Grain Bins are full elevators are plugged and low prices have farmers looking at alternative ways to store their harvest... Shaun Sipma shows us one solution...

(John Denning, Assist. Mgr. Famers Union - Mohall/Sherwood) "We can get either eight, ten or twelve thousand bushels in a bag depending on which type of bag you buy."


That's right bags

A plastic polyethylene bag that loaded either right in the field or on the farm and will store massive amounts of grain and keep it in harvested condition for more than a dozen months

(John Denning, Assist. Mgr. Famers Union - Mohall/Sherwood) Right now Grain Bags Canada is warranty for 18 months as far as the bag for protection from UV and workmanship on the bag."


While the bags may look like those used for storing silage they are different in many aspects..

First the ability to sustain the grain quality once the bag is sealed.

(John Denning, Assist. Mgr. Famers Union - Mohall/Sherwood) "The grain will actually consume all the oxygen inside that bag within 24 hours"


With no oxygen left, sprouting cannot take place, and with the bag sealed no moisture can get it.

Second the bag also keeps UV light from discoloring the grain kernels.

(John Denning, Assist. Mgr. Famers Union - Mohall/Sherwood) "Each bags comes with a role of tape and actually the producer can go and poke a hole in the bag check the temperature, pull samples out they just put the tape right over the hole and they continually take their samples to go have tested to make sure the grain is staying exactly where they want it."


And third the way the bags are designed to be loaded it ensure the structural integrity of the bag

Using a specially designed auger loading unit, grain trucks or carts pull up to the unit dump the grain into PTO driven auger.

(John Denning, Assist. Mgr. Famers Union - Mohall/Sherwood) Basically on their tractor that's hooked to the bagger they leave it in neutral, each bagger has it's own brakes and they set the brakes to a preset weight depending on what unit they have and the grain will then as it builds up the weight of the grain will push the bagger and the tractor along.

The operator continues to measure the stretch of the bag to make sure it isn't too full or too empty so that it maximizing storage.

The cost of storage is the last factor that is attracting many producers to the bushel bagging option.

(John Denning, Assist. Mgr. Famers Union - Mohall/Sherwood) Cost per bushel if you're looking just at the bag is seven cents per bushel."


There are the initial costs for the bagger and extractor can start around 23,000 dollars

And with grain prices now at horrendously low levels and even steeper discounts many producers are looking to store their crop and wait for profitable prices to return. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list