Some of the commodity traders on a panel at the Big Iron Farm Show didn’t see profitable prices for corn showing up in the futures market until December — December 2018!

That means you may be storing some of the 2017 corn for a whole year, and you may even have 2016 corn still in the bin.

Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University agricultural engineer, says it will take a lot of extra management and attention to detail. On his checklist are the following steps:

• Make sure the corn is mature when you harvest it. Immature corn won’t last as long as mature corn.

• Combine it at the right moisture content. About 15% to 20% moisture is ideal because you’ll be able to dry it to 13% to 15% efficiently with natural-, low- or high-temperature dryers. Mechanical damage is minimized at approximately 20% moisture. Mechanically damaged grain does not store as well as intact kernels.

Make sure the drying front goes all the way through the bin. This can be a problem when using natural air to dry corn. It can turn cool in November, and the front doesn’t move through the whole bin because the cold air holds so little moisture. Even heating the air in November will not speed drying enough to finish drying. Cool the corn to 20 to 25 degrees F and finish drying in April and May.

• Don’t burn the corn. Drying in a high-temperature dryer at excessive temperatures can damage and crack the corn, which will reduce its storage life.

• Use a bin spreader or distributor to keep the fines from accumulating in the center of the bin.

If you don’t have a functioning spreader, pull out a load of corn after filling the bin. It will take out the fines that accumulate in the center and help to level the grain. Removing fines will improve aeration.

• Dry and cool corn rapidly after harvest. The allowable storage time (AST) is an estimate of the life of the grain until it has deteriorated enough to affect grain quality. The AST is cumulative, so if one-half of the storage life is used before the grain has been dried and cooled, only about one-half of the life is available for the drier grain. For example, corn stored at 20% moisture and 50 degrees has an AST of about 50 days. If it is dried to 15% after 25 days and cooled for winter storage but warms to 70 degrees F next summer, the AST at 15% and 70 degrees F is only about 60 days, rather than the 125 days shown in an allowable storage time chart. “Controlling grain temperature is critical for maintaining grain quality,” Hellevang says. “Insect reproduction is reduced below about 70 degrees F, insects are dormant below about 50 degrees F, and insects are killed if grain is below 30 degrees F for a few weeks.”

• Run the fans to cool the grain, keep it cool and keep the grain the same temperature throughout the bin. Moisture migration increases the moisture content at the top of the bin when about a 20-degree-F temperature difference occurs between the grain and average outdoor temperature. Therefore, the grain should be cooled with aeration when you have a 10- to 15-degree-F difference between grain and average outdoor temperatures. Cool the grain to 20 to 30 degrees F in northern states and 40 degrees F or cooler in southern states for winter storage.

• Use a sensor to stop the aeration fan if bin roof pressures become excessive, or leave access doors open to serve as pressure relief valves if operating the aeration system near freezing temperatures to reduce the potential for damaging the roof.

• Check the grain at least every two weeks until it has been cooled for winter and every two to four weeks during the winter. Verify that the moisture content is at the recommended storage level. Check the grain temperature. Inspect for insects. Look for indications of storage problems such as condensation on the roof.

• Use temperature cables or sensors to monitor grain temperature. “But remember that because grain is a good insulator, the temperature can be different just a few feet from the sensor,” Hellevang says.