ASSUMPTION, ILLINOIS, U.S. —Following a late, wet 2019 harvest, many commercial operations are experiencing grain storage issues this season due to low quality and high moistures. GSI said its AgriDry Spreader is one solution that disperses fines to help protect grain quality.

Jeff Cravens, GSI North America grain director, noted that stored grain is typically not distributed uniformly in a bin, leading to quality problems.

“The areas of grain with non-uniform distribution will not be properly aerated and continue to deteriorate in condition,” he said. “Air will take an easier path elsewhere in the bin, where more evenly distributed grain is present, or areas with less foreign material.”

Cravens said the problem is worse this year because of high variability in test weight, high moisture, fines and foreign matter.

“One of the best ways to make grain more manageable and help assure that it stays in condition is through the use of a spreader to create uniform storage and airflow,” he said.

The AgriDry Spreader is gentle on grain and tough enough to handle fill rates up to 40,000 bph in commercial operations, GSI said.

“Uniformly distributed fines eliminate the time and expense of coring and blending, and create a better environment for storage,” Cravens said. “The system also provides improved fan efficiency, longer storage time and greater marketing flexibility.”

One commercial grain operation that has experienced the benefits firsthand is Assumption Coop in Assumption, Illinois, U.S., which installed an AgriDry Spreader in a new 90-foot diameter bin in 2015.

“We tested a corn sample from the center of the bin, and it had a foreign material rate of only 3.2% — far lower than what we were used to,” said Randy Sexton, co-op general manger. 

Sexton said the co-op was surprised at how well the spreader performed.

“The center part of the bin was taking in air much better than our other bins,” he said. “Distribution of the corn throughout the bin instead of being concentrated in the center made it much easier to load out and avoid foreign material discounts.”

Based on that performance, Assumption Coop added the AgriDry Spreader to two additional new grain bins in 2016 and 2017 and retrofitted two existing 105-diameter bins with the system as well.

Cravens added that commercial AgriDry Spreaders include a Tivar polymer liner and special coating to reduce natural wear and increase longevity of the hopper. When the hopper coating begins to wear, the hopper is replaceable.