On-farm Storage of WinterCanola: Study of Lined and Unlined Steel

Bins

Stored Products Research and Education CenterCarol Jones, PhD

Kevin Moore, Research EngineerBiosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Oklahoma State University

Canola Storage Concerns

• Canola seed is very small– 115,000 seeds per pound

• High oil content: ~ 40%

• “Sweat” or extended respiration producing heat and moisture for 6-8 weeks

Current Canola Handling

• Sell and ship out of the field to the crusher in Okla. City

• Flat storage with aeration at the crusher• Truck to country elevators. There it goes into

steel bins• Grain bags on the ground have been used

successfully on farm and at the elevatorBUT…• Producers and smaller elevators wish to use

older bins (steel and concrete) and to segregate from other grain and seeds.

Challenges of Storing CanolaOn-Farm

• Older bins and small seeds are not a good mix

• No aeration systems• Limited space for grain bags• Animal and weather related

problems for grain bags on ground• Grain bags take up land space and require land

preparation

Objective: Seek a method to allow producers to use old infrastructure without aeration for canola storage

Thank you, Anderson’s and NC213, for allowing us to launch this project!

Goals:•Use grain bag material to line steel bins to hold canola in sub-optimal storage structures•The “sweat” period would be reduced with the sealed atmosphere storage.•Temperature, Grade, FFA, and visual inspection

Preparation and Loading of Bins

•170 bu bins, no aeration or ventilation•Liner: 9’ diameter polyethylene grain bag

• donated by Delta Grain Bag Systems, Inc. of Monette, AR

WestEast

Evenly distribute bag material in the the binNO EASY TASK!!!

Eventually used a leaf blower to inflate the bag inside the binSealed the top of the bag with a heat sealer after installation and

filling. Bottom already sealed before installation

• Installed a silage bag vent at the top for a sampling port• Duct taped around temperature cable, sealed as effectively

as possible but not airtight• Samples collected from all 6 bins with 5’ long grain trier and

transported to Enid Grain Inspection for grading,

Loading of Bins

•June 4th – •1000 bu of “Cropland 115” canola received from Kingfisher, OK immediately after harvest, placed in two 500 bu bins

• June 5th and 6th, • Moved from 500 bu bins to 170 bu bins

• 3 lined and 3 unlined, • 6’ diameter steel bins,• no aeration, fairly low quality bins due to rust

West East

Baseline

• Grade 1, • 35.1% avg oil content,• 9.1% avg moisture content

Temperature Testing and Data Collection• StorMax temperature cable located roughly centerline of the bins,

• Temps collected 3 days a week for first three months and two days a week after that,

• Temps recorded at six depths

Temperature: Average by bin

Temperature: Lined vs Unlined

Lined Bins

Un-Lined Bins

FFA Testing

• Tested according to AOCS Ca 5a-40 method (titration)• Sampled weekly for 2 months (June and July)• Every 2 weeks for 2 months (August and September)

• Monthly after that

FFA Testing Results

• No significant difference in FFA between lined and unlined storage bins during year 1 of the study (α=0.05)

• FFA stayed below 1% for the duration of storage

• FFA increased during storage following a quadratic trend, initial FFA was a mean of 0.25% and appears to have leveled off at approximately 0.8%

Grading

• Graded by Enid Grain Inspection • At binning, after 6 weeks, and after 6 months• More frequent grading needed, missed the transition from Grade 1 to sample grade

• All bins still Grade 1 at 6 weeks

Bins 1, 4, 5, and 6• Sample grade at 6 months due to musty

or sour smell• Visible mold (first noted October 31)• Appears to be light surface mold from

condensation at the top of the unlined bins• Two of the lined bins have a crust of mold

at the top of the bag, approximately 1” thick near sample port

• Bin 4 at a depth of 1.5-2 feet has considerable resistance to insertion of the trier, once this region is passed insertion of the trier becomes easier

Grading

• Infestation of soldier flies in bottom of bin 4 due to water infiltration at bottom of bin (first observed August 27)

Grading

•Bins 2 and 3 are still Grade 1, •One bin is lined and one is not

What are we learning?• Lining bins may keep Temperature down

• Is that a function of less physiochemical oxidative activity?

• FFA development was not critical in either lined or unlined

• Questions we still have for next year:• How would lined bins compare to aerated bins?• When did we lose the Grade 1?• How can we manage condensation in the bags?• Germination?• Seasonal differences (ambient T challenges, seed quality)• Commercial scale

Questions?