In decades and centuries, past farmers typically had to rely on in-bin grain drying to get their products ready for market. Contemporary farmers, however, have a better option. Purchasing Grain Dryers in Oregon can increase capacity and get crops ready to be sold more quickly. High-speed and continuous flow grain dryers have, as a result, been gaining in popularity in recent years.
When purchasing a new dryer, the most important thing to consider is capacity. Smaller family farms may be able to get away with using a small continuous flow dryer or even drying their grain in the bins, but large-scale agricultural operations need larger equipment. That means purchasing dryers that are both higher capacity and function at higher temperatures. This is one circumstance under which it is consistently worthwhile to invest in more expensive but higher quality machinery, as consistent heat distribution and air flow are essential to producing a marketable finished product.
A high quality dryer can also allow farmers to harvest their grain crops just a little bit earlier. Modern continuous flow grain dryers are designed to process grain with moisture levels up to 30%, which simply wouldn’t have been possible using in-bin drying techniques. Continuous air flow allows for temperatures sometimes as high as 220 degrees Fahrenheit to be applied, while even advanced in-bin drying systems will scorch the bottom layers of the crop at 160 degrees.
The most popular continuous flow grain dryers in Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest are cross-flow dryers. These are sometimes also known as free-standing dryers, column-type, box-type, or upright dryers. They can be portable or stationary, but what they all have in common is that they function completely independently of any grain bins or other storage units. When choosing which will best suit the needs of a farm, it’s important to consider minimum and maximum temperatures, capacity, and the presence of automated moisture level and temperature checks.
Farm equipment manufacturers have made great strides forward in recent years, so farmers using equipment that is more than a decade old may want to consider upgrading even if they already use continuous flow grain dryers. Resulting improvements in crop quality are often well worth the investment. Browse our website for more information.
