A combine harvester working a crop at sunset
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Grain moisture shrink

Harvested a bit wet? See how many tonnes you’ll have once it’s dried to your target, how much water comes out and what the shrink costs at your own price.

The weight going into the dryer or over the weighbridge.

From your moisture meter or the delivery docket.

Your target, or the buyer’s receival moisture - check your contract.

Optional: extra loss your dryer or buyer allows for. 0 to skip.

Optional: your own price, to value the shrink. 0 to skip.

After drying

95.35 tof grain left
4.651 tlost
4.65%shrink

What’s in the grain (tonnes)

BeforeAfter
Water taken out
4.651 t (about 4,651 L)
Shrink per point of moisture
1.16% a point
Handling shrink
–
Dry matter (stays the same)
82 t
Value at your price
Enter your own $/t
Link to these numbers

How we work it out

  • Drying: tonnes after = wet tonnes × (100 − moisture now) ÷ (100 − drying to). So 100 t at 18% dried to 14% is 95.35 t.
  • Handling: if you enter a handling shrink %, it comes off the dried tonnes as well.
  • Value: tonnes × your own $/t. One tonne of water is about 1,000 litres.

Buyers and storage sites set their own receival moisture, shrink and drying charges, and they differ by grain, site and season - always check your contract or the site’s receival standards. This is arithmetic on your own numbers, not a price or a standard. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

Got grain to store or sell?

See how much your silo holds, or list grain and hay on the REALM Marketplace.

Go to the marketplace Silo capacity calculator