On-farm grain storage is an important strategy for all grain farmers. Taking control of your grain from harvest to sale can make a significant difference to a farm's bottom line.

Farmers who store their own grain report significant improvements in harvest efficiency and understand that maximising the value when ready to sell is particularly dependent on the quality of the grain in their silo.

With labour in short supply, farmers need to keep their headers running at harvest. Having on-farm storage significantly reduces the amount of time spent transporting grain when time is limited.

A short trip to your silo is far more efficient than the long haul to deliver it. With the right combination of silos and handling equipment you can harvest quickly with less labour, then take your time to market and deliver the results.

Control

An import factor in maintaining stored grain quality relies on the farmer's ability to control moisture, temperature and insects.

For silo storage, good aeration and fumigation work hand-in-hand to keep these factors in check. An aeration solution with an engineered design and a control system matched to the silo will deliver the air flow required to keep grain cool, at the right moisture and free from insect infestation. Should fumigation be required a gas tight silo is a must as fumigants will only work effectively when gas concentrations are maintained over an extended period.

Cyclone is a well-known and trusted name in Australian agriculture with a proven reputation spanning generations of farmers.

Cyclone's wide range of on-ground and elevated silos are manufactured in Australia and installed by experienced Agridealers in all states.

The combined strength of Cyclone and our partners means we can offer comprehensive advice, as well as the complete design and installation of silo-based grain storage systems for one or many silos.

These systems include storage, loading and unloading, weighbridges, and aeration along with monitoring and control systems.

Andrew Fisher, national sales manager for Cyclone Silos, is proud of his product range and manufacturing quality.

"Cyclone Silos will have a specific design for your requirements and region which considers grain load, terrain conditions, and wind load," Andrew said.

"Cyclone Silos also provide its customers with an independently certified silo specific design review statement and certified foundation construction drawings to provide peace of mind when it comes to the structural integrity of the construction."

Design counts

Cyclone's designs have come a long way since they were first built in Australia around 1975. Since then our design team have been hard at work continually making significant improvements in structural integrity and sealability.

A range of enhanced features like sealable access ports, ground opening lids, structural door frames, inner and outer access door seals, full ring structural eave plates and many more design updates mean the Cyclone silo is stronger and more reliable than ever.

These are all built around the silo's existing 25-year design life. Many of these updates make the silo seal more reliable when pressure testing to ensure it meets Australian Sealability Standard AS2628. In addition to providing gas tight silos that meet this standard, the Cyclone design offers a class-leading one in 200-year wind event design certification as standard.

Coming soon from the Cyclone design team will be a completely reengineered aeration system built on recommendations from the GRDC and research from the University of South Australia.

As part of this project, Cyclone Silos are also developing a set of lower running cost fans matched to each silos requirements, and ground operated ventilators, all of which will couple with our silos for better aeration.

When considering a new storage solution, return on investment is an important factor, said Andrew. "Calculating the cost per tonne stored per year can be pleasantly surprising and much lower than one would expect given the upfront capital cost of the project."

When choosing one of the larger Cyclone offerings the cost could be as low as $5 per stored tonne per year over the design life of the silo.

There are over 180 design combinations in the Cyclone product range. Onground silos start at 200 tonnes and range to 5000 tonnes while elevated silos range from 40 to 800 tonnes. The Cyclone team is confident they have the right silo for your project.

Satisfied

Roly Dye, a satisfied Cyclone silos customer, put in two 1720 tonne grain silos. These silos were put in to help him keep up with demands of the market.

Mr Dye said he was after a system that could handle 60 tonnes per hour at harvest time.

Storing a portion of his grain on-farm provided Mr Dye with the ability to maximise its value. Having this grain stored on-farm made Mr Dye consider insect infestations.

To counteract this, Mr Dye installed an aeration system that allowed the grain to be cooled, meaning weevils could not breed whilst also preventing moisture migration.

Mr Dye stated: "I wanted something that was more substantial and would last a long time," which he found in his Cyclone silo.

With such a huge season expected for this year our Cyclone Silos team have been quite busy. It is for this reason that the Cyclone team recommends that you plan ahead and place an order now for next year's preseason builds.

"If you think that you may need a silo next year it would be best to get your order in now especially if this is essential to next year's harvest. This will ensure we can get in and get your job done with plenty of time to spare," Andrew said.

Cyclone remains the obvious Australian-Made choice for a comprehensive solution to your grain storage requirements.

Contact Andrew Fisher on 0439 018 125 or the Cyclone Customer Service team on 1800 199 450 to discuss your grain storage requirements today.