Short answer: Harvest is when maize is cheapest and when most buying mistakes happen, because a sack looks sound on the day it is delivered. Work out the cost of holding the grain until the lean months, test moisture at the gate, weigh every sack yourself and put the terms in writing. A dry store turns the harvest discount into feed savings. A damp one turns it into mould.
Key takeaways
- Do the lean-season sum before you pay, including the cash tied up and what the store will lose.
- Test moisture at the gate, and refuse damp lots rather than hoping the store will dry them.
- Grade the whole lot by hand and smell it, because the sack on top is the one the seller chose.
- Weigh every delivery on your own scale and keep the weight beside the price.
- Measure your own store loss with a weighed stack over three months before you buy again.
The harvest week is where the discount is won or lost
The lorry backs up to the gate at six in the morning, and the trader is already talking about the price before the tailgate drops. The sacks look good. They are full, they are tied and the grain is yellow. That is exactly the moment when a farmer agrees to a price he has not checked.
Harvest maize is cheap for a reason. Many farmers need cash and sell at once, and the store is full of grain that has to move. That is your opportunity, but only if you can keep the grain dry, count it properly and carry it to the lean months without losing the discount on the way.
Do the lean-season sum before you pay for a single sack
A harvest price is only cheaper if the discount is larger than the cost of holding the grain. Most farmers only compare the two prices on the day. They forget the money sitting in the store, the loss in the sacks and the labour it takes to move the grain in and out. Write these lines down before you agree a price.
| Cost of holding the grain | Where the number comes from | Why it is easy to forget |
|---|---|---|
| Cash tied up until the sacks are used | Total purchase price multiplied by the months you hold it | The money is out of the bank and not earning anything |
| Store loss from weight, pests and damp | Your own weigh test from a previous store, or a cautious guess | It is invisible until you weigh the sacks again |
| Transport and labour in and out | Trips, fuel, and the hours your workers spend moving bags | Each trip looks small on its own |
| Pest control and cover | Tarpaulins, traps and the cost of a clean store | Rats and weevils cost more than the traps |
| Feed you would otherwise have to buy later | What the lean-season price is likely to be, from traders you trust | It is the main reason to store at all |
If the discount does not clear that list, buy less or buy later. A cheap sack that you cannot hold is a loss with a discount label on it. Our maize price and poultry profit article shows how the same maize line flows into a batch's margin.
The moisture test at the gate
Moisture is the number that decides whether the grain keeps. Maize stored wet heats, moulds and starts to produce aflatoxin, and it does so inside the sacks where you cannot see it. If you have a grain moisture meter, use it on several cobs or a scoop of shelled kernels from different sacks. The aim for storage is roughly 13 per cent moisture or lower.
If you do not have a meter, use your hands and your teeth in the same way the old traders do. Shell a handful and bite a few kernels. Dry grain is hard and glassy, and it breaks with a clean crack. Damp grain is soft, and it dents under the tooth. Rub a handful between your palms. Damp grain feels cool and slightly tacky, and a sour or musty smell is a warning that the lot has already started to spoil.
When the lot is borderline, do not accept it on the promise that you will dry it at home. Drying takes time and space, and rain comes when it wants to. Price the lot as the damp grain it is, or send it back.
Grade the whole lot by hand, not the sack on top
The sacks at the front of the lorry are the ones the seller chose. Ask to open a sack from the middle of the load, tip out a double handful, and spread it on a clean sheet in good light. Look for four things. Look for mould, which shows as grey or green patches or a fuzzy coat on the germ end. Look for weevil holes and any live insects. Count the broken grains and the small chaff. Pick out stones, cobs and husk, because they weigh the same as maize and pay for themselves in the mill.
Compare the colour across the sample. A lot that is mostly yellow with a dull, patchy section has been mixed or stored badly. Ask why, and do not accept a vague answer. A seller with clean grain will open the sacks you choose without fuss. Our article on maize in poultry feed explains how each defect reduces what the bird can actually use.
Weigh it yourself, every delivery
Short weight is one of the most common losses at harvest, and it is easy to miss when the sacks are handled quickly and the trader's scale is in the shade. Bring your own scale, or a spring scale you have checked against a known weight. Weigh a sample of sacks first, then the whole delivery, and write each sack weight on the delivery note.
Remember that a sack is only as heavy as the grain inside it. Some sacks carry extra weight from damp, and some carry stones. If the weight is right but the sack is wet, the weight is not the problem. Weigh it, test it, then pay on the grain that passes.
Pay on the weight you checked, with the terms in writing
A handshake at the gate is the start of a dispute. Write the terms on the delivery note before the lorry leaves. Include the price per kilo, the moisture level you agreed, the date and place of delivery, and what happens to any sack that fails. Say who pays the transport on a rejected lot, and how long you have to reject after delivery.
- Price per kilo, and the currency and form of payment.
- Moisture limit, and the test you used to check it.
- Weight per sack, weighed by you, and the total.
- Rejection rule, including the time limit and who collects rejected sacks.
- Signatures of both parties, with the date.
Drying a lot you already bought
Sometimes a lot is a little damp and you have already paid. You can dry it, but do it properly. Spread the grain thinly on a clean tarpaulin raised off the ground, in full sun, and turn it through the day. Do not dry it on a bare road or a dusty yard, because the grain picks up grit and anything the vehicles drop. Bring it in before the afternoon damp, and let it cool before you bag it, because warm grain sweats in the sack.
After drying, test the moisture again, not by feel alone. A lot that was damp at delivery may still be borderline the next morning. If the test fails twice, sell the grain for feed to a neighbour who will use it at once, rather than storing it and hoping.
