Why Drying?
The farmer only has “his sheep in the dry ” when his grain has a moisture content of less than 14.5% stored. If this figure is higher, he cannot avoid drying! How high the humidity of the harvest depends on both regional conditions and weather. Harvest humidity is usually higher in coastal areas or generally in wetter areas than in more arid areas; in the north, the humidity indicator is higher than in the south. In rainy years, higher harvest humidity can be expected regardless of region. According to ATB, up to a third of grain harvested in Germany must be dried. Especially when it is raining during harvesting time.
Preventing the Spread of Infectious Diseases
Grain can only be stored safely when their moisture content is below 14.5%. The higher the humidity, the higher the risk of pests such as beetles and moths, with an additional 14% – this is the risk of lice, ticks, fungi and with 18% of bacteria. Mold formed with increase of humidity in storage is a particular problem. The associated infection with mycotoxins (fungal toxins) poses an underestimated risk to the health of consumers – whether they are people or animals. For animal health, as well as for production of any animal-derived food products, high-quality feed is important.
Long Shelf Life
In general, it can be said that the longer the shelf life, the more indispensable is a cool and dry storage. The more precisely the optimal storage moisture is maintained, the lower the quality loss. This is 14% for wheat, rye and barley, and 12% for oats and grain legumes. If you store grain with a harvest moisture at temperatures of 20°, the first damage would occur after just eight days.
Value Protection and Loss Minimization
Drying is also relevant to avoid quantitative losses. For example, if you store grain with a grain moisture of 22% and a grain temperature of 20° C, after 15 days there will be breathing losses of 1% of the mass. At 100 t, relevant 1 t. In addition, the right temperature and humidity are guarantors for maintaining the germination capacity and vitality of the stored grain. Dried grain can also be conveyed more safely and does not cause any problems during marketing.
NEUERO Drying
So, if you want to preserve the value of your stored grain, you can integrate a dryer into your silo system. NEUERO will dry your harvest and thus bring you profit. We have decades of experience in dryer construction. And we work with the ATB (Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy e.v.) in Potsdam to constantly optimize our drying systems.
The NEUERO consultancy team discusses all requirements and necessities with you on site, including the existing systems for integration and then develops a tailor-made offer. And if it cannot be a large continuous dryer, we also have a few sizes smaller. NEUERO offers the right drying system for every need: made in Germany, with advanced technology, powerful, process-optimized, reliable, with high efficiency, energy-efficient, sustainable and environmentally compatible.
