How To Protect Stored Grain

For most farmers, a grain bin can last 30 years or more, making their storage setup a lower priority than some of the day-to-day operations. In-bin monitoring is designed to keep farmers up-to-date on their grain, while maintaining peace of mind.

Monitoring

In-bin monitoring systems allow farmers to manage their grain without having to go into the bins. “Once you put that grain in the bin, it should be monitored,” said Scott McKernan, a senior vice president who oversees AGI’s U.S. farm operations. “If you’re a farmer, it’s your checking account.”

AGI’s BinManager automated system is a grain management system that uses digital sensor technology to monitor and manage in-bin grain condition and quality. Designed to be compatible with any grain bin, the system mounts on top of the bin, with sensor cables located inside the perimeter and in the center of the bin. Those cables, with sensors spaced 2 feet apart, provide the most accurate temperature, moisture, and inventory monitoring possible.

A control box connected to a weather station and properties sensor can manage up to four fans or heaters. These monitor temperature and humidity to determine the optimal times to run fans and heaters, allowing the bin to add or remove moisture from the grain, as needed.

The communications box processes data from the sensors and transmits it to the farmer’s online account. From their account, they can monitor the grain bin 24/7, and access customer service.

GSI offers a monitoring system: GrainVue. This system similarly monitors temperature and moisture levels via cables in the grain bin, with the addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring. Grain naturally respirates CO2, but when it has abnormally high levels, it can be an early sign of mold growth or insect infestation, said Greg Trame, GSI’s director of technology sales.

When the GrainVue cloud system flags potential storage issues, the farmer can allow it to automatically adjust, or remotely make manual adjustments.

GSI has readily available information for row crops’ ideal moisture and temperature levels. Farmers can send specialty crop samples to the company’s lab to calibrate necessary storage levels.

Installing Monitoring

Lukas Fricke, along with his mother, Lori, and brother, Brenden, grows corn, soybeans, and seed corn on a medium-sized farm in eastern Nebraska. The family also has barn-raised pigs on their operation — requiring grain storage that can last through all seasons. He said it was difficult to determine where the front of moisture was in the bin, and often struggled with overdrying corn and soybeans, or not drying corn enough.

“It’s all a delicate balance when you don’t have the technology in the bin to understand what’s going on,” Fricke said. “It’s cheap insurance to be able to constantly monitor that crop and keep it in peak condition.”

Initially, Fricke installed AGI’s BinManager on one of his bins, and said he gained more than 1,000 extra bushels of soybeans from moisture monitoring because of the added water weight.

AGI’s SureTrack companion app has experts monitoring the bins daily to provide feedback and alerts based on the monitoring system’s readings. The results are customized to a farmer’s specific grain. Farmers send a sample of the grain to AGI’s lab, where it’s analyzed to create a customized storage and hydration plan. The app has a 3D view of the bin that Fricke compared to an MRI, allowing him to see where hot spots are in the grain.

Fricke said the system’s energy use monitoring has saved him money. Automation only turns on the fans as needed, which reduces the amount of time they run.

“The best part is: I don’t have to pay attention to it,” Fricke said.