Larry's Letters: 2-15

Thanks to all who were able to attend our annual Open House. It is always a pleasure to visit with you. My team and I thank you for your choice to do business with MAS. It is a pleasure to serve you and we truly appreciate you.Thanks to all who were able to attend our annual Open House. It is always a pleasure to visit with you. My team and I thank you for your choice to do business with MAS. It is a pleasure to serve you and we truly appreciate you.
One of the things that I took away from the meeting that we had at our Open House, was that “Precision Agriculture” has not had an organized presence in the grain handling industry, even though many of the needed tools are available. While the technology has been harnessed and put to work in crop production, improving profit per acre. Many of the tools are present to improve the processes of handling, drying and storing the grain from the combine to the final delivery to the buyer. If we are to stay profitable in the declining market, we must get more efficient. Here are some ways to improve profit per acre.
• Harvesting at the moisture level that produces the most profit per acre.• Accurately testing the moisture content of the grain, thus helping to eliminate over-drying grain or putting grain with a high moisture content in the bin. A high moisture content allows grain to go out of condition before it is removed from the bin or result in dockage at the elevator.• Grain dried on-farm and delivered to the elevator shrinks less than grain delivered wet to the elevator. Modern grain dryers are more fuel efficient than older grain dryers.• On-farm grain storage increases your marketing flexibility.• Proper fan sizing on grain bins is critical to efficiency. Fans are sized differently on the same size bin based on what the bin will be used for, drying, cooling or aeration. • Automated fan controllers, with both temperature and moisture cables in the bin monitoring the grain can provide an early warning system for possible problems as well as automated control of the fans run times, only allowing the fans to run when they will produce a positive effect on the grain. These control systems can reduce the fan run time by 50% or more, saving electrical costs and possibly delivering a better product.
If these tips peak your interest, please don’t hesitate to contact our team. We would love to help you enhance your system!
Sincerely,Larry