Market Farming

[Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com>]

(I guess its a size thing in the email)

First is planting.  You need a tractor (or two), grain drill (you can get by 
drag and cyclone seeder if this is not an option), corn planter, discs, 
chisel plow, cultivator.  If you plan on doing no till then you need no till 
versions of the above.  If you do not plan on doing no till you absolutely 
need to work the ground prior to planting with non no-till equipment.

Second is harvesting and bulk storage.  You need a combine (a small one or 
open cab type will do), tractor/truck, grain wagon/bed, auger, grain