{
  "slug": "grain-drying-cost",
  "title": "Grain Drying Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Grain Drying Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grain-drying-cost",
  "summary": "Fuel cost and shrink to dry corn or beans down to storage moisture.",
  "description": "Drying wet grain costs money two ways: the fuel burned to remove water, and the shrink from selling fewer bushels at the drier weight. This calculator estimates propane or natural gas cost using the standard rule of thumb of roughly 0.02 gallons of propane per point of moisture removed per bushel, then separately calculates the shrink loss in bushels from moving grain from harvest moisture down to a target storage moisture, which most elevators price at roughly 1.4% weight loss per point removed below 15%. Comparing the two side by side shows why harvesting at 22-25% moisture and drying aggressively can still beat leaving corn in the field to field-dry, once you account for standability loss and yield risk from a late harvest.",
  "formula": "Points removed = harvest moisture − target moisture; fuel cost = bushels × points × gal/pt × fuel price; shrink bu = bushels × points × shrink factor.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=grain-drying-cost",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "bushels",
      "label": "Bushels to dry",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20000,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 100,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "harvestMoisture",
      "label": "Harvest moisture",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 24,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 14,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "targetMoisture",
      "label": "Target storage moisture",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 10,
      "max": 20
    },
    {
      "id": "galPerPoint",
      "label": "Fuel use per point per 1000 bu",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20,
      "unit": "gal",
      "min": 5,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "fuelPrice",
      "label": "Propane price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.6,
      "unit": "$/gal",
      "min": 0.1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "shrinkFactor",
      "label": "Shrink factor per point",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.4,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "grainPrice",
      "label": "Grain price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4.5,
      "unit": "$/bu",
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Total drying cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "costPerBu",
      "label": "Cost per bushel",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "fuelCost",
      "label": "Fuel cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "shrinkCost",
      "label": "Shrink cost (lost bushels)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "shrinkBu",
      "label": "Bushels lost to shrink",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Bushels to dry: 20000",
      "Harvest moisture: 24 %",
      "Target storage moisture: 15 %",
      "Fuel use per point per 1000 bu: 20 gal",
      "Propane price: 1.6 $/gal",
      "Shrink factor per point: 1.4 %",
      "Grain price: 4.5 $/bu"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total drying cost: $17,100",
      "Cost per bushel: $0.855",
      "Fuel cost: $5,760",
      "Shrink cost (lost bushels): $11,340",
      "Bushels lost to shrink: 2,520"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter bushels to dry.",
      "Enter harvest moisture (%).",
      "Enter target storage moisture (%).",
      "Enter fuel use per point per 1000 bu (gal).",
      "Enter propane price ($/gal).",
      "Enter shrink factor per point (%).",
      "Enter grain price ($/bu).",
      "Read your total drying cost on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "bushels": 12000,
        "harvestMoisture": 14.399999999999999,
        "targetMoisture": 10,
        "galPerPoint": 12,
        "fuelPrice": 0.96,
        "shrinkFactor": 1,
        "grainPrice": 2.6999999999999997
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "bushels": 20000,
        "harvestMoisture": 24,
        "targetMoisture": 15,
        "galPerPoint": 20,
        "fuelPrice": 1.6,
        "shrinkFactor": 1.4,
        "grainPrice": 4.5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "bushels": 32000,
        "harvestMoisture": 38.400000000000006,
        "targetMoisture": 20,
        "galPerPoint": 32,
        "fuelPrice": 2.5600000000000005,
        "shrinkFactor": 2,
        "grainPrice": 7.2
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why does shrink cost more than fuel on many farms?",
      "a": "Shrink is a real bushel you no longer own and can't sell, while fuel is a cash cost against grain you still have. At $4.50 corn, losing 1.4% of bushels per point often outweighs the propane bill once you're drying more than 5-6 points, especially at higher grain prices."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is it cheaper to let corn field-dry instead?",
      "a": "Field drying removes roughly 0.5-0.8 points of moisture per day in good fall weather and is essentially free, but it comes with stalk lodging risk, ear drop, and delayed harvest that can cost more in yield loss than the drying bill it avoids. Weigh standability against the calendar."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the 0.02 gal/point/bu rule of thumb?",
      "a": "It's a reasonable average for continuous-flow dryers in typical fall conditions, but ambient humidity, dryer type, and airflow efficiency shift it 20-30% either direction. Track your own propane meter readings against bushels dried for a farm-specific number."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does natural gas change the math much?",
      "a": "Natural gas is usually 30-50% cheaper per equivalent BTU than propane where a pipeline connection is available, which is why some larger elevators and farms with gas access invest in dryer conversions to cut this cost structurally."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grain-bin-capacity",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/corn-silage-yield-estimate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cattle-breakeven-price"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Grain Drying Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grain-drying-cost)"
}