Grain elevator how does it work

Storing grain is an important aspect of the business of farming. The question to store or not to store comes down to the numbers. Why would a farmer want to store grain instead of selling it immediately after harvest to a food company? You want to sell high. So, farmers will watch the grain markets to try to anticipate the most favorable time to sell, to get the best per-bushel price they can. Grain elevator operators charge farmers storage fees. The added expense means less of a profit for that harvest.

Grain elevator operators can compile grains from multiple farms and broker larger bulk sales than individual farmers can, which can mean a quicker sale. All were indicative of a way of life that revolved around prairie rail transportation.

Consolidation of delivery points in the late s made the construction of larger facilities necessary. Wood composite elevators incorporated annexes for a capacity of about , bushels. Their familiar design ensured that they blended into their communities. They were built until the mids. The first major change in elevator design came in the late s. Experimenting with new designs and new materials, the Alberta Wheat Pool constructed a ,bushel, pre-cast concrete "Buffalo slope" elevator at Magrath, Alberta, in , followed in by a "Buffalo " built at Lyalta.

A 90,bushel steel elevator with two steel bins of 30, bushels each was built at Etzikom, Alberta, in the s. In the s, grain companies concentrated on building concrete silos designed as high capacity terminals. Handling close to 50, tonnes, these behemoths can load a freight car in less than 10 minutes, ensuring that an entire train of 52 cars can be loaded in a single day. This capability means that the terminals have to be built far beyond town limits.

Once rising above the horizon every 12 to 16 kilometres the grain elevator is fast disappearing. As early as the s, falling farm incomes led to rural depopulation. In the s, rising expectations, improved roads and mechanized farm equipment accelerated this trend.

Although the rail network and the primary elevator system remained stable, fewer people working larger farms meant that many small branch lines became unprofitable. Rail companies sought permission to abandon them. Deregulation of the railways and the demise of the Crow Rate in have led to major rail line abandonments. Amalgamation of grain companies and "saw-offs" the sale or swap of elevators to mutual maximum advantage have also reduced the number of elevators.

Demolition firms hired by grain companies use track hoes and occasionally explosives to bring down the elevators. Bleak though the prognosis might be for the survival of the traditional grain elevator, not all elevators will disappear.

Prior to the s a number were sold to producers for personal storage. Companies re-adapted others to bulk fertilizer storage.

Today, heritage groups seek to preserve elevators. For example, in Inglis, Manitoba, the federal government has designated a row of five elevators a National Historic Site. It all starts with wheat quality, and it has to be consistent. There is only so much that the milling process can do to influence the quality of the flour produced. Braving the sub-zero wind chills, the co-op team loaded a car train that spanned nearly a mile long.

Each rail car holds about 3, bushels of wheat. This particular elevator loaded a rail car in as little as six minutes. Once loaded, it was on its way to the west coast. If you get the chance, visit a grain elevator. It will give you a great appreciation for the sheer size, scope and complexity of the US wheat supply chain, and for the American farmer and the elevators that bring his wheat to market.

The operator takes a sample of the grain to test for the weight, moisture content and to check for any foreign materials present. Foreign materials could consist of chewed up corn, stalks, weeds or trash. If the grain is too wet farmers have to pay to have it dried at the elevator. Either one of these scenarios will lower the cost per bushel. The grain is then dumped from the truck to a work floor of the elevator. The work floor is an open, slatted floor where the grain dumps into pit and will then travel on a continuous belt that has buckets attached to scoop up the grain and then deposits it into silos.

This bucket system elevates the grain taking it from the floor to the top of the silo thus the whole facility is called a grain elevator. The empty truck will drive back to the scale to weigh the truck again. This will tell the elevator operator how much corn was unloaded. The farmer will be given a receipt called a weight or scale ticket. This ticket will tell the number of bushels calculated as being brought to the elevator. It is important for the farmer to know the weight of the grain that was dumped.

Corn is sold by the bushel and the standard weight of a bushel is 56 pound s. It is the measurement for weight when buying or selling crops. The ticket will be a record of delivery for the farmer. The scale ticket will show the date, quantity, kind of grain and quality of the grain being delivered. It will also tell if the grain is to be sold or stored. Grain elevators were created to hold crops being purchased or available for resale, and to help with the problem of storing grain.

The essential function of storage is to protect the grain from the elements and allow for it to be stored and tracked for quality and temperature. The inside building houses a vertical storage with bins that allows for easy transport of the grain. Proper storage is of utmost importance. If the crop is left in the field it can have reduced return on investment due to insects, mold and birds or rodents. Crops must be clean.