Credited by Clinton Griffiths

Whether your yields topped your storage capacity or wild weather destroyed your grain bin system, you have a few options for additional storage. Which should you choose? 

“Grain bags can spread fixed costs over more bushels or use specialized equipment to generate custom income,” says Aaron Smith, associate professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of Tennessee.

In addition, grain bags have less upfront costs and can be more flexible in terms of crops stored and storage location, he says. 

Before implementing a bag system, Smith says producers should be aware of the following factors that will affect the effectiveness and cost of storage bags:

• Site selection/preparation: Make sure the site is well drained (no pooling) and away from tree lines, brush, long grasses, or other potential sources that may provide destruction or contamination. If bags are to remain in field, make sure stalks are flattened to eliminate punctures.

• Equipment: Accessing bag loading equipment in a timely manner may not be an option in some locations. Ensure that timely access to the equipment is available in your area. Purchasing the necessary equipment can be considered, but capital recovery will need to be factored into the annual cost (as well as income from custom bagging, if any).

• Labor: Bagging requires additional labor, so make sure labor is available to support harvest activities and avoid any bottle necks that would slow harvest progress or disrupt other farm operations. Additional labor also needs to be factored into cost estimates.

• Moisture content / quality: The grain going into the bag needs to be dry. The quality going in to the bags will only go one direction – lower.

• Monitoring: Similar to bins monitoring is vital to ensure the quality of the grain does not deteriorate while in storage. Visual inspection of the bags is critical to monitor for rips and tears and repairs need to be made immediately to limit losses. Monitoring conditions inside the bags is also important. This will help head off issues before they reach catastrophic levels. It is very important that grain going into the bag is dry.

• Marketing: Grain bags can extend the marketing window to take advantage of increases in prices. Working with poultry companies, ethanol plants, distilleries, and feed mills can offer on demand opportunities that are not available to those without on-farm storage.

• Site clean-up and bag disposal: Disposing of bags can be an additional cost for producers. Determine how and where bags can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.