Several questions have come in this week regarding longer-term grain storage. Commodity prices for both corn and soy have prompted this question as producers look to 2025 futures. How long grain can be safely stored without a degradation in quality depends on several factors.
On-farm grain storage is a critical component of on-farm profitability. During times of less-than-desirable commodity prices, producers may choose to hold grain for a period of time to achieve a better price down the road. The duration of time that grain is held on-farm prior to off-loading varies, but can range from a few weeks to several months.
- Initial Quality – grain that is of poor quality when it goes into the grain bin will deteriorate quickly. It is very hard to estimate the safe-storage period of grain that is of poor quality to begin with.
- Grain Moisture – increasing grain moisture decreases the safe storage period.
- Grain Temperature – increasing grain temperature decreases the safe storage period.
With these factors in mind, please review a few excellent publications from the and the University of Arkansas and the University of Tennessee.
Example: If the temperature of corn in the bin = 75, and grain moisture is held at 15%, corn may be safely stored for 155 days (~ 5 months). However, if your desired storage time is 6 months (also at 15% moisture), the grain temperature must be lowered to 65. This data is courtesy of the University of Arkansas, and their soybean charts work much the same way.
Grain may be successfully stored for extended periods of time. However, with the mid-southern and south-eastern climate of Tennessee, care must be taken to ensure an acceptable combination of grain temperature vs. grain moisture is achieved and then maintained over time.
