Drying and conditioning system.
Grain at Carey Farms is conditioned using a 2400 MEYER ENERGY MISER® Tower Dryer. “We can dry grain so much more cost effectively than what we would be charged at a commercial grain elevator,” explained Carey. “The benefits of having on-farm handling and drying capacity is unbelievable during harvest. People don’t think farmers are very high tech, but it’s amazing what the INTUI-DRY® System can do. The system works most efficiently and accurately when you let it run in automatic mode. We dried 325,000 bushels of corn last year, and our dealer didn’t have to come out for anything and we made minimal manual adjustments to the dryer.”
“My brother Shane and I have been investigating the Brock TrueGrain™ Moisture Sensor System that came out this year, and will likely install that this year,” said Carey. “Anything to get the moisture more accurate, we feel like it makes your dryer more efficient and enhances grain quality.”
Spending money on the ground instead of in the air.
One of the unique elements of the Carey grain system is their large dump pit that holds roughly 1,400 bushels. The pit allows the grain system to continue filling bins while the drivers are going to get another load.
“Our Brock dealer had experience installing this pit system, so that’s another reason we went with them,” said Carey. “We dump a truck in 30 seconds and we drive away as the facility continues running while the truck driver is gone. One person can oversee the grain facility and keep pace with hauling grain away from the combine. We are able to shift people to other projects on the farm instead of multiple people hauling grain. If we didn’t have this dump pit, we would need much larger receiving legs, conveyors and downspouts to replicate the speed and throughput we experience now. This allowed us to more effectively allocate capital, while significantly streamlining our fall harvest operations.”
Building for future growth and expansion.
At first, the Careys were considering building a smaller system with a 180,000 bushel corn bin.
“When we were building this system, it was right when the metal market was at it’s lowest,” explained Carey. “My brother Brett is our financial manager, and he watches these markets closely. With the incremental financial savings the dump pit allowed us to realize by utilizing smaller-capacity handling equipment, we chose to invest in a larger grain bin than initially planned. It was better for us to invest more upfront on storage than wish we did in a few years. The additional storage has allowed us to evolve our approach to grain marketing and ultimately drive more profitability to our operation.”
“I did not want my boys, 25 years from now, to be constrained by the layout of the grain facility continued Carey. “I want them to have options for expansion and growth.” With future money-savings in mind, the Brock dealer recommended a larger tower and an EVERLOC® Roof Mount System to connect the bin with Brock’s LEMAR® Tower Support Systems. These features will allow the Careys to add another 72-foot bin right next to their current bin if necessary, and it’s already designed to accept another catwalk and conveyor.