Harold H. Hodson Jr.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Each year interest increases in storing high-moisture grain for livestock feeding. Originally, a shift toward more field shelling instead of picking ear corn may have brought this interest about because shelled corn must be mechanically dried in most instances for safe storage whereas ear corn can be safely stored at moisture contents up to 24% without drying. More recently, the concern has been in saving fuel. It takes approximately one gallon of propane fuel/41/2-6bu. and one kilowatt hour of electricity/10-12bu. with conventional high temperature drying to reduce the moisture content of wet grain ten percentage units (i.e., to dry from 25% down to 15% moisture). The prospect of fuel shortages and the near certainty of higher fuel costs plus the fact that many drying systems are pressed to keep pace with modern harvesting equipment are added reasons for interest in high-moisture grain. Also, with some cereal grains, earlier harvesting at higher moisture content results in reduced field losses and extra time to facilitate fall plowing in the north and seeding of a second crop further south.