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Grain Marketing: Storage Decisions

James Russell and, James Hanson (1989)

Summary

Many farmers in Maryland have constructed bins to store their grain. However, having bins does not necessarily mean they should be used. A farmer should first calculate the cost of storing the grain, and should only consider storage if the cost is less than the expected increase in price after harvest. This fact sheet provides worksheets to assist in determining if selling at harvest and leaving the bins empty could result in a bigger profit. The farmer should not automatically fill bins to capacity each year unless he or she is storing grain for onfarm consumption.