It would be nice if grains like corn, oats, and soybeans came out of the combine and were ready to be fed directly to livestock. While this might be nice, nothing is ever that easy, not when it comes to agriculture. Harvesting simply isn’t a clean process. During the harvesting process bits of dirt, stalks, sand, stones, and weeds get mixed up in the grains. This debris needs to be removed from the grain before the drying process begins. Getting the grain cleaned requires the use of good quality grain cleaning equipment.
When it comes to grain cleaning equipment you need to remember that timing is important. You need to make sure the grain gets cleaned as quickly as possible. The sooner you get your crop cleaned, the sooner you can bring it to the local elevator and sell it. The even more compelling reason to make sure the grain gets cleaned as quickly as possible has to do with the moisture. You can’t dry the crop until it’s cleaned, and high moisture grains are prone to molding. Even waiting a day before running the crop through the grain cleaning equipment could cost you lose the whole batch to mold. The cleaner your grain, the better it will be graded when you take it to the elevator, and the higher the grade, the better you will be paid.
The best way to make sure you’re crop doesn’t spoil is making sure that you the grain cleaning equipment you own is large enough to handle a daily harvest. You know how many bushels of corn you combine during the average day; you need to make sure that the grain cleaning equipment is large enough to separate each bushel. Smaller farms in Michigan and Wisconsin can generally get away with a smaller separator that can sort 300-600 bushels of corn during an hour. Large crop producers in Iowa and Nebraska will want to look for seed cleaning equipment that’s capable of handling as much as 3500 bushels of grain in a single hour.
One of the best ways to get the most out of your grain cleaning equipment will be to make sure you keep it well maintained. Several weeks before you plan to start harvesting, you will need to give the separating equipment a good once over and make sure it’s in good repair. If you see any indication of wear, you’ll want to make arrangements to get it repaired as quickly as possible. Since shipping parts can take time, you will want to keep a few spare parts on hand in case the equipment fails during the middle of combining so you can quickly get your grain cleaning equipment up and running before you lose any of your harvest.
