Storing grain in 55 gallon drums

[Andy Carson]

I’ll share what I come up with for sure. It’s probably not going to be a big deal. I think I’m going to keep with the 55 gallon barrels for the most part, and just use a mixing table/bin/thing to hold a drum’s worth of mixed feed at a time and keep it dry. It’s probably just going to look like a big free-standing sink made of plywood with a lid. I’ll probably use a shovel to mix the grain and fashion a hole in the bottom so I can dump grain into a bucket. Not complicated… I haven’t had a problem with the barrels for long term storage so long as they are sealed, and they are an easy way to transport and store grain. I have found that there are big discounts on grain to be had if I am willing to transport it and have a way to store it for a year until harvest time again. I didn’t quite make it to wheat harvest time this year, as my chicken egg operation has expanded far faster than expected. Still, not way off… I think it’s a pretty slick way to get a keep a few tons of grain. Just a few technical issues to deal with.

[Andy Carson]

I was washing barrels today and noticed a pinhole in the bottom of the barrel I lost grain in. I wouldn’t have noticed it but the paint on the inside of the barrel chipped away when i was spraying and i could see a tell-tale rust spot on the bottom. I think this hole was the cause of my spoilage, not the storage technique. I still made a mixing table, but it is useful. The barrels work great as long as they don’t have a hole!

[carl ny]

I use an old chest freezer to store my horse feed.I never had any problems.I will say that I have a very dry feed mix.Took the horses about a week to get use to it but now they love it.It’s a blend that my son came up with especially for draft horses.Keeps very well.

carl ny

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