Build the store before the lorry arrives
The store decides whether the harvest discount is kept. Clear the room a week ahead and check the walls, the roof and the door for gaps. Rats find the smallest hole, and birds and insects follow the grain in. Raise every sack off the floor on wooden pallets, and keep the stack away from the walls so air can pass around it. Write the delivery date on each stack so you know what to use first.
Keep the store cool and dry. Sweep the floor before each delivery, and check it every week for rat droppings and damp patches. If you think you need a fumigant, speak to an agro-chemical adviser before you use anything. Many of these products are toxic to people and birds, and using them wrongly is more dangerous than the weevils. For the wider picture on keeping feed dry, see storing poultry feed and avoiding aflatoxin.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Measure your own store loss with a three-month weigh test
Store loss is the number most farmers guess and few measure. You can measure it with a scale and a stack of sacks that you leave alone. Pick thirty sacks of 50 kilos each from one delivery, mark them, and stack them in the usual place. Weigh the stack on the day it goes in and again at intervals, say every month. Record the total, the weight lost and the notes on damp, pests or mould.
| Date | Total weight of the stack | Weight lost since day one | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 1,500 kg | 0 kg | Dry, clean stack on pallets |
| Day 30 | 1,493 kg | 7 kg | Two sacks checked, no mould |
| Day 60 | 1,482 kg | 18 kg | Small rat damage at one corner |
| Day 90 | 1,470 kg | 30 kg | Corner sealed, stack re-stacked |
The figures above are an illustration of the method, not a benchmark for your store. Put your own numbers into it. Once you have the loss, multiply the kilos lost by the price you paid per kilo. That is the cost of your storage over the period, and it belongs in the lean-season sum next season. Keep the weigh test in the same folder as your batch record, and if the sums work for a new flock, our broiler day-old chicks page explains the breeds we hatch.
Buying and storing together with other farmers
Many small farms cannot afford to buy a whole harvest at once, and most cannot store one properly. A group of farmers can share both. One farm holds the store and the scale, and the others take their share by weight. The group agrees the moisture limit, the test method and the rejection rule before the first lorry comes in.
The advantage is that the group can wait for a better price and still carry the grain safely. The risk is that one member's bad sacks become everyone's problem. Keep a record of who brought what, and rotate the testing duty. Our article on group buying among poultry farmers covers how to set up the agreement. If the group also mixes its own rations, the guide to mixing your own feed sets out when bulk ingredients make sense.
A harvest buying checklist to take to the gate
Print this and keep it in the truck or on the store wall. Tick each line before you pay.
- Work out the lean-season sum and confirm the discount clears the cost of holding.
- Test moisture on several sacks from different parts of the load.
- Open a sack from the middle and grade it for mould, insects, broken grain and foreign matter.
- Weigh a sample of sacks, then the whole delivery, on your own scale.
- Write the price, moisture limit, weight and rejection rule on the delivery note.
- Stack the grain off the floor on pallets, labelled with the delivery date.
- Start a weigh test on one stack the same week.
Where the cheap harvest maize goes wrong
The most common mistake is buying a damp lot because it is the cheapest on the road. The second is stacking sacks against a wall in a warm room, where condensation builds up and the grain sweats. The third is leaving sacks open to the air because the stack is easy to reach. The fourth is forgetting to rotate, so the oldest grain stays at the back and spoils. The fifth is selling the store early at a loss because the family needs cash, after you have already paid the storage costs.
Every one of these is avoidable. The harvest discount is real, but it belongs to the farmer who weighs, tests and writes things down. The farmer who buys on the day and trusts the stack ends up buying again in the lean months at a higher price. When the store is ready and the sums work, chicks leave our hatchery on the day they hatch in ventilated boxes of 50, so have the house prepared first (see how delivery works), then place your order through the order form. If the feed squeeze is already on, start with the feed-price crisis guide.
Questions farmers ask
What moisture level should harvest maize be before I store it?
For storage, aim for about 13 per cent moisture or lower, measured with a grain moisture meter on samples from several sacks. If you have no meter, a hard, glassy kernel that cracks cleanly is a rough guide. Soft or dented grain should be dried or refused before it goes into the store, because mould starts quickly in damp grain.
Is harvest maize always cheaper than maize in the lean months?
Often, but not always, and the difference must cover your costs of holding the grain. Those include cash tied up, store loss, transport, labour and pest control. Add them up before you pay, and compare the total with the price you expect to pay later. If the margin is thin, buy only what you can use soon.
How can I tell if the trader's scale is accurate?
Check it against a known weight, such as a sack you have weighed on a scale you trust. A short weight is common at harvest when sacks are handled fast. The safest approach is to weigh every delivery on your own scale and write each sack weight on the delivery note before you pay.
Can I store maize in the same room as my feed?
It is better to keep them separate. Maize stored in a damp corner or near a feed bag can transfer mould and insects, and a rat that finds one stock will move to the other. Keep a clear gap, raise both off the floor and label each stack with its delivery date.
How often should I check a stored stack?
Walk through the store each week, looking for damp patches, a sour smell, insects, droppings and split sacks. Check the weighed control stack monthly. Any sign of mould or heating means the affected sacks should be used first or sold for feed at once, before the problem spreads.
What should I do if a lot I bought turns out to be mouldy?
Stop using the lot straight away and separate it from the rest. Do not feed mouldy grain to the birds, even mixed with clean maize. Keep a note of the seller, the delivery date and the moisture reading you took at the gate, then raise the issue in writing under the terms you agreed. Speak to your vet about the flock if any birds have been eating the grain.
