Drying and storage of grain.

It’s important to care the drying and storage of grain.

When grain is stored on the ground, earth is crowned under the pile to aid in drainage. A vapor barrier, is also placed on the ground to keep ground moisture from wetting the grain. Check grain temperature and moisture. If the pile is on well-drained, gravel-covered soil, the vapor barrier probably isn't necessary.
If you are going to largely manage to fill each store with dry grain there's a reluctance to put in small pockets of relatively much wetter grain. This in ability to cut small amount of wet grain can cause significant delays. For example, suppose that you are close to finishing a farm and rain comes before you finish the last 10ac. You then have 10ac or so to cut before moving the combine and it's not feasible to come back for it at a later date. Suppose, also, that a day arrives where grain moisture hovers around 19-20% with the prospect of good fine dry weather from that day on wards. At the moment we would wait until the day after, cut the 10ac, and then spend a hour or so moving, which is an hour or two of wasted combining in good conditions. If a grain pile is covered, plastic tarp is generally adequate, although covering large piles of grain can pose a challenge. Whether the pile is covered or not, the top surface should be smooth in order to aid drainage. The cover should be placed to carry water away from the grain. Aeration helps control any condensation that might occur under the plastic cover.

Try to design the building so that it has a natural airflow. Make sure the building exterior is well-drained, weather-tight, rodent-proof and not physically damaged by the forces of the grain. If you detect any problems, correct them immediately. If necessary move the grain to a different storage facility.You can set up a thermal chimney to use solar energy to get the air moving. You can also use a double skin wall made of steel sheeting to use solar heat to help dry the crop. Once it is dry, then you can use a hermetically sealed bag or bags for longer term storage, but it must be dry before you seal the bags otherwise you will get moud and the crop will be destroyed. Don't assume that you can use standard kit from Europe or the USA. Much of this depends on reliable electricity supplies and that is something you probably don't have. If a drying fan stops due to a power cut in the middle of the drying process, it will cause real problems. Its vitally important to get things right.