“A lot of us at harvest, when pressure's on and we're trying to get more harvest hours in a day, more grain in per day, if we're limited by a grain moisture, we go and look at, I'll get a contract harvester in, I'll buy a bigger header next year, I'll go to a second or a third header next year.  What if we could manage moisture in grain do it with less headers? Because we get more hours in a day.  

“So we can start harvest a few hours earlier or run it a few hours later or those overcast days where the moisture is just sitting, a percent above our deliverable. What if we could run our headers on those days and not have as much infrastructure, capital tied up in harvest equipment aeration cooling to blend moisture in storage.  

 “So then, all of a sudden, we get grain storage paying itself with harvest logistics.” Chris Warrick 

In the final episode of the series Planning for Prosperity, BCG’s Janine Batters chats with grain storage expert Chris Warrick about the economics of grain storage and some of the key things to consider before investing in grain storage. The conversation covers aeration cooling, cone and falt bottom silos, grain sheds, bunkers, grain bags, logistics and people management.” 

This podcast is sponsored by Action Steel. Visit https://www.actionsteel.com.au/ today 

For more information on chemical storage visit: https://www.actionsteel.com.au/downloads/standard-chemical-sheds-brochure-size-price-guide/  

Resources 

Call 1800 WEEVIL (1800 933 845) 

Grain Storage GrowNote manual including economics  

https://storedgrain.com.au/grdc-grownotes-grain-storage/ 

Research report by the Kondinin Group on ground level storage options  

https://storedgrain.com.au/ground-level-grain-storage-2024/ 

Recent grower examples 

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/farm-business/grain-storage/grain-storage-keeps-harvest-operations-on-a-roll 

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/farm-business/grain-storage/the-automatic-advantage-of-grain-cooling 

About Chris Warrick 

Growing up on a farm near Horsham, Victoria, Chris has pursued a career in agriculture focusing on helping farmers make informed decisions. 

After obtaining a Bachelor of Business from Marcus Oldham Collage Chris worked for Kondinin Group as a research officer based in Wagga Wagga, NSW and later Toowoomba, QLD. During his time with Kondinin Group Chris broadened his experience of different farming systems around Australia and gained an insight into various drivers for key business decisions. 

With a broader scope of knowledge, Chris moved back to Victoria to take up a position as a management consultant before venturing out to become an independent consultant operating as Primary Business. Chris enjoys continually learning new and innovative approaches and tools to assist clients and help them achieve their goals. 

Chris also manages the GRDC-funded National Grain Storage Extension Project with a team of researchers and extension specialists. He is also the specialist contact for the southern region of Australia (Southern NSW, Vic, TAS and SA) for all things grain storage. Chris travels the region conducting workshops and assisting growers with their on-farm storage management. 

Find Chris on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-warrick-67985989/?originalSubdomain=au  

Find Janine on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-batters-a5083b166/  

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To learn more about BCG visit www.bcg.org.au or linktr.ee/bcg_birchip  

In the spirit of reconciliation, BCG acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present. 

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