Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total drying cost
$17,100
Cost per bushel
$0.855
Fuel cost
$5,760
Shrink cost (lost bushels)
$11,340
Bushels lost to shrink
2,520
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How to use this
- 1Enter bushels to dry.
- 2Enter harvest moisture (%).
- 3Enter target storage moisture (%).
- 4Enter fuel use per point per 1000 bu (gal).
- 5Enter propane price ($/gal).
- 6Enter shrink factor per point (%).
- 7Enter grain price ($/bu).
- 8Read your total drying cost on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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
Results
- Total drying cost: $17,100
- Cost per bushel: $0.855
- Fuel cost: $5,760
- Shrink cost (lost bushels): $11,340
- Bushels lost to shrink: 2,520
What each field means
Inputs
- Bushels to dry
- The bushels to dry used in the calculation. Starts at 20000 so you have a working example on load.
- Harvest moisture (%)
- The harvest moisture used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 24 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 14–40 %.
- Target storage moisture (%)
- The target storage moisture used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 15 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 10–20 %.
- Fuel use per point per 1000 bu (gal)
- The fuel use per point per 1000 bu used in the calculation, measured in gal. Starts at 20 gal so you have a working example on load.
- Propane price ($/gal)
- The propane price used in the calculation, measured in $/gal. Starts at 1.6 $/gal so you have a working example on load.
- Shrink factor per point (%)
- The shrink factor per point used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 1.4 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–2 %.
- Grain price ($/bu)
- The grain price used in the calculation, measured in $/bu. Starts at 4.5 $/bu so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Total drying cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cost per bushel
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Fuel cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Shrink cost (lost bushels)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Bushels lost to shrink
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why does shrink cost more than fuel on many farms?
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.
Is it cheaper to let corn field-dry instead?
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.
How accurate is the 0.02 gal/point/bu rule of thumb?
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.
Does natural gas change the math much?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Grain Drying Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grain-drying-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grain-drying-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grain Drying Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Grain Drying Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grain-drying-cost) (2026).