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Central Alberta | Most grain moisture testers measure electrical resistance on the hull of the seed, which doesn't tell you what the moisture level is inside the seed. Over several hours, moisture will eventually migrate uniformly throughout the seed, but that depends on time and temperature, as well as the species.
When seed has been saturated by rain and sits in a field, the moisture content is fairly consistent throughout the kernel, however, when a warm wind starts to blow, the outside of the kernel becomes drier than the interior of the seed. This is when the seed will test "dry" when the interior if the seed is moist. Putting it in a bin when this happens, is asking for trouble, as the moisture will migrate out of the seed and cause heating problems.
This is why you hear so often that harvesting in hot weather causes grain to heat. The heat isn't the direct cause, it's what makes the grain appear to test "dry" when actually it's not. | |
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"Bin Sense" grain bin monitoring system?
