grainOperatiOns Managing temporary grain piles Having a properly designed aeration system and maintaining the integrity of the cover are essential by Harmon Towne Temporary grain piles require careful management to ensure that the quality of grain put into the pile remains the same. In most cases this requires a different mindset than grain put into permanent structures. There are two very important issues in maintaining the grain in these temporary piles. The majority of these piles employ some type of cover. For both types the main method to try and maintain grain quality is aeration. Without covers it is impossible to protect the grain from weather. High quality aeration will help to limit the damage done by rain. If at all possible, the grain should be run through a cleaner 80 prior to putting it into the storage pile. This makes it much easier to get proper aeration to the grain. In uncovered piles, a pressure system should be used to ensure that you are not drawing moisture down into the pile. I have talked about proper design in previous articles but it is good to cover the basic principles again. The minimum amount of air supplied should be 1/10th to 2/10th CFM per bushel. The higher airflows will help to offset some of the moisture that is added to the grain pile from rain. But just supplying the amount of air is not enough by itself. The system must be designed to give a good uniOctober 2013 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.comhttp://www.World-Grain.com