Measure the Grain In Storage Before Harvest

There are many things that farmers do to get ready for harvest. Those of us that have been at this for a while have developed a routine. It usually begins with getting the combine checked over. You do not want to leave that to just before harvest because if you need parts it might take a couple days to get them. The same is true with the corn dryer, augers, tillage equipment and tractors. In addition you check over the grain bins and aeration fans.

Due to very low corn prices some farmers might have old crop corn in the bin they plan on continuing to store waiting for higher prices. If you are in this situation be sure to measure the bin before you comingle old crop with new crop! If you take the diameter of the bin, depth of grain, test weight  and moisture to your Farm Service Office they can quickly estimate how many bushel of corn is still in the bin.

This is very important as most farmers have crop insurance. We will set the fall harvest price for corn in October. It is determined by the average price of December futures in the month of October. It appears the fall price will be much lower than the spring price. That means it takes more bushels per acre to reach your revenue guarantee increasing the possibility of a crop insurance payment.

If you put new crop corn in the bin with old crop and you did not measure the bin, the old crop corn will be added together with new crop. That will raise your production for this year and possibly eliminate an insurance payment you should receive. So, if you are going to carryover old crop corn measure the bin and document it with your Farm Service Agency office!