Storage plays a critical role in protecting the quality of soybeans produced by U.S. soybean farmers. The following article shares one example of how a farmer used storage and grain handling technology to improve the efficiency and protect the quality of soybeans from harvest until they go to customers. Brent Rivers, from Ohio in the east-central U.S., sees the value of drying soybeans and moving them efficiently from the field to storage and on to the supply chain.
R & C Rivers Farms has 850,000 bushels of corn storage capacity at their main operation in Mount Sterling. But for soybeans, they’ve relied on 30 smaller bins at their other farm sites in Pickaway, Fayette and Madison counties.
“It wasn’t a very efficient system and made hauling the grain too complex,” said Brent Rivers, the owner. “So, we decided to build a new soybean grain system to be more productive.”
Designed and built by local GSI dealer, Sims Construction, the new system is located about a quarter mile away from the main operation. It includes:
- Two 160,000-bushel capacity dry storage bins with fans to aerate the grain.
- A grain handling system that includes a conveyor, grain leg and bucket elevator to transfer harvested grain from a dump site to the storage bins at the rate of 12,000 to 14,000 bushels per hour.
- And a 5,000-bushel capacity overhead hopper tank that can fill a 1,000-bushel semi-truck for grain delivery in just 4 to 5 minutes.
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