Check Your Grain

This is a picture of a farmer's bin site I took last summer driving to Farmfest in Red Wood County. I suspect these bins were empty last summer but I am certain they are full of grain now. I have been hearing some talk of grain going out of condition. Remember last fall the corn dried down very nicely in the field, but maybe not quite dry enough for storage when we started harvesting corn. Remember too how warm and wet it was in December. Until recently we did not have a lot of cold, dry weather to aerate the corn.

The point is get into those bins and check your grain. On cold days with low humidity run the fans. I always like to pull a load out of the bin every three or four weeks just to make sure it is OK. I know it is not fun climbing on a bin when it is cold outside. It is dangerous too with snow on your boots and on the bin roofs, so be careful. It would be a good idea to have someone with you waiting by the bin or at least let somebody know what you are doing. Low corn prices are bad enough, don't make it worse by being docked at the elevator because of damaged grain!