The corn generally has a moisture content of 30% or above once it is frozen. During winters, many corn producers use natural air (unheated) for drying the grains. Ultimately, natural air drying involves a lot of time than the other methods of drying the grain. Therefore one of the effective ways to store the grains during winter is to freeze the grains using several effective agriculture equipment.
Corn producers generally do not choose to harvest the grain when the moisture content is above 22%. However, if the moisture content is above 28% then they will harvest the corn without any delay before the winter storm can cause loss to the harvest during November and December.
The problem of storing grains during winter
One of the problems that occur during winter when the grains are stored at a freezing point is the condensation and aeration. Condensation can occur when the aeration is done through natural, heated, or unheated air. The frozen chunks of grain can develop in the form of blocks. This can cause blockage of the aeration warming cycles as well as unloading of the grains. During the winter months, the aeration fans are operated in the frozen grain using dry air, which has the same cold temperature as the grain or colder than the grain. However, as the air moves throughout the bin, it causes the moisture content to migrate leading to condensation.
The freezing grain of corn has lower chances of spoilage and reduces the risk of developing insects, fungi, mold, rodents, pests, etc. Cooling and freezing of the grains encourage higher storage time. In order to keep the corn safe and prevent its quality from losing, the producers need to run the fan whenever the corn is wet inside the bin and the moisture content is above 18% or the temperature is above 50 F. Moreover, if the moisture content of the corn in the bin is below 18% and the temperature of the grain goes below 40F then intermittent fan operation during winter is recommended for the producers. This is effective to monitor and maintain the temperature of the corns.
In the spring, when the grain starts warming up as the average daily air temperature is more than 10 F warmer, then it is recommended to avoid excessive condensation and freezing of the corn. High airflow aeration for warming grain is beneficial because quicker warming reduces the need for aerating in undesirable areas, especially in the high humidity weather conditions.
For natural aeration, the farmers can use agriculture equipment such as EndZone Fan Control that allows automatic operation of the fan by turning the fan ON and OFF without human intervention. EndZone Fan Control works when attached to the alarm system and operates between two set parameters of high and low temperature so that the proper temperature of the grains is maintained.
