Last year was a tough harvest and it’s still going on.
Grain dryer capacity has been stretched to the limit and bin drying doesn’t always yield the success farmers need.
Bin drying is often thought of as more art than science, says Glenn Wilde at Top Grade Ag in Airdrie, Alta. Wilde says that despite decades of bin-drying experience, in-bin grain drying continues to struggle with main-stream adoption.
“There’s still a lack of scientific engineering and on-farm data,” he says.
Read Also
Farming Smarter receives financial boost from Alberta government for potato research
Farming Smarter near Lethbridge got a boost to its research equipment, thanks to the Alberta government’s increase in funding for research associations.
“The result is that many systems are inefficient, allowing grain to spoil.
“The 2019 harvest was an exceptional opportunity to collect information. Results from Top Grade Ag’s IBD monitor system provided an exceptional data set supporting the effectiveness of in-bin drying.
“The data we gathered using this new Top Grade Ag technology illustrates how in-bin drying can be broken down into a cost effective and very predictable science. The new technology will turn any aeration bin into a built for purpose grain drying system at a fraction of the cost of a stand-alone grain dryer.”
He says the web-based monitoring system combined with bin instrumentation provides real time in-bin grain drying rates and costs. It comes with a cloud-based dashboard that displays six main data points.
- Drying rate in gallons of water per hour
- Estimated time until your grain reaches target moisture content
- Bin average moisture content while drying grain
- Estimated fan airflow rate
- Fan on/off indicator
- Heater on/off indicator
The system includes a calibration process that adapts the system to each unique aeration bin. The IBD Monitor can be installed on any bin used for drying grain. It’s compatible with flat or hopper bottom, construction heater, inline flame, water heat or no heat, inverted trough, rocket or full floor aeration.
