Wisconsin Company Rents Grain Dryers

Wisconsin Company Rents Grain Dryers GRAIN DRYERS Grain Dryers (29E) 7-3-19 Next grain harvest season, you might want to eliminate the hassle of trucking your grain from farm to elevator and back to get it dried. Instead, you might consider renting on-the-farm drying equipment. This service is just getting started in a few areas and is probably going to become more popular. Proponents say it's cheaper than owning or leasing drying equipment, or trucking to the local elevator. One successful dryer rental service is R.T. Enterprises in western Wisconsin, which completed its first season in 1982. The company rents a 220-bu. and a 180-bu. American dryer to farmers. The dryers are on trailers for easy transport, and the rental system includes a 580-bu. or 680-bu. wet bin and two augers. The farmer furnishes his own LP gas. "All this rents for a fee of 15 cents per bushel dried," says Rick Kitchner, owner. "One auger goes from the wet bin to the dryer and the other from the dryer to the grain bin. The farmer needs to furnish only an auger to the wet bin." The smaller unit will dry 100 bu./hr. and the big one 180 bu./hr. Last year, the typical customer dried 8,000-9,000 bu. of corn. Running on a 24-hour basis, that tied up the small dryer for four days and the big one for 2 1/2 days per customer. The company's rental fee covers all maintenance and insurance on the equipment. What are the advantages of renting a dryer over owning, leasing, or drying at the elevator? "Lower cost and more convenience," answers Kitchner, "but you also get better quality because you can regulate the time and temperature of your drying. Also, you keep your own corn rather than getting back somebody else's as you do at the elevator." Expansion to more units will depend on what happens in the government's set-aside and payment-in-kind grain programs. Also, the rental fee is adjusted to be in line with corn prices and the moisture content of corn. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rick Kitchner, R.T. Enterprises, Highway 25 S., Menomonie, Wis. 54751 (ph 715 235-6854).

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