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Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute project lead reiterates grain storage principles
August 13, 2025
By Top Crop Manager
The principles for proper grain storage are worth repeating. That was the opening message from Dena Burnett’s presentation during Top Crop Manager’s virtual In the Bin: Grain Storage Seminar in early July. “When dealing with extensions, you tell them and then you tell them again and then you tell them a third time,” says Burnett, project lead at Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI).
With that in mind, Burnett elaborated on practical tips to reduce the risk of grain spoilage in storage. “The higher storage volume, the higher risk there is, both in how the temperature and the moisture content behaves inside that bin, but also when it comes to your bottom line. What we have to understand is that the risk of spoilage depends on both temperature and moisture content.” Burnett used visuals to show how to anticipate these variations inside the bin before explaining how to control them.
She also shared a study PAMI conducted in 2017 that explored the effect of airflow rate on drying rate in peas. They ran fans continuously for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for just over two weeks. They still saw some rewetting. “You can have control of the dispersion of the moisture in the bin, but at some point, unless it’s being removed from the bin, it’s going to settle,” she adds.
She reminded attendees that airflow is going to take the path of least resistance, emphasizing how grain type, depth of grain in the bin, airflow rate and the type of distribution will impact this. “I wish that we could get to a point where it’s like this is the system for every situation, but this is a large, complex problem and there is no one-size-fits all sadly, but you can make a one-size-fits-you or a many-sizes-fit-you based on understanding your system.”
With the simulations team at PAMI, they’re able to use Discrete Element Modelling (DEM) to create grain flow models. “We have that capability to essentially to look at discrete models and discrete temperature and moisture contents of a product in the bin,” she says. This helps provide a baseline to know what to measure.
Burnett encourages this same approach on the farm – understand your drying situation by measuring it properly. “Take your baseline and measurement, change a factor, evaluate that change, and tweak it and do it again.”
During Burnett’s presentation for the In the Bin: Grain Storage Seminar, she shared information about supplemental heating, grain storage monitoring technologies and more. To hear Burnett’s full presentation, click here to access the on-demand seminar.