Drying Grain....

[farmaholic]

I was hoping to discuss the costs and merits of drying poorly priced or poor quality wheat. The market doesn't seem to care what you have spend to protect or salvage quality.

Current grain prices are disgusting, even for #1 13.5. Take away quality and it gets uglier.

[recapped]

Both are evidence of climate change if observed over a long period of time.

You are right Chuck, climate has always been changing, it's normal. CO2 is not the cause.

[bucket]

Elevators with dryers can't justify using them even with the potential of lots of tonnage...it makes it tough for a farmer to justify owning one...most years it would be rusting...

Why can't the graincos step up and help producers instead of passing the costs onto them...

Right now it hard to get them to paper dry grain...

[fjlip]

more stalled persistent weather systems.

Like the stuck dry climate in the 30's, hot dry 80's, Stuck wet COLD in the 50's and 70's.

Ya never happened before, plus earlier centuries had climate changing events also.

You prove SFA, nothing is new, all kinds of shitty weather coming right up, and it will not be HOT!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I was hoping to discuss the costs and merits of drying poorly priced or poor quality wheat. The market doesn't seem to care what you have spend to protect or salvage quality.

Current grain prices are disgusting, even for #1 13.5. Take away quality and it gets uglier.

That is the trouble with calculating the economics of break even etc. You may already be at a loss of a few cents without drying it, but if drying costs 20 cents, and downgrading costs 50 cents per bushel, then it still makes more economic sense to dry it than leave it, even though both scenarios lose money.

Same with applying an additional fungicide or insecticide to a money losing crop, to save losing even more.

Same thing happens with livestock. A single vet bill for a cow of calf might take all the profit away, then if that animal needs treated again, it is guaranteed loss. It might cost an additional $100 for a dose to potentially save the animal, but losing the animal is more like a $1200 loss.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Elevators with dryers can't justify using them even with the potential of lots of tonnage...it makes it tough for a farmer to justify owning one...most years it would be rusting...

Why can't the graincos step up and help producers instead of passing the costs onto them...

Right now it hard to get them to paper dry grain...

Elevators I deal with have always been willing to paper dry grain for me. But I never deliver during harvest glut, usually late winter, spring, summer when everything else is coming in dry.

[farmaholic]

That is the trouble with calculating the economics of break even etc. You may already be at a loss of a few cents without drying it, but if drying costs 20 cents, and downgrading costs 50 cents per bushel, then it still makes more economic sense to dry it than leave it, even though both scenarios lose money.

Spend 20 to save 50 in an already money losing scenario....yup that's farming! LMAO.
LOSE LESS MONEY.

[fjlip]

Most such investments made sense 40-50 years ago. Today not many pencil out if you honestly calculate DEPRECIATION!

[poorboy]

I find that if my wheat is cured out and a #1 now it only drops to a number 2 if you leave it stand and get some weather on it. Not a very big price drop to a 2 from a 1.

What about air bins. If you can get it close to dry (16 or less) it should keep if you cool it and then periodically recool it. Then haul it in mid winter when everyone else is hauling their dry wheat. Or else run the fan and dry it.

[fjlip]

If the tough grain is warmer than night air temp a fan will dry it, humidity does not matter. If the grain is COLD only COLDER air might dry some. In this area north of #16, we rarely can aerate anything to test dry.