Use a Grain Sampler to Minimize Your Post-Harvest Loss

After you spent so many hours planting your crop in the fields, spraying them and hoping for good weather so your investment will grow, you want to make sure you don’t lose your harvest because it was stored with too much moisture content.

Post-harvest losses are costly and in many instances they can be prevented.  One such instance is to base your decisions on the right moisture content of your crop.  Failure to dry the grains properly will inevitably lead to sometimes considerable loss of your crop and your income.  Mold is one of the biggest problems found in grain that was not stored at the proper moisture level.

There are several models of good and accurate moisture content testers on the market.  The question is how do you get a representative sample of your crop that can be accurately analyzed for moisture content. Some farmers simply take a handful of grain from the top of their truck load or gravity box and pour it in the moisture tester.  While this method is fast and gives a sense of having tested the moisture content satisfactorily, it often leads to erroneous decisions like for how long the crop needs to be dried, or for how long it can be safely stored without spoilage.

There is an accurate way to take samples of your harvested grain in order to be analyzed. It is called a grain sampler.  A grain sampler or grain probe looks like a long hollow rod that has several openings along its whole length.  All you have to do is to stick the grain sampler into the load of grain, turn the knob at the top to close the openings and pull out the probe.  This ensures that grain of all levels from the top to the bottom of your load is taken into consideration for the calculation of the moisture content.  You then pour the sample into the moisture tester and get an accurate percentage of the moisture in your grain.  Repeat this process in at least five locations.

Our knowledgeable staff can help you decide which of our three models of grain samplers is suited best for your needs.  Please contact us by calling 1-866-668-4855.