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Grain Drying Cost Estimator - Fuel, Fan Energy, Shrink & Elevator Assumptions

Compare on-farm drying vs. elevator docking to find the cheaper option

Check local on-farm grain drying assumptions including heated dryer fuel, natural-air fan energy, physical shrink, and elevator dock/shrink entries. The output is a planning comparison with source warnings, not a manufacturer dryer curve, buyer settlement calculation, or final economic recommendation.

Pro Tip: Replace defaults with your dryer manual, fuel tickets, electric rate, fan curve, bin depth, weather window, labor/capital costs, and current buyer schedule before using the comparison.

Check physical shrink assumptions separately before comparing against a buyer shrink schedule.

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Size your propane or diesel tank so you don't run dry halfway through drying season.

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Check bin capacity before estimating drying volume for a season or storage plan.

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Plan the electrical panel for dryer fans, bin fans, and grain handling motors at the bin site.

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Grain Drying Cost Estimator
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How It Works

  1. Enter Dryer Details

    Select a local dryer type, fuel, price, capacity, ambient temperature, or natural-air fan inputs. Replace local defaults with equipment records when available.

  2. Enter Grain Details

    Input wet bushels, incoming moisture, target moisture, grain price, and commodity. Verify test weight, dockage, quality, and safe-storage target separately.

  3. Enter Elevator Charges

    Input the buyer dock rate and shrink factor from the current schedule or contract to generate a preliminary side-by-side calculator.

Built For

  • Farmers screening on-farm drying assumptions before deeper review
  • Farm managers budgeting harvest fuel costs
  • Advisers checking whether dryer, fuel, and buyer inputs are complete enough for a comparison

Assumptions

  • Heated dryer rows use local source-gap BTU per pound of water defaults, not manufacturer dryer curves
  • LP, natural gas, and electricity energy rows are rounded planning values; supplier billing and heat content control final cost
  • Physical shrink is water-weight arithmetic and does not model dry matter loss, handling loss, quality discounts, or dockage
  • Natural-air fan energy is a rough HP-to-kWh screen and does not model bin depth, static pressure, weather, or spoilage
  • Elevator dock and shrink factors are user-entered and applied uniformly across moisture points
  • Labor, capital recovery, repairs, maintenance, demand charges, storage cost, and quality risk must be added from local records

Limitations

  • Does not reproduce manufacturer dryer performance tables or certify fuel use
  • Does not model weather-dependent natural-air or low-temperature drying with equilibrium moisture, drying-front timing, or spoilage probability
  • Does not include capital cost, repairs, maintenance, interest, tax, insurance, labor premiums, or demand charges unless entered separately
  • Does not interpret buyer contracts, elevator settlement sheets, storage charges, or local grade/dockage rules
  • Does not account for quality loss from over-drying, under-drying, stress cracks, reduced test weight, rewetting, or spoilage risk
  • Does not approve wet-grain storage, bin entry, confined-space, fan, burner, electrical, or fire-safety decisions

References

  • Purdue Extension Grain Quality Fact Sheet #3 - Energy Estimates for Grain Drying
  • University of Minnesota Extension - Energy Costs for Corn Drying and Cooling
  • University of Minnesota Extension - Natural-Air Corn Drying
  • U.S. Energy Information Administration - Energy Units and Calculators Explained
  • eCFR 7 CFR Part 810 and USDA AMS Grain Standards for grade/test-weight context

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on dryer make, model, operating condition, ambient air, grain temperature, moisture, airflow, and whether cooling is done in the dryer or in storage. Use supplier fuel records or manufacturer data for final planning.
Only after current fuel, electricity, labor, ownership, storage, repair, quality, and buyer schedule data are entered. The app screens entered assumptions; it does not decide the cheaper option by itself.
Physical shrink is water weight removed from the grain, while buyer shrink schedules may include handling, risk, or contract terms. Compare the entered schedule against measured records and buyer terms.
Disclaimer: This is a preliminary planning screen. Verify dryer performance, fan/static-pressure data, grain condition, weather, storage safety, fuel and electric bills, buyer schedules, contract terms, and qualified review before drying, storing, selling, buying, or investing.

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