In everyday life, rye, oats, wheat, corn are often used... It is used for cooking. After all, homemade bread is much tastier, and it has much more benefits. In addition, you can select and combine all the necessary ingredients and be completely confident in the quality of the prepared products.
And some use it for medicinal purposes or feed it to their pets. But purchased raw materials, no matter how much they were purchased, need to be stored.
Methods for storing feed grains
Storing grain at home
To store large volumes of grain intended for poultry: chickens, ducks, geese, you can use special premises. The walls of which are lined with iron from the inside, and the floors are concrete. In such premises it is stored in bulk. The grain pile must be systematically inspected, checking for moisture and the presence of insects.
If there is not much grain, it is stored in special boxes - lockers. You can make a similar container for storing grain with your own hands using boards and timber. The outside must be lined with tin, and the top of the box must be covered with a lid, this will help protect the grain from both mice and larger rodents.
A box constructed for storage must be installed on stands so that the grain at its bottom does not attract moisture.
Before loading for storage, it is necessary to carry out disinfection measures. This is done to destroy mold spores and insects that may appear. In addition, grain is often stored in barrels or bags.
When stored in bags, they should not be stacked in more than 15 rows.
But with any storage method, it should be in a closed, well-ventilated area. Because when wet it becomes sour, which makes it unsuitable for either humans or animals.
Raw materials for food and household purposes can be stored for up to 6 years, but those intended for planting cannot be stored for more than 14 months.
Industrial grain storage
There are two main ways to store grain crops:
- in bags;
- in bulk.
Bulk is stored in special rooms, in elevators. When storing in bags, good warehouses are necessary.
In addition, grain seeds belonging to elite varieties are most often stored in bags. Sometimes raw materials are put into bags for transportation. During bulk storage, the process of selecting and rejecting low-quality raw materials is facilitated. This method allows you to save on purchasing consumables such as bags.
How to store the grain harvest in 2020?
20.07.2018
Author: Alexander Akulinichev
If Russia again harvests a harvest close to a record one in 2018, then all grain growers in the country will again face a pressing question: how to preserve grain and sell it at a higher price when prices creep up? "Agro-Industrial Complex Market" has collected eight expert tips - from obvious to unexpected.
Clean your storage facility or hangar until it shines
The first step to high-quality grain, and this is a guaranteed 10-15% increase in its value, is cleanliness in the granary. Clean every square meter of the hangar, grain pipelines, and technical elements. Ideally, you need to get rid of every grain that could remain from last year - then you will reduce the risk of insects to a minimum. Don't forget to check the space under the floor: this is the best place for insects and rodents to hide and wait for a new grain feast. If at the end of the previous agricultural season there were insects in the storage, even just single individuals, be sure to fumigate it.
Place high quality grain at the bottom
In order for wheat, barley and other crops to last as long as possible without losing quality, and to sell at a higher price in late winter - early spring 2020, you need to take a competent approach to filling storage. This is not the easiest task, but its solution can bring an increase of 5-10%: place the highest quality grain first, and place the lower grade grain at the top of the storage. Relatively speaking, first you will sell class IV wheat, and when it runs out, you will sell class III at a higher price.
Dry grain to optimal moisture content
The most common cause of grain spoilage during storage is moisture movement. Even in cases where the moisture content is low and distributed evenly at the time of grain storage, changes in the temperature of the grain mass can cause convective air currents. They transfer moisture from one storage location to another. This creates areas of wet grain that begin to spoil.
A good agronomist should know by heart the optimal moisture content for each crop, depending on the period for which you plan to store it. The manager’s task is to ensure that the agronomist measures this indicator and takes it into account when planning storage. For example, if you plan to store corn until June 2020, the moisture content should be 15%, if you plan to keep it until the end of the next harvest - 14%, and if you plan for a year or more - then only 13%. The longer the grain needs to be stored, the more it needs to be dried. Without a grain dryer, hoping to wait out the winter and sell at a higher price is completely naive.
This is described in detail in the
Table Table. Maximum permissible moisture content of grain (seeds) during storage.
| Culture, shelf life | Permissible humidity, % |
| Corn and sorghum | |
| until spring | 15,5 |
| up to one year | 14,0 |
| over a year | 13,0 |
| Soybeans | |
| until spring | 14,0 |
| up to one year | 12,0 |
| over a year | 11,0 |
| Wheat, oats, barley | |
| up to six months | 14,0 |
| over six months | 13,0 |
| Sunflower | |
| up to six months | 10,0 |
| over six months | 8,0 |
| Rice | |
| until spring | 13,0 |
Improve room aeration
Make sure that the plugs are evenly distributed, and don’t be afraid to put more of them than seems necessary: they have a great effect on the ventilation of the grain. It is important to distribute the plugs so that they do not accumulate only in the center of the storage. Air behaves exactly like water: it seeks the path of least resistance, so too much vent plugs in the center will cause air to find its way through the top and spoil the grain in the depths. A ventilation discharge funnel and a telescopic ventilation lance are other devices that will help keep grain in good condition and sell it at the best price at a convenient time.
If you have a large bunker, the aeration problem can be partially solved at the grain unloading stage. To do this, the technique of repeating cones is used: you load the grain directly into the storage, and every 3-5 meters you pull out several tons of grain, creating an inverted cone. This way the grain will be better ventilated.
Ventilation is more efficient than shoveling and moving grain from bin to bin. In addition, it does not lead to additional injury to the grain, which contributes to the development of mold.
