With a mostly beautiful harvest under our belts and the cold weather setting in, it’s easy to forget that some canola went into the bin on very, very hot days. While 8% moisture is considered the “safe” moisture level for long-term canola storage, the safety of that bin is in jeopardy if the temperature was or is above 15 degrees C. It takes a surprising length of time for a bin’s internal temperature to drop from 30 (or higher!) to 15, and until it does there is a risk of spoilage, even at 8% moisture. It’s also not likely to reach a uniform temperature and moisture level without at least some work on your part.
In this episode of the Canola School, Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, based at Brandon, Man., talks about what you can do to avoid storage losses, and reminds us that now is a great time to check on bins.
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How does aeration play into safe storage? Should we be putting fans on for a little bit on cool, clear days to get the middle cooled down quicker? What about as it warms in the spring – try to bring it back up to ambient?
Hi Scott — I looked into this a bit. The Canola Council says to put canola on air and leave it on until the entire bin is “conditioned” (at a stable temp and moisture). No mention of fans helping in the spring. Guy Lafond is doing some work on sensors and there are comments on this page that may be helpful: http://canolacouncil.org/media/526537/CanolaDigestSept12_Web/files/assets/basic-html/page10.html
Thanks Lyndsey
Bins are very useful. You can store things when you don’t need it or also needed everyday. It can be a divider or a space saver for the home.
We ran out of aireation and had to put some in a steel bin temp was 29 c. and it was 5 for dryness.how long is it safe to leave this before selling it or taking some out
I asked Angela Brackenreed, with the Canola Council and she says that, “the research we have on canola storage would indicate that at 5% moisture, canola is safe until a T above 45 degrees C, however this assumes that the entire bulk is a uniform 5% moisture- any areas of moisture above 7% at 29 C are a concern, which jeopardizes the entire bin.”
Cooling the bulk off will reduce any risk, so if possible I would auger a couple loads out and leave them on the truck overnight. Moisture of the entire bulk is never uniform – I think you can assume there will be at least a couple areas of high moisture there, so it needs to be monitored regularly!”
Hope that helps!