The principle systems used are the silo (elevator), the flat bin (warehouse) and the bag store. The last is sill common, although declining in developing countries.
The type of structure to be chosen for storage will vary according to region, volume, variety of grain, method of handling ie. bulk or bag, cleaning, drying, grading, treatment, power supply, available construction materials, period of storage and financial resources.A silo is a tall, self contained, usually sealed cylinder. After a harvest, farmers use silos to store grains until they go to market.
The high silos are circular, which gives maximum strength for minimum materials used and makes them easier to keep clean. Across the heartland of America, grain silos are a common sight. On the flat prairies, they are conspicuous.
Silos of up to 10,000 tones are constructed of either steel or concrete. Grain silos have mass customization and inventory management capacities, and computerized stored grain management system.
In modern stores grain handling is usually fully mechanized and is often controlled from a central control panel with a wall-mounted mimic display or computer representation of the store.
In computerized units the location and amounts of stock can be recorded in the computer.
Silos have well defined functions: they store grain and dispense it at the appropriate time.
Commercial storage of grain
