October 21, 2016

Some Prairie canola growers may now be able to get back to their unharvested canola, but the Canola Council of Canada warns that tough or damp canola can still be volatile, even at cooler outdoor temperatures. The Saskatchewan agriculture ministry on Wednesday reported “a few” growers in the province’s southeast were out harvesting canola last […] Read more

The system consists of an air lock under the bin or a meter where the grain flows through into the airstream and then a blower that pneumatically moves the air to the bins. A moveable distributor at ground level channels the grain to different bins. The initial cost of this pneumatic grain-handling system was $60,000, but the Neufelds believe it has been worthwhile. (see more photos below)

Cereals, Corn, Crops

Grain Handling: A better way to move that corn

A pneumatic grain-handling system adds efficiency to grain handling on the family farm

By Angela Lovell September 23, 2016

The Neufelds have been growing corn on the family farm, Maple Creek Acres, since the 1990s, but when they decided to significantly expand their corn acres a few years ago they had a few issues to resolve in terms of corn drying and storing. “We were spending a bunch a time in the morning and […] Read more

There are times when storing grain on your farm can be a good marketing strategy.

Crops, Markets

A marketing strategy for storing grain

Is it worthwhile to store your grain on the farm while you wait for commodity prices to rise?

By Angela Lovell August 8, 2016

Storing grain on the farm can be a good marketing strategy because, if managed carefully, it can increase a producer’s profits, but it’s important to have a handle on your storage and opportunity costs to assess if it’s actually going to put money in the bank. The capital costs of storage vary depending on whether […] Read more

The xProxy can be used to monitor systems or for farmyard security.

Machinery

Remote monitoring your grain bins

Multiple uses for automated xProxy

By Scott Garvey February 11, 2016

Have you ever found yourself making frequent trips to grain bins to check if aeration fans are still working properly? If you have electrical systems — like bin fans — that need to stay running, Net Irrigate’s new xProxy system can help monitor them and notify you of a problem, avoiding the need for frequent […] Read more

Klassen: Feeder market slips off record highs

China trade envoy meets US Midwest delegation as agriculture exports loom large in talks

Wildfire smoke helped counter extreme heat, benefitting this year’s canola crop

GFM Network News