Grain Dryer Sales On Fire This Year

www.farmweeknow.com
Dan Grant
2010-02-17

Farmers and elevator managers interested in purchasing a new grain dryer should consider taking action sooner rather than later.

New grain dryers are a hot item this year and as a result the lead time to make purchases could double in the months ahead, according to Paul Brooks, GROWMARK project manager for commercial grain systems.

“Sales are just unreal,” Brooks told FarmWeekNow.com this week during the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois convention in Springfield. “We’re having a record year in sales for farm accounts.”

Brooks believes many farmers and elevator managers are responding to the situation last fall when a wet crop and limited drying capacity led to harvest delays and long lines at elevators.

“I think we’re seeing a little bit of a culture change,” Brooks said. “Some of the larger farmers are developing their own systems that can handle 60 percent of their through-put.”

Last fall the receiving capacity of grain was limited to the capacity of dryers, Brooks noted.

Therefore, many elevators are purchasing grain dryers that can handle anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 bushels per hour while it is not uncommon for farmers to purchase dryers than can handle 2,000 to 3,000 bushels per hour, he said.

The lead time to purchase a new dryer currently is about 13 to 18 weeks and Brooks believes it could double in the months ahead if demand for dryers continues the upward trend.

“Some dryer manufacturers and most contractors are pretty well booked for the year,” Brooks said


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