CGC says monitoring grain storage is key

Farmers should be checking their stored grain on a regular basis. 

It's key to avoiding problems with mold or insect issues which can impact future sales.

While most new bins have monitors and sensors to alert producers about what's going on in the bin, there are still a lot of older bins out there that may not have those sensors.

Brent Elliott an Entomologist with the Canadian Grain Commission says it's important to monitor grain storage on a regular basis.

"You always want to keep track of your product that you have in the bin. You've spent a ton of time, a ton of effort, and probably a fair amount of expenditures on inputs to getting it into the bin. You've done a ton of hard work and you certainly don't want to have that spoiled at this point. So, just make a quick check. We know that at the size of your bins, at the periphery of the bins, everything's probably okay. It's that core you want to keep track of, you want to keep your grain temperatures down from an insect perspective and to a certain extent from a mold perspective. If you've got your grain temperatures below about 15 to 18 degrees Celsius, in the core, you're probably in good shape and everything will be fine well into the spring. If you're higher than that, your potentially looking at some problems if they aren't already there