RICHIE Lees believes every grain grower should have on-farm storage, to increase efficiency at harvest time and give them more control over prices.

The Riverina farmer grows wheat and barley on Old Trafford, near Griffith, and has gradually built storage capacity over the past 20 years to about 12,000 tonnes.

    AT A GLANCE
  • Who: Richie Lees
  • What: cropping
  • Why: storing grain pays
  • Where: Griffith

"I got into on-farm storage because it saves a 60km round trip to the local receival site during harvest," Richie said.

"We have our own harvester and two trucks, which in a big year would struggle to handle the harvest if trucks had to travel into town and back.

"On top of that, it's almost impossible to judge weights correctly in the paddock, so you run the risk of overloading and being fined, or being under weight and losing money on every trip."

Richie's first silos were installed in 1988 and in recent years storage capacity has doubled.

"Sausage bags don't give you the long-term options of silos, which can limit your decision making when it comes to marketing," he said.

"We would have received $150 a tonne for the 2005 crop on-farm at harvest.

"The silos allowed us to keep the grain for 20 months, when the price was $450 a tonne.

"That won't happen every year, but it can make a big difference to overall profitability even if it only happens occasionally.

"Taking into account the infrastructure costs, chemicals and lost interest for 20 months, we were well in front with the 2005 crop, and the efficiencies at harvest gave us an even better overall profit."

Richie said growers also needed to consider their profit margins, not the up-front price of grain.

"Unless you know your cost of production, the grain price is meaningless," he said.

"Not only do you have to factor costs for this year, you have to make sure you're getting a price that lets you cover the years of droughts and other crop failures."

Sales manager of silo manufacturer Cyclone, Geoff Cooke, said growers with multiple silos had the opportunity to blend different grades of grain to provide a better overall return.

Grain growers thinking of buying silos have an added incentive until December 31 with the Federal Government's investment allowance providing rebates of up to 50 per cent for eligible businesses.