Why should I core my grain bin?

A recommended grain management practice after you filled up your bin during harvest is coring your grain. This involves removing 4-400 bushels from the center of your grain bin after the initial fill. By removing the “core of your grain bin” you will move up to 90% of the fines.

Grain fines are chaff and tiny broken pieces of grain that accumulate within the center of your bin during loading. The high density of fines within the center core, restricts airflow within the bin and reduces your ability to dry down your grain after harvest.

Since most of your grain filling activities occur during harvest, your ability to dry freshly harvested grain within your bin is extremely important. Commonly at harvest, you don’t have any other options than to store damp or moist grain that has been warmed up by the summer heat.

To make sure your grain doesn’t rot or become infested by insects, you will have to aerate your stored grain to ensure easier management for future storage.

When should I core my grain bin?

In a typical Western Canadian scenario, we recommend coring your grain bins immediately after harvest. This provides a method of testing to understand if you already have hot spots in your bin where condensation is happening. You can do this by checking the top of the bin for crusted or molded grain. If this is the case, we recommend taking action immediately by coring your bin.

The best way to remain on top of hot spots within your stored grain bins is to put in temperature and moisture cables. Cables provide a quick snapshot of the temperature of your stored grain giving you the chance to see if action is required.

If your cables are set-up properly, your grain storage temperatures can often be read in real time on your mobile phone.

How much grain do I want to remove when coring?

For large flat bottom bins, remove enough grain until the height at the top of the bin is replaced by a slight depression where the grain level is simply below the stored grain at the wall. The quantity of grain removed will vary by bin size (diameter).

Tips:

• Design and manage your ability to aerate your stored grain
• Build bins with aeration, install a fan to force air upwards through the grain
• Core your grain bin after harvest and again to get rid of hot spots
• Install temperature cables to effectively monitor the temperature of your stored grain

Need more information? Please call 844-414-1419 or Click Here or go to 4pecks.ca.