Grainswest - Spring 2019

Spring 2019 Grains West 26 FEATURE “They can combine earlier and go longer with harvest and go harder at the crop if the weather is looking bad,” said Wall of Prairie farmers. “Because of the crazy harvest, not just this year, but also 2016, we’re seeing more and more people want drying systems. They did before, but now it’s not just an emergency tool. It’s something that’s part of their long-term management plan.” Wall’s company gets all kinds of requests, but usually nothing below a 500-bushel capacity. If it’s less than that, farmers often search the used market first. Regardless, Wall labels the dryer as “the cheap part of the whole system.” Wet and dry bins, a blower system, bucket elevator, augers or legs, cement, electrical wiring and other components all carry a cost and $500,000-plus price tags are not hyperbole. Then there’s power. “Most producers are on single- phase [power], but most of the dryers and systems require three-phase, so most people will go and buy gen-sets,” he said. For farmers looking to set up a drying system, they better have done their homework because it could take months to have everything in place, depending on the dryer setup. Wall says that contingent on size, his company could only handle about 10 to 20 more installs in 2019. “There’s just so many things that have to be done, including financing. Planning for a grain dryer system should be done one to two years in advance, not this year,” he said. “Many farmers bought dryers in a panic mode and still don’t have them set up.” Jayde Klassen is a GSI dryer technician at Wentworth AG and said the Alberta marketplace has really opened up in the last few years and people are opting for convenience over everything else. “A lot of the guys are getting rid of their old batch dryers and are moving into a more automated system where they can basically push start and walk away and let it run,” he said. Klassen believes it’s being done for ease of use, but also to save money and give farmers a chance to be at home more, or simply do other tasks that don’t involve sitting around staring at their dryer. Alberta farmers may waffle between a dryer and a shiny new combine, but Klassen said if you have a dryer, there’s no need for the second combine since you can be in the field much earlier, just like the McAllister brothers. He also sees more interest in top-dry units as opposed to portable units, which are still seen in great number across the Prairies. “If you’re looking at buying a dryer, or bin, you might as well combine the two and do both there,” he said. “A lot of guys in the United States have been switching over to top drys and we’ve seen guys in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta start to explore their options with them as well and realize the cost savings with them.” A top-dry dries the grain, dumps it, dries another load, dumps it onto the floor below and recycles the heat through the aeration fan. Then, when done, you use the bin as storage. Above all, farmers must consider a large-sized setup right from the get- go. The cost is higher, but not too much higher, when initial prices are considered, according to Klassen. “The cost to go bigger isn’t significant compared to being held up at harvest when your dryer can’t keep up to the yields you’re doing or if you get another combine,” he said. Echoing Klassen’s sentiments is McAllister, who would take a dryer over a combine seven days a week, believing there’s no need for more combines when you have a dryer and greater control of your farm and, ultimately, harvest. “I think this new dryer is going to change the way we farm,” said McAllister. “We’re going to farm before Mother Nature says we’re ready. I think it will be a good thing. Talk to me this time next year and see.” Photo: Courtesyof WallGrain Wall Grain installs on-farmdryers such as the unit pictured. CEODaveWall said dryers are no longer for emergency use only, but are part of regular farmmanagement plans.