Warm weather across much of the Prairies has allowed farmers to make significant harvest progress this week.
While early indications suggest good crop quality across Western Canada, the Canadian Grain Commission encourages farmers to take extra precautions against storage-related damage.
Blaine Timlick, an entomologist with the commission, said several factors can affect the quality of grain during on-farm storage.
Tops among them are the temperature of grain going into storage and the presence of green material, including immature weed seeds, which can affect the moisture content and grain temperature.
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Moisture and grain temperature are critical because they can result in fungi, grain toxins and seed damage caused by insect infestations.
“When we talk about insects and grain storage and mitigating mould growth, it’s really temperature and moisture driven,” said Timlick.
“This year, it looks like things are going to come off a bit dryer but it also looks like we’re going to have a lot more material at a higher temperature going into storage initially and that’s important to look at from an insect growth and development perspective….”
Earlier this week, daytime temperatures across much of Western Canada’s grain growing area ranged from the high 20s to the mid 30s.
Grain harvested at those temperatures usually goes into storage at a similar temperature, providing ideal conditions for insect infestation.
This year, in addition to the rusty grain beetle — the primary insect affecting Western Canada’s stored grain inventory — grain inspectors are on the lookout for a second insect, the lesser grain borer.
It is a voracious feeder that can cause more grain damage than the rusty grain beetle. It is slightly larger than the rusty grain beetle, but is still small and hard to detect.
Warm harvest temperatures provide ideal conditions for both species because the insects can move greater distances in warm weather and because grain that goes into storage at high temperatures is more aromatic and therefore more likely to attract feeding insects.
The key to avoiding infestation and the development of fungi and toxins is to ensure grain is properly conditioned.
Ideally, cereals going into storage should be no warmer than 15 C and should fall below recommended moisture levels of 14.5 percent for wheat, 13.5 percent for oats and select barley and 14.8 percent for non-select barley.
Generally speaking, insects will not feed on grain that is stored at a temperature of 15 C or lower.
Insects can survive in stored rain at that temperature but they remain fairly dormant and will not damage kernels.
Grain that goes into storage between 15 C and 20 C will likely be OK in the short-term but producers should monitor it.
Timlick said producers should keep notes of storage temperatures for all grain that is binned this fall.
Grain should be checked regularly and producers should be prepared to turn or aerate if warm spots develop.
Equipment such as aeration fans, temperature probes and grain distributers becomes even more important in large storage bins that contain large quantities of grain.
Years ago, a lot of producers used smaller bins, including woodies, that had a relatively large surface area and allowed grain to cool naturally.
“Today, we have grain going into one, two, three, four hundred tonne bins that hold temperatures pretty good,” he said.
As well, green material, including immature weed seeds could contribute to spoilage, especially in southeastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba where excess moisture this spring hampered weed control efforts.
Overall, Western Canada’s harvest progress was slightly behind average as of last week due to late planting.
As of late last week, grain quality inspectors at the CGC had received a handful of samples through the commission’s harvest sample program, said inspection specialist Daryl Beswitherick.
Early inspections and anecdotal reports suggest that the quality of this year’s cereal crop is good.
So far, fusarium does not appear to be a major concern.
Protein levels could be a concern in winter wheat crops although it is still early in the harvest season.
As of last week, CGC inspectors had looked at one or two dozen samples of winter wheat, all of which graded No. 3 due to insufficient protein.
