Producers should make sure their corn tests at 85% dry matter or higher before considering long-term storage.
South Dakota State University Extension agricultural engineers Steve Pohl and Dick Nicolai say corn stored with moisture levels higher than 15% will mold, spoil, and bridge.
Pohl, Nicolai and McCook County Extension Educator Heather Gessner discuss the costs of drying and storing corn in a new publication, "The Cost of Wet Corn at Harvest," released by SDSU Extension. (This link requires your computer to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. For a free download, visit www.adobe.com )
The four-page publication discusses heat drying on the farm, natural bin air drying, combination drying, and dock due to shrinkage charged by elevators. There are examples to help producers calculate their costs under different scenarios.