Dennis Lange is pretty sure farmers would check their grain bins every day if a bag containing $50,000 in cash was hidden inside.
“So why don’t we do the same with pulse crops in the bin?” wonders the Manitoba Agriculture pulse crop specialist.
Prairie pulse crops came off the field in good condition this fall, but what happens in the bin this winter ultimately determines their price and farmers’ profit.
Many growers plan to hold over some of their lentils and chickpeas, either for income management or to try extracting premiums from March to July. They are also saving what they assume is their best seed to plant next spring.
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Proper care of that valuable inventory is required to pull off either strategy.
Temperatures throughout much of the harvest were hot. Producers in Alberta were putting grain in the bin at 35 C, said Harry Brook, a pulse crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
“That’s way too hot. You’ve got to cool that sucker off, one way or another,” he said.
“If you don’t have aeration, you’d better be moving those seeds on the cooler drier days, just to cool it off. Otherwise, you’ll have real problems.”
Brook conceded that seed coats are damaged every time a pulse crop is transferred between bins, but producers must weigh that damage against the damage the whole bin will experience if they don’t move it.
Colour and cracking are two big factors affecting price, said Dale Risula, a pulse crop specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.
“If storage conditions are out of whack with recommendations, lentil seed coats turn brown, resulting in grade loss and a lower price,” he said.
“The market pays less for off-colour seed. The quality of the seed is the same, but end users are picky about colour. Appearance determines price.”
Risula said producers should minimize movement of pulse crops because seed coats break with every grain movement, even with rubber conveyors and low-elevation bins.
“The seed loses the moisture it has preserved within the coat,” he said. “The crack lets disease organisms penetrate the seed.”
Good aeration systems are the only good option for preserving pulse crop quality with a minimum of movement.
Brook suggested keeping wheat out of the aeration bins so that they can be available for pulse crops.
Risula said the optimal storage conditions for lentils and other pulse crops is 15 C or cooler. He said 20 C is fine only for short periods of time. The seeds should not be exposed to sunlight.
Moisture should be stabilized at 14 percent. Mould and insect activity are greatly reduced at this level. Red lentils should be stored at 13 percent so that they de-hull better.
“You have to make sure you do not dry them down too far. At 10 percent moisture, you’ll have lots of seed coat damage. It’ll be very costly.”
Crusting is another problem area worth watching, Lange said.
Crust at the top of the pile varies from two to 12 centimetres thick, creating an impervious cap that locks in moisture and heat.
“You have to check for crusting and mould on a regular basis if you expect to get the best price for those pulses,” he said.
“If the crop goes in at a high temperature and high moisture content, and there’s no immediate aeration, the crusting can start to form very quickly.”
He said air generated by aeration fans won’t move through the crust once a cap forms on the pile. Checking every bin is the only way to know if there’s a problem.
“In my experience with pulses, you’ve got to get up there at least two or three times in the first month. By now (Oct. 31), the crust will usually have started to form, but it can form later also. If you have lots of dockage, weed seeds and dirt, those foreign elements will seal the pile even tighter. The crust will be worse than if you have clean grain.”
Lange said the only solution once a crust has formed is to go in the bin with a shovel and bucket and remove every piece of crust material.
Some growers also use their grain vacuum suction hose.
“Removing the crust is a lot of work, but if you don’t do it as soon as possible, you risk losing grade on the whole bin. Worse yet, you can lose the whole bin.
“We had one producer with a bin of edible beans. There was a problem with one of the vents and moisture got in. He didn’t check the top of the pile before he took the first load. That load was OK. He got the right price. But the second load was already contaminated with mould. The buyer rejected the whole bin.”
Lange said producers who are certain there is no mould at the top of the bin often recycle one or two loads, which can help prevent a crust formation.
He said bins should be checked at least once a month through winter.
“We typically see more pulse crop spoilage in the spring, mainly because guys think the whole situation is under control so they stop checking.”
Working in pairs is a good safety practice, he added.
Producers who plan to hold back some of their lentil and chickpea seed for planting next spring should keep the seed that tests best and ship the rest, advised Bruce Carriere of Discovery Seed.
“You’ve got to find out soon which seed lots are the ones you want to save for seed. You don’t want to be shipping that stuff by accident,” he said.
“You might assume all winter that you’ve got a bin of really good looking seed, but the fact is you really don’t know for sure until it’s been tested. Do it now. Don’t wait for spring.”
Discovery is able to start the tests the day after the seed arrives. The germination test takes seven days, the vigour test 11 days and the disease test 10 days.
Carriere said saving seed for next year’s crop is no different than saving it for market. Temperature and moisture are still the two most critical factors.
“If you combined on a 95 degree day and the seed went straight to the bin without cooling, I hope you had aeration on those bins. If you don’t cool it down quickly, it will start to heat and spoil. Lentils should be down at 20 to 25 degrees by now, or cooler. Moisture should be 14 percent or lower. Chickpeas should be down at 15 degrees by now and 16 percent moisture or lower.”
For more information, contact Harry Brook at 403-742-7955, Dale Risula at 306-787-4665, Dennis Lange at 204-750-4530 and Bruce Carriere at 306-249-4484.
