Economics of using aerated storage to minimise the impact of weather damage during wheat harvesting

Abstract

This paper develops a Wheat Harvest System Simulation Model (WHSSM) to investigate the economics of using aerated storage to minimise the impact of weather damage during wheat harvesting. The returns of grain production with and without aerated storage are examined using 15 years (1991-2005) of weather data for Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia. The effect of different drier capacities is investigated. It is found that for the cases of continuous flow drier and batch drier, the optimum harvest moisture contents in the given farm setup are 14 and 13%, respectively. No positive effects of using aerated storage could be achieved if growers use either high or medium capacity driers. The aeration cooling is however useful in supporting inadequate drying capacity of low capacity drier or a batch drier when the grain is harvested at high moisture contents. The research highlights the importance of the optimal design and integration between various agricultural machinery, crop performance and perceived weather risk.