The on-farm storage question

The on-farm storage question

Should you build new or expand existing grain storage on your operation? There’s no easy answer

There are compelling reasons for farmers to invest in on-farm grain storage. It offers them flexibility in marketing and the opportunity to get better prices later in the crop year.

On-farm grain drying opens doors for Eastern Ontario family

On-farm grain drying opens doors for Eastern Ontario family

By building their own grain drying and storage facility, the Doelmans are less vulnerable to market and weather swings

Lack of grain drying and storage in their area led Michael and Jennifer Doelman of Bonnechere Haven Farms to realize it limited their ability to market and deliver crops, exposing them to unnecessary risk. That's why they invested in on-farm storage and a grain drying system.



Grain bins

Get your grain bins ready for harvest

GRAIN BINS | Preparation tips to prevent spoilage and be safe

The first step in minimizing grain spoilage from insects is to start with a clean bin. Grain-feeding pests can survive on residual grain, broken kernels, fines, foreign material and moulds accumulated inside grain bins and around the bin perimeter.

Grain bins

Grain storage decisions more complex than pure economics

Trying to save tax by delaying sales can be a treadmill you can’t get off

A paper, titled “Commodity Storage and the Cost of Capital: Evidence from Illinois Grain Farms,” says higher capital costs — mostly made up by the interest on borrowed money that could be covered by grain sales — affect the storage decisions of some but not all farmers.

Derek Johnson of AGI in front of his company’s display site at Ag in Motion.

Be optimistic with grain storage system plans

It’s best to plan for the best year to ensure sufficient storage

Glacier FarmMedia – Planning a storage system means being optimistic, future-focused and strategic. It isn’t something faced only when a big crop is coming and there’s not enough room to store it. “It starts with a plan,” said Derek Johnson, as he stood in the lee of the giant grain bin system AGI built on […] Read more


On-farm storage is a major benefit for corn production, primarily because of its need for drying.

Finding the ‘Big V’ in grain storage

Deriving greater ‘value’ is a ‘victory’

When it comes to storing grain after harvest, some farmers find greater value in on-farm storage as opposed to trucking to a local elevator. Chad Hachborn operates a commercial elevator system on his family’s farm near New Hamburg. He and his wife, Tracy, crop roughly 350 acres and run Stoneybrook Elevators, which handles about 1.5 […] Read more

These 75,000-bushel bins near Grenfell Sask. didn’t stand a chance against the ferocity of Mother Nature, with one torn partially off the anchor bolts in its concrete pad.

A wind-proof grain bin

While there are no guarantees, bin design and proper construction can improve the odds

Glacier FarmMedia – Why do some big bins survive winds of 150 km-h while nearby bins collapse or go sailing across the landscape? The problem has been made worse as bin size increases. For many bin wrecks, the answer is pure chance. The wind decides what it will topple. However, design is a factor determining […] Read more