What Size Grain Silo Do I Need? Choosing the Right Capacity
Investing in on-farm grain storage is about more than deciding how many tonnes of grain you need to store this harvest.
The right grain silo capacity should support the way your farm operates today while providing flexibility for changes in production, crop rotations, grain segregation and future growth. It should also make sense as a long-term investment for your operation.
Choose too little capacity and you may quickly outgrow your storage. Choose a configuration that doesn't suit your operation and you could limit your ability to segregate grain, efficiently manage harvest or take advantage of future marketing opportunities.
Before deciding on a silo, there are two important questions to consider:
How much storage do I actually need?
What could that additional on-farm storage mean financially for my operation?
Kotzur's Silo Volume Calculator and Return on Investment Calculator can help you explore both questions as you begin planning your grain storage project.
1 Start with How Much Grain You Need to Store
The first step is understanding your current production and how much of that grain you would ideally like to retain on-farm.
Look at historical yields and the area planted to each crop to estimate the volume of grain you may need to store in a typical season. However, designing storage around an average year alone may leave you short when conditions deliver an above-average crop.
Consider your hectares planted, expected yields, existing storage capacity, the percentage of your crop you intend to store and how production could change in the future.
Building some flexibility into your storage plan can help ensure the system continues to meet your requirements beyond the next harvest.
2 Turn Grain Volume into Silo Capacity
Once you understand approximately how much grain you want to store, the next step is determining what that means in terms of physical silo capacity.
Grain storage isn't always as simple as converting one tonne of grain into a fixed amount of silo space. Different commodities have different bulk densities, meaning the same silo volume can hold different tonnages depending on the product being stored.
This is where Kotzur's Silo Volume Calculator can help.
The calculator provides a practical starting point for understanding the relationship between your grain and the storage volume required. This can help when comparing different silo sizes and considering how your total storage requirement might be divided across your site.
Planning additional grain storage?
Use the Kotzur Silo Volume Calculator to help determine the storage capacity required for your grain.
3 Think About Segregation, Not Just Total Capacity
Suppose you determine that your operation needs another 2,000 tonnes of grain storage.
Does that mean you need one 2,000-tonne silo? Not necessarily.
Multiple silos may provide greater operational flexibility than one large silo, particularly if you need to separate grain according to crop, variety, grade, protein, moisture, quality, end use or marketing strategy.
For example, instead of one large silo, an operation may benefit from several silos that allow different variety grades or commodities to remain separate.
This can also create opportunities when marketing grain. Maintaining segregation may give you greater control over what is sold, when it is sold and which market it is directed to.
The better question is therefore not simply:
"How much grain storage do I need?"
It is:
"How should my total grain storage capacity be configured?"
4 Match Your Storage Capacity to Harvest
Storage capacity also needs to work with the pace of harvest.
Consider how quickly grain comes off the paddock and how it moves through your operation:
Header → Chaser Bin → Truck → Grain Intake → Handling Equipment → Silo
If grain is arriving faster than your receival and handling system can process it, simply having more silo capacity won't necessarily solve the bottleneck.
Consider how many tonnes per hour could arrive during peak harvest and whether augers, conveyors, bucket elevators and other equipment can keep pace.
This is why Kotzur approaches grain storage as a complete system. Silo capacity, grain receival, conveying and outloading should work together to support the requirements of the operation.
5 Consider the Financial Return of Additional Grain Storage
Capacity is only one part of the decision.
Additional on-farm storage is a significant capital investment, so it's also important to consider the potential financial benefits it could provide to your operation.
Depending on your circumstances, additional storage may provide opportunities to reduce reliance on harvest delivery, improve harvest logistics, hold grain for future marketing opportunities or provide greater flexibility over when grain leaves the farm.
The value of those benefits will be different for every operation.
Kotzur's Return on Investment Calculator has been developed to help growers explore the potential financial implications of investing in additional on-farm grain storage.
Rather than looking only at the initial cost of a silo, the calculator can help you consider the investment from a longer-term perspective.
Could additional on-farm storage work for your operation?
Explore the potential return with the Kotzur Return on Investment Calculator.
6 Plan for Future Expansion
One of the biggest mistakes when selecting silo capacity is only planning for today's requirements.
A grain silo is a long-term infrastructure investment.
Rather than only thinking about next harvest, consider what your farm could look like in five or ten years. You may increase cropping area, change rotations, store a greater percentage of production or add permanent grain handling infrastructure.
Planning for future expansion doesn't necessarily mean installing all of that capacity today. Instead, it could mean considering where the first silos are positioned, how vehicles move around the site, where future silos could be located and whether conveyors, elevators or additional handling infrastructure could eventually be incorporated. Further silos for storage can be planned and stage for some time in the future.
Kotzur can provide custom silo sizes and geometries, different unloading configurations, roof loads for conveyors and integrated storage and conveying systems.
A well-planned site can grow with your operation.
7 From Capacity to Investment: Putting It All Together
Choosing the right grain silo capacity ultimately comes down to understanding both your operational requirements and your longer-term objectives.
A useful planning process is:
- Understand your production - Consider current production, higher-yielding seasons and future growth.
- Determine how much grain you want to store - Consider how much of your harvest you want to retain on-farm.
- Calculate the storage volume required - Use the Kotzur Silo Volume Calculator to explore the capacity required for the commodities you store.
- Determine your segregation requirements - Consider whether multiple silos could provide greater flexibility than one large storage.
- Consider grain handling - Make sure receival, conveying and unloading capacity can support the amount of grain being stored.
- Plan for the future - Consider how additional silos and handling equipment could eventually be incorporated.
- Explore the financial case - Use the Kotzur Return on Investment Calculator to consider what additional on-farm grain storage could mean for your operation.
From there, the Kotzur team can work with you to develop a storage and handling solution around your individual requirements.