Editor's note: This story is part of our ongoing series Rethinking Grain Bin Safety, where we're talking with families who've experienced close calls and lost loved ones in and around grain systems.
You know how smartphones do everything from texting and taking photos to recording conversations?
Well, get set for “smart” grain storage that betters grain quality, boosts efficiency and helps ensure operator safety. That’s what Clear Creek Acres, headquartered in West Bend, Iowa, wanted when it debuted a 1.2 million-bushel grain drying and storage system in 2023.
Helping to keep grain in condition is AGI SureTrack, a cloud-based software that pairs with AGI BinManager to capture and display what’s happening in the bin. It’s accessible through the app or any internet-connected device.
“This technology can help tell you what is going on in the bin that you can’t see,” said Scott Cerveny, an AGI product support specialist. “It’s basically the eyes and nose for you inside that bin.”
Organic corn is dried by two Sukup mixed-flow dryers that every hour can remove five moisture points from 10,000 bushels. The system also includes a 60,000-bushel wet tank flanked by four 200,000-bushel storage bins and one 450,000-bushel storage bin.
The AGI BinManager system tracks the temperature and moisture of stored corn via cables spaced 2 feet apart in each bin. This system enables bin fans to curb any developing hot spots and keep corn in long-term storage between 15% and 15.5%.
“We have a lot of dollars of grain stored in these bins,” said Jack Fehr, who farms with his father, an uncle and five brothers. “We can’t afford to have grain in a bin go bad.”
That’s particularly true in their case, since they farm over 25,000 acres of organic corn, soybeans and oats. Hauling organic grain to an elevator is a nonstarter, as co-mingling it with conventionally produced grain slashes premiums that organic grains command.
“This gives us peace of mind that corn will stay in condition,” Fehr said.
Staying safe
Peace of mind also extends to another benefit. Each year, farmers die in grain bin accidents.
For Fehr, it’s personal. He was friends with Adam Wirtz, a West Bend farmer who died in a grain bin accident in 2013.
“Keeping the workplace safe is definitely a high priority for us,” he said. “Nothing is worth losing a life.”
He added the AGI SureTrack and BinManager systems help keep family and employees out of grain bins.
“We’re able to see if there are bad spots in the grain, what the temperature is and how full the bin is all from the safety of our [storage site] office,” Fehr said.
Storage bins feature stairways and stairwells with guardrails. The system also minimizes bin climbing and nixes the crusting inside bins that can lead to grain bin entrapment.
“Manually climbing bins and entering them with a fan going is just not safe,” Fehr said. “Instead of someone going into a bin to check on the grain, we can just monitor it in the [storage site] office.”
At first, Fehr was skeptical about whether it would work. However, grain samples he pulled matched system readings.
The farm also worked with TJ Electric and Controls in West Bend to install a programmable logic controller (PLC) that controls all system components from the storage site office.
“Everything's 100% automated,” Fehr said. “An app can open and close all our electric gates [which control grain flow from a bin]. Our drivers can load their trucks without having to climb a ladder to open a gate that would put them in harm’s way. It also interlocks the system, making it impossible to co-mingle grain between bins.”
The PLC also makes it easier to diagnose breakdowns. For example, the storage facility once had a bin gate that didn’t close.
“Instead of manually fixing it, I was able to diagnose it from [the storage system office] and clear and close it,” Fehr said. “As often as we move grain, having the ability to control it from here has really kept grain flowing and everyone safe.”
Other safety measures
Clear Creek Acres mandates wearing safety harnesses in the event a bin needs to be manually checked. This helps prevent falls from climbing the bin and also allows retrieval if someone starts to sink inside a bin. Power to the bin site also is cut during this time.
“No one is also allowed to work on a bin by themselves,” Fehr added. “It’s always two people minimum. If someone goes up on a bin — even if they are with someone — we have a group text with multiple people. They let everyone on the group chat know when they are going up. When they are down, they send another text.
“This is another safety feature to keep people from getting in bins,” he said.
An exterior door is kept open on each storage bin, while an internal one remains closed.
“There have been cases where internal ones are open while exterior ones are closed,” Fehr said. “If you open the outside one, there have been people killed because grain would come out and bury them. So, we always keep the exterior doors open.”
All this has required an investment, but it’s been worth it to maintain grain quality and to prevent the agony of a grain bin accident, he said.
“A life is priceless,” Fehr added.