The last thing you want to experience during harvest is a grain system shutdown. Two to three days — or even more — of your system powered off is something you cannot afford during one of the busiest seasons on the farm.

With harvest on the horizon, now is the time to dedicate a few days to cleaning and inspecting your entire grain system. Pushing these preparations until harvest season begins creates a recipe for disaster, according to Klein Ileleji, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue.

“It shouldn’t be something done during the harvest season,” Ileleji says. “If you do it during the harvest season, then most likely it’s not going to be done well, because you will be busy trying to do that as well as take care of harvest.”

Where to start cleaning grain setup

The main priority with these preparations is to ensure all grain bins have been cleaned. Ileleji recommends vacuuming as much grain as you can because sweeping can stir up dust and mold that can pose health risks. If you prefer sweeping, be sure to wear a mask to protect yourself. He also suggests cleaning all augers.

“When we say clean — get out a really good shop vacuum,” Ileleji recommends.

A mistake Ileleji sees often is folks neglecting to remove the bins’ false floors when cleaning. He acknowledges that the extra work often deters people from that task, but explains it should be done at least every two years.

Related:Clean your equipment like a seed grower

“I know this is a pain for a lot of farmers, but take the time to do that,” Ileleji adds.

Another task that should not be overlooked is climbing the grain leg to inspect for wear and tear. Dave Ellis, GSI district manager for Indiana, says distributors, drive belts and bearings are components on the leg that often don’t get checked like they should. If you neglect these inspections, the consequences could throw your entire harvest off track.

“You’re going to be down for at least a couple of days, depending on how severe it is,” Ellis says. “If you need to get a crane in there with parts and a dealer to fix it properly, you could be down three or four days easily.”

Prevent harvest downtime

To avoid that downtime, both Ileleji and Ellis agree that staying ahead of the game with grain system preparations is imperative. Aside from cleaning efforts, Ellis says you should complete a full inspection of all system components.

These inspections may include:

“This is the time to get the technicians out there ahead of the harvest, [before] it gets busy, to make sure everything is operating correctly,” Ileleji says. He says to go through this checklist at least two weeks before harvest. Ellis echoes that recommendation, advising farmers to complete these inspections before their dealers get busy.