Friday, March 29, 2024

Grain storage future is sealed

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The key to quality onfarm grain storage is to know the target outcome for the grain and match storage to that end, Australian grain storage expert Peter Botta says.
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It was also important to know what insects affected specific grain storage, Botta said as he told farmers that investing in gas-tight sealed storage would need to be the way of the future.

Speaking at the Foundation for Arable Research’s Annual Research in Action field day in Mid Canterbury late last year, Botta said having a plan was essential to ensuring successful storage.

“For example, it is difficult to successfully store grain long term in a system intended for short-term storage.

“The other major consideration is that increasing levels of resistance to the contact treatments used in unsealed storage are making insect control more difficult.

“Investing in gas-tight sealed storage or having at least a proportion of storage gas-tight sealed enables successful fumigation to kill insects.”

Botta said effective grain storage was essentially about managing time, which in turn relied on knowing which insects affected grain storage, and being able to kill those insects when the need arose.

He said that in a gas-tight sealed silo, grain could be fumigated effectively providing quick, inexpensive and long-lasting insect control. Market flexibility was also enhanced because grain was stored residue-free.

However, grain storage goals needed to match with a system that was effective and supported best practice.

Botta said some Australian growers used ground dumping, but dumped grain needed to be moved or used within six weeks.

Silo bags offered better protection and were also common in Australia, being particularly good for managing harvest pressure.

But for New Zealand growers where longer-term grain storage was more common practice, farmers had to be aware that the longer the storage period required, the greater the potential for infestation and the greater need for planning.

Botta said monitoring for resistance would be beneficial in NZ. In Australia resistance to protectants was developing, and it was necessary to use a combination of protectants to manage resistance.

“If market requirements and resistance development trend similarly in NZ as they have, and continue to in Australia, grain protectant usage will decline and the requirement for pesticide residue-free grain will increase.

“This in turn will increase the use of fumigants and controlled atmospheres, requiring same gas-tight sealed storage that meets a standard pressure test.”

To be confident that any new storage was gas-tight, farmers should check that it meets Australian Standard AS 2628-2010. 

“It is also important that new storage can meet this standard for the expected life of the storage,” Botta said.

“Silos that lose their gas-tightness because of structural failure rather than lack of maintenance are not what you want.” 

Botta encouraged farmers to apply the same decision-making principles when buying silos and storage equipment as they would any other piece of machinery – it must be fit for purpose.

In most cases it would be impractical to replace all storage with new sealed storage, but where storage was to be increased good-quality, gas-tight sealed storage should be bought. 

Above all, Botta urged growers to keep the market in mind.

“Work with grain end-users to ensure any delivered grain meets the receiver’s expectations. 

“When the decision is made to store onfarm, the system becomes a part of the food supply chain, and growers need to manage the grain, understanding it is a food product in most cases. 

“A system that allows easy grain storage while maintaining quality will ensure growers can deliver grain that meets market expectations.”

 

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