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Grain Drying Cost Estimator — Per-Bushel Cost Including Fuel & Shrink

Compare on-farm drying vs. elevator docking to find the cheaper option

Calculate the true per-bushel cost of on-farm grain drying including propane or natural gas fuel, physical shrink loss, electricity for fans, and labor. Then compare against your elevator's drying and docking charges to determine which option saves you more money.

Pro Tip: Don't forget to include your labor and electricity for bin fans when comparing on-farm drying to the elevator. The fuel cost alone often looks cheaper, but total cost including shrink and labor can change the answer.

How much will your grain shrink when dried?

Grain Moisture Shrink Calculator →

Need to size fuel storage for drying season?

Bulk Fuel Storage Planner →
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Grain Drying Cost Estimator
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How It Works

  1. Enter Dryer Details

    Select dryer type (batch, continuous, or bin drying), fuel type (propane or natural gas), fuel price, and BTU efficiency.

  2. Enter Grain Details

    Input total wet bushels, initial moisture, and target moisture. Select your commodity for accurate shrink calculations.

  3. Enter Elevator Charges

    Input the elevator's drying charge per point per bushel and their shrink factor to generate a side-by-side comparison.

Built For

  • Farmers deciding whether to invest in on-farm drying
  • Farm managers budgeting harvest fuel costs
  • Elevator operators pricing drying services competitively

Frequently Asked Questions

A typical high-temperature continuous flow dryer uses 0.015-0.02 gallons of propane per bushel per point of moisture removed. So drying 10,000 bushels from 20% to 15% (5 points) requires roughly 750-1,000 gallons of propane.
It depends on your propane price, dryer efficiency, labor cost, and elevator rates. This tool calculates both scenarios. Generally, on-farm drying is cheaper when propane is below $1.50/gallon and volumes exceed 50,000 bushels per season.
Shrink represents real bushel loss. If corn is $4.50/bu and you lose 1.183% per point over 5 points of drying, that's $0.266/bu in shrink alone. The elevator charges shrink too, but often at a higher rate — see the Moisture Shrink Calculator.
Disclaimer: Drying cost estimates depend on equipment efficiency, fuel prices, and weather conditions. Actual costs vary. Use this tool for planning and comparison purposes.

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