On-farm storage enables farmers to take on a little more risk [Video]

“You have the freedom to take advantage of a typical seasonal price pattern,” says Joe Janzen, University of Illinois agricultural economist and Farmdoc team member. “However, you should have a clear sense of your marketing goals when choosing to utilize on-farm storage as a marketing tool. Storage can enable you to make both good and bad marketing decisions.” 

Besides opening opportunities for marketing, on-farm storage has other benefits.

Many farms use on-farm storage to facilitate harvest, Janzen says. “If you can’t move enough grain to the elevator in a timely fashion, the ability to make harvest progress is a good reason to use storage.” 

If you’ve invested in on-farm storage, you need to make sure you’re storing grain properly. Here are some tips to help maintain quality until it’s time to sell:

Allowable storage time combines temperature and humidity, telling you how long you can store grain. 

Before you start, …