Get insights about grain drying practices from other farmers like you.

Brock Grain Systems recently wanted to find out more about how their customers and non-customers dried grain on the farm. The results are in, and Brock is sharing this information to help you make more informed drying decisions for the future.

This third-party, 2024 survey asked more than 130 farmers in the United States and Canada about their grain drying practices. It included farms of all sizes with 62% of the respondents farming 2,500 acres or less.

Corn makes up 47%, soybeans make up 37% and wheat makes up 9% of survey participants’ crop on average.

Overall, 68% of the survey participants’ crop is dried on the farm. That number skews upward with larger farms and higher acres. Farms with more than 1,000 acres dry an average of 73% of their crop on-farm.

75% of all farmers surveyed own a grain dryer for their operation. That number increases to 81% for farms with more than 1,000 acres. 65% of farmers have owned their dryer for more than 10 years and 25% of farmers have owned for more than 20 years.

There are a wide range of dryer types working on farms including low-profile dryers, on-farm tower dryers, mixed flow dryers, and commercial tower dryers. Low-profile is the top-owned dryer for all farm sizes.

Even though low-profile is the top-owned dryer type overall, 36% of farmers are considering a mixed flow dryer and 25% are considering an on-farm tower dryer.

• Farms with more than 1,000 acres dry approximately 73% of their crop on-farm.
• The survey confirmed that many farmers, especially those farming more than 1,000 acres, are considering new dryer purchases to upgrade their current systems and improve harvest efficiency.
• Farmers considering adding a new dryer to their operation are most interested in a mixed flow dryer, followed closely by an on-farm tower dryer.