In Canada, we grow cereal crops (wheat, corn and barley), oilseeds (canola, flax and soybeans), pulses (peas, lentils and chickpeas) and specialty crops (mustard, canary seed and sunflowers). Farmers have a very short window for harvesting these crops. Once a crop is ripe, they work long hours to get the grain off the fields before it can be damaged by rain, wind or snow.
More than 85 million tonnes of cereal grains, oilseeds, pulses and specialty crops are grown annually on Canadian farmland!1
After harvest, the grain is transferred to grain bins to keep it dry and undamaged, ensuring it stays at the proper moisture and temperature to prevent spoiling. This allows farmers to store the crop until they’re ready to sell.
A lesson in grain marketing
Selling grain is a complicated business.
Each year, farmers start by figuring out which crops to grow, often beginning the process for the next year after harvest in the fall. They consider what will be the best fit for their soil conditions and soil fertility, overall farm plan and goals, weather factors and more. Then they determine how much each crop will cost to grow. This gives them the information they need to calculate the break-even price, or how much they must sell the crop for to cover production costs.
Farm math: The estimated cost to grow canola in 2025 is about $635 per acre. The expected revenue is $596 per acre, less than what it will cost to produce.2
Farmers do not have the ability to set the price for their products. Global factors, geopolitical interference and market conditions determine crop prices. This means they need to use various methods to sell their grain and optimize the price they can get. This usually requires storing a portion of their grain until the markets offer a better price.
Farmers can sell privately to an elevator (a reseller that transports grain products worldwide), food processors, livestock farmers and others. They can also arrange to lock in pricing for a future delivery date.
Farmers might take their grain directly from the field to a local buyer who will pay whatever the market price offers that day or a pre-determined price contract that was arranged months ahead. However, the price is usually lower when supply is high, which is generally the case at harvest. That’s why farmers may choose to store the grain and sell it later in the year when prices are likely to go up.
Grain bins come in all shapes and sizes
From small to extra (EXTRA) large, farmers select bins depending on their storage requirements. Here are some of the most popular types of bins:
Flat bottom grain bins are for large scale farms. These bins can hold just a few thousand tonnes up to 50,000 metric tonnes of product. They’re made of galvanized corrugated steel and engineered to withstand the enormous pressure exerted by large grain volumes. These bins are housed on “flat bottoms” of cement and may include pieces of thick, solid steel called stiffeners that transfer pressure to the foundation to keep the side walls from buckling.
Hopper bottom bins have a cone at the base of the bin. This type of bin allows the grain to slide out and be discharged into an auger when the farmer needs to move it for sale.
Smooth wall bins are exactly like the name says – smooth walled. They’re constructed of heavy steel sheets that are welded together. This type of bin wall prevents grain from getting “hung up” or stuck in the cracks and crevices, which can happen in corrugated bins. They are generally more expensive, but are also less vulnerable to moisture, making them ideal for storing high-value crops, fertilizer or feed.
All grain bins have similar features. They must:
- Be manufactured in a way that allows them to stand up to the extreme environmental conditions Canadian farmers face.
- Prevent moisture from penetrating the inside cavity.
- Be easy to extract grain from.
- Be exceptionally durable.
- Have access points for cleaning and inspection.
- Have accessibility options like ladders, stairwells, platforms and catwalks.
Grain Monitoring
A farmer gets a pay cheque when the grain is sold. That’s why monitoring the condition of the grain in the bins very closely is so important. Before the invention of grain monitors it was difficult to determine how the temperature or possible moisture was changing inside of bins. Now through this new technology, bins can be monitored for both by using sensitive cables that give reports on temperature and moisture, at differing levels inside the bin. The sensors are equipped with alert notifications that can be sent to cell phones in the event the temperature of the grain is rising too fast or has surpassed a specific threshold.
Bins can also be purchased with aeriation fans. Aeriation fans push outside air through the grain to either cool or dry the grain. If the grain is too moist, a specific grain dryer may be required.
Size and location matter
Each growing season, farmers have to think about how big their harvest might be. When there are ideal growing conditions and crops are plentiful, farmers may need to consider adding grain storage to ensure they have enough bins.
It’s also important that the bin yard (the central location where most grain bins are located) accommodates fast loading and unloading. A bin yard should be close to where the crop is being harvested and have enough space for trucks and augers to move around. Some bin yards have access to natural gas or propane to dry the grain if the moisture content is too high.
More information on this topic:
- Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre Resource Bank
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Protection of farm-stored grains, oilseeds and pulses from insects, mites and moulds
- Canadian Grain Commission – Official Grain Grading Guide – OGGG-2024-25.pdf
