The HGCA has today released a guide to grain storage management. The guide, launched in the HGCA’s new briefing, contains clearer guidance aimed at improving management practices in modern farming. Having a copy of the 2011 Third Edition will be a requirement of farm assurance schemes for combinable crops. image expired

The guide has been developed over the past 4 years; it was funded by Defra and the industry. The HGCA guide will be mailed to over 25,000 arable farmers this month.

Commenting on the release, NFU chief arable adviser Guy Gagen said, “While some of the basic messages remain the same, including to cool and dry to below 15 per cent moisture as quickly as possible, we are pleased the HGCA has been able to update the guide with straightforward advice, backed up with clear diagrams, in a logical sequence.

“This effort has turned the best available knowledge into practical and consistent guidance for farmers through to larger storekeepers in safely managing storage risks. The overwhelming majority of grain harvested in the UK is stored on farm and moved directly to processing intake, which is not so common in other parts of the world. This direct link is part of a flexibility our farmers wish to encourage.

“Huge steps have been made in improving the consistency of storage over the past ten years and this new resource from HGCA will help farmers maintain the high standards they work to for their grain processing customers.”