The Nose Knows

The nose knows…Give stored grain the ‘sniff’ test
By James D. Ritchie

Commodity prices are high. Don’t throw money away with wasted grain.

Keep it clean, keep it dry, keep it cool. Grain in on-farm bins equals money in the bank. A 10,000-bushel bin full of No. 2 corn is a “bank balance” of about $30,000.

“That makes the grain worth monitoring,” said Bill Casady, University of Missouri agricultural engineer. “If you lose just 10 percent of the grain in the bin to spoilage, that’s $3,000 out of your pocket.”

If clean grain went into the bin dry last fall and was cooled down right away, there’s usually not much to worry about, Casady added. And you can still cool grain by running fans on cooler days if it isn’t cool enough.

“But you cannot just put grain in a bin and forget about it,” Casady said. “Forgotten grain can become rotten grain, especially if much moisture is present.”

Grain in a bin is not a static mass. As the temperature changes, natural air currents circulate inside the bin, and can move any moisture in the grain.

“As the weather cools in fall and early winter, the air near the bin wall cools and sinks,” Casady noted. “This pushes relatively warmer air [and whatever moisture it contains] up through the center of the grain mass.

In spring, as temperatures rise, the reverse happens. Air near the bin wall warms up faster and rises, pushing cooler air into the center of the grain mass.

In either case—whether air inside the bin is warming up or cooling down—the moist air winds up at the top and center of the grain, and that’s where we most often see problems.”

Typically, that’s also where broken kernels, fines and dust accumulate, which are more susceptible to storage molds.

Casady recommends that all grain in storage be inspected once every week or two.

“If the grain went into the bin in good shape and there’s no history of problems, pick a nice day with sunshine, start the bin fans and smell the air leaving the bin,” he said.

“Your nose will tell you if there is spoilage going on. That telltale musty smell is easy to detect.”

Ideally, a bin inspection routine should be set up and followed the entire time the grain is in storage.

“It’s a good idea to record the history of each bin, and that’s more effective if the same person checks the bin each time,” said Casady.

If your sniff test detects the beginnings of spoilage problems, consider coring the bin and recirculating some of the grain back into the bin—or sell it.

“Remember that spoiled grain forms CO [carbon monoxide], so don’t enter a bin that even remotely seems dangerous,” cautioned Casady. “CO is odorless and can render you unconscious in a matter of seconds.

“Never enter a bin—period—without someone on the ground to back you up. When any problem occurs, be careful,” he added. “Don’t get in a hurry. Always be aware of the dangers of spoiled grain and stay safe.”

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