Miller Magazine Issue: 112 April 2019

77 COVER STORY APRIL 2019 in greenfield sites, expansions or upgrades. Successful producers increasingly have more grain stored on their farms where they can maintain control of their inventories and take advantage of market opportunities. Lambton Con- veyor Ltd. has assisted farmers for more than 50 years in pro- viding quality storage solutions to fulfill these needs. Our roots can be traced to Southwestern Ontario where we initially star- ted as a small farmstead dealership selling farm bins and dryers to the local farm community. Necessity is the mother of invention and as our founder’s needs were not being met, he innovated and created a formidable line of grain handling equipment. Today we are global ma- nufacturers of storage, handling, and conditioning equ- ipment and our equipment has been installed at sites worldwide. “Our mission is to globally enable our customers to become successful in their pursuits by delivering in- novative, competitive and high-quality grain storage, handling, management and financing solutions for their needs.” says Jim Waters, P.Eng. Over the course of the last century, the agriculture sector has changed drama- tically spawning many new innovations. This includes the trend towards on-farm storage. To address this trend Lambton has continuously evolved and developed inno- vative solutions to stay ahead of the curve. In order to keep providing the best quality products we made some major updates to our drags, bu- cket elevators and distributors. These updates facilitate efficient production which translate to industry-best lead times and en- sure the easiest assembly in the field. One of the major updates is our Self-Cleaning Contoured Idler Boot. This new drag con- veyor boot is short in length compared to the standard boot allowing it to be used in tighter spaces. This translates into a length reduction of the receiving pit and provides more flexibility in retro-fit applications. The contoured end also provides better clean out in the boot section by reducing material left behind reducing cross-contamination between commo- dities. To prepare grain for long-term sto- rage, drying after harvest is the most important step. If the grain is sto- red with high moisture content, it could cause insect infestation and molds resulting in grain spoilage. Typically, the moisture content for extended storage periods should be 14-15% for corn and less than 13% for soy- beans. Our In-Bin Grain Drying system, UltraDry, provides the ability to dry and store your grains in the same bin. It is a blend of proven drying technology with innovative Lambton features catering optimum drying performance and uniformity. This provides pro- ducers more control of this important process. This se- ason we are introducing a new control system for our UltraDry. The new control program will improve control of the fans and heater unit to optimize the time required for grain drying. Additionally, the Lambton UltraDry sys- tem recycles the heat from the cooling grain to recover the heat thus improving dryer efficiency. The main goal of proper grain storage is maintaining grain condition after harvesting and drying. Grain tem- perature and moisture content are the determining fac- tors of the estimated storage times before it spoils. After harvest, grain is still biologically active during storage. Left to its natural processes, this phenomenon produces heat. Reducing the temperature of the grain interrupts this process and increases storage life by diminishing the possibility of rot or germinati- on. Furthermore, high moisture content encourages fungal and insect infestation, and germi- nation. Keeping grain in good condition involves getting the grain to a temperature that is safe for long-term storage. Fluctuations can occur when new grain with varying mois- ture content is introduced into a partially full bin. This can be due to changes in grain maturity, weather conditions, and/or drying fluctuations. A consistent cross section of moisture throughout the bin is desired and in order to bring all the grain to the same moisture content, aerati- on plays a very important role. Lambton offers a broad spectrum of aeration systems depending on your nee-