Grain Blending Quantity for Moisture

The Grain Blending Quantity for Moisture calculator computes the quantity required for blending of grain of one moisture level to be mixed into an amount of grain of another moisture level to achieve a desired aggregate moisture level..

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following: 

• (DMC) Desired Moisture Content
• (KQMC) Moisture Content of Known Quality
• (QRMC) Moisture Content of Quantity Desired
• (KQ) Known Quantity of Grain

Quantity Required for Blending (QRB): The calculator returns the quantity in bushels.  However, this can be automatically converted to compatible units via the pull-down menu.

The Math / Science

The following is from Grain Moisture Content Effects and Management Dr. Kenneth J. Hellevang, PE Extension Agricultural Engineer. North Dakota State University Fargo ND 58105

Moisture Management Managing grain moisture content is important to maximize economic return. As shown in Table 3, the maximum economic return is received by marketing at the market standard moisture content. Grain must be dry enough for safe storage but overdrying is costly. At $3.50 per bushel, there is a loss of 12 cents per bushel if wheat is marketed at 10.5 percent rather than 13.5 percent moisture [(60 - 57.99)] x $3.50/bu divided by 60 Ib/bu.)]. Harvesting some wheat above the recommended storage moisture content and mechanically drying it may reduce the amount that is overdried in the field. This may also allow more hours of harvesting per day. When mechanically drying grain, there is a double penalty for overdrying; the expense of drying and the loss of weight that can be sold. Another option is to harvest wet grain and blend it with overdried grain. This requires more handling equipment and management but may eliminate the need for drying. When 1000 pounds of wheat at 14 percent moisture is blended (mixed) with 1000 pounds at 12 percent moisture, the moisture will equalize to produce 2000 pounds at an average of 13 percent moisture. The grain must be thoroughly mixed together or wet spots will exist. Dry kernels must touch wet kernels for the moisture to equalize and the temperature must be above freezing. Moisture movement is enhanced at warmer temperatures. Aerating the grain will also aid in equalizing the moisture content. There will still be some moisture variation between kernels. The following equation can be used to determine quantities required for blending.

  `QRB = (DMC - KQMC) /(DMC - QRMC) x KQ`

• QRB = Quantity Required for Blending
• DMC = Desired Moisture Content
• KQMC = Moisture Content of Known Quality
• QRMC = Moisture Content of Quantity Required
• KQ = Known Quantity of Grain (pounds or bushels)

For example, 2000 pounds of wheat at 11 percent moisture content is needed to blend with 10,000 pounds at 14 percent to get 12,000 pounds at 13.5 percent moisture content. Quan~ity = 13.5 - 14 x 10,000 = 2,000 pounds at 11 % Required 13.5 - 11 There is an economic benefit for blending grain rather than marketing some overdried and some wet. The economic return for blending 1000 pounds of wet sunflower with 2000 pounds of overdried sunflower is $296 vs $300, as shown in Figure 1. The cost of blending due to operating additional equipment has not been included.

Market Ready Grain Weights per Bushel

• Weight of Corn - 56 lb/bu
• Weight of Wheat - 60 lb/bu
• Weight of Barley = 48 lb/bu
• Weight of Oats - 32 lb/bu
• Weight of Rye - 56 lb/bu
• Weight of Soybean - 60 lb/bu

Grain Crop Dollar per Bushel

The following shows the recent market auction value placed on corn, soybean and wheat.  This is updated weekly.

Grain Crop Yield Stats

To compute the return on investment in planting a grain crop, one needs to know the market value of the grain in dollars per bushel, and the yield that one's land will produce in the grain.  From there, the math is pretty simple. Estimating your grain yield is possible, but the US Department of Agriculture provides annual statistics on crop yields by state.  The USDA grain crop yield values for the mid-Atlantic states (PA, NJ, MD, VA) are shown in the table to the right.

To compute the value of a crop per acre you multiply the following:

Crop Value per Acre = Dollar per Bushel * Bushel per Acre

  Using the average yield across the mid-Atlantic region and the current market auction price of corn, wheat and soybean (see Dollar per Bushel above), you can see which crop has the highest ROI per acre.

Crop Value per Acre

• Corn:     $724.64 USD/acre  = 161.75 bu/acre *   $4.48 USD/bu 
• Soybean:  $492.19 USD/acre =   43.75   bu/acre * $11.25 USD/bu
• Wheat:      $418.1 USD/acre =   80.25   bu/acre *   $5.21 USD/bu

Obviously, main factor is the volume of corn that is yielded per acre, nearly four times as many bushels of corn than soybean and over twice as many bushels as wheat.

Grain Crop Calculators:

• Grain Crop Weight Estimation - Estimate the weight of a grain harvest based on the number of bushels and pounds per bushel of the grain.
• Grain Crop Value Estimation - Estimate the value of a grain crop based on the acres planted, yield per acre and dollar per bushel.
• US Corn Pricing Survey - Regular survey of market prices of corn
• US Wheat Price Survey - Regular survey of market prices of wheat
• US Soybean Price Survey - Regular survey of market prices of soybean
• Quantity Required for Moisture Blending - Computes the amount of grain needed of one moisture level to mix with another to achieve a desired moisture level.
• Corn Yield Estimation Calculator - Estimate the size of corn harvest (number of bushels) while the crop is still in the field based on a sample, acres planted and quality factors (kernel size and moisture).
• Crop Value Estimation - Estimate the value of a crop based on the acres planted, yield per acre and dollar per bushel.
• Corn Products - Estimates the amount of derivative products that can be produced based on a volume (number of bushels) of corn including: pounds of beef, pork and poultry, corn oil and ethanol.
• 100th Acre Row Length - Computes how long a row has to be to constitute being  1/100 of an acre based on the spacing of the rows.