Monitor the temperature in the bunker
The ability to control grain storage temperature is key to maintaining product quality. The recommended temperature naturally varies depending on the region, but agronomists usually recommend lowering it to almost zero in northern latitudes in winter and keeping it at 5 ° C in southern territories. The current trend is to lay the temperature cable directly into the bunker, as this helps to more reliably monitor changes in this indicator.
Keep grain cool when it's warm
There are dozens of conflicting recommendations on how to properly store grain in summer and warm autumn. Traditionally, agronomists recommend slightly heating the grain (by 3-4° C relative to the outside temperature), but in recent years other advice has become widespread: for example, leaving the grain in the cold (at 5° C) in summer, spring, and autumn ; or vary the grain temperature between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius. In most cases, this advice is based on the idea of when the grain is planned to be sold. Accordingly, if the sale is scheduled before June 1, 2020, the grain should be left cold; if you have to sell later, you can raise the temperature to 10-12° C.
Check your grain as often as possible
Check the condition of the grain in storage at least once a week. If it were not grain, but a huge basket with money in it, you would probably check it three times a day, whereas wheat or barley, being 100% equivalent of your money, does not evoke such a desire. Many people forget to go to the bunker for months at a time - and therefore often miss the moment when it was still possible to preserve the quality of the grain, when there was still a chance to get rid of pests.
When checking grain, measure the temperature in the center of the bin and at a depth of 0.45-0.6 m from the surface. If the winter grain temperature rises by more than 2°C between two consecutive checks, immediately turn on the fan and cool the grain until the air temperature differs from the grain temperature by less than 5°C.
Climb to the top of the bunker and carefully look around: is there a crust on the surface, are the grains sticking to each other, are there any foreign odors. If something seems suspicious, start the ventilation. And don't forget to take a small sample of the grain to measure the moisture content. If the grain begins to spoil, frequent checks will give you a chance to sell it quickly - even if the price is not ideal, but at least the goods will not go to waste completely.
Watch out for insects
If you plan to store your grain until fall, you may want to consider setting up insect traps. This way you can find out about their presence or absence. With the arrival of warmer weather, within 2 to 3 weeks, the grain may be subject to major insect infestations. If you do not check at least once a week, you may miss the moment for the right actions.
To protect grain from pests, chemical methods are still the most effective and acceptable in practice. In Russia, two composite preparations of contact action are approved for use - “Zernospas” and “Prokrop”, as well as mono-insecticides “Aktellik”, “Kamikaze”, “K-Obiol”, “Karate Zeon”, “Aliot” and “Bitoxibacillin”. Of the eight products, all products are approved for disinsection work to control stock pests.
Storage of grain in bulk is more convenient than in containers. The advantages are as follows: there are no packaging costs for the products, maximum use of useful storage space, increased opportunities for reloading inside the warehouse, insect control and monitoring of the product become much easier due to quick access to the grain.
How to store grain for germination
Grains intended for germination cannot be subjected to heat treatment - steaming, frying, drying. These manipulations help extend the shelf life of cereals, while depriving them of most of their beneficial properties.
Grains that have not been processed under the influence of high temperatures retain the full range of beneficial properties inherent in nature. The highest concentration of vitamins and microelements is observed during the germination period.
During this process, in just 2-5 days they become a small biosystem, which contains enormous potential that has a positive effect on human health.
Grain intended for germination should be stored in dry glass jars, which must be covered with cloth or gauze to provide access to oxygen, or in canvas bags.
Procurement
The procurement type of elevators is designed for temporary storage of wheat. Such structures are built near agricultural enterprises that can provide a sufficient amount of grain.
These warehouses are used to prepare crops for sowing, primary processing of the crop and its storage. The dried and purified raw materials are then sent to their destination by road, water or rail.
We suggest you read: How to store alstroemeria in winter
Improve room aeration
Make sure that the plugs are evenly distributed, and don’t be afraid to put more of them than seems necessary: they have a great effect on the ventilation of the grain. It is important to distribute the plugs so that they do not accumulate only in the center of the storage. Air behaves exactly like water: it seeks the path of least resistance, so too much vent plugs in the center will cause air to find its way through the top and spoil the grain in the depths.
If you have a large bunker, the aeration problem can be partially solved at the grain unloading stage. To do this, the technique of repeating cones is used: you load the grain directly into the storage, and every 3-5 meters you pull out several tons of grain, creating an inverted cone. This way the grain will be better ventilated.
We suggest you read: Propagation of geraniums by cuttings in autumn
Ventilation is more efficient than shoveling and moving grain from bin to bin. In addition, it does not lead to additional injury to the grain, which contributes to the development of mold.
Watch out for insects
If you plan to store your grain until fall, you may want to consider setting up insect traps. This way you can find out about their presence or absence. With the arrival of warmer weather, within 2 to 3 weeks, the grain may be subject to major insect infestations. If you do not check at least once a week, you may miss the moment for the right actions.
We suggest you read: How to store dahlia tubers at home in winter
To protect grain from pests, chemical methods are still the most effective and acceptable in practice. In Russia, two composite preparations of contact action are approved for use - “Zernospas” and “Prokrop”, as well as mono-insecticides “Aktellik”, “Kamikaze”, “K-Obiol”, “Karate Zeon”, “Aliot” and “Bitoxibacillin”. Of the eight products, all products are approved for disinsection work to control stock pests.
Storage of grain in bulk is more convenient than in containers. The advantages are as follows: there are no packaging costs for the products, maximum use of useful storage space, increased opportunities for reloading inside the warehouse, insect control and monitoring of the product become much easier due to quick access to the grain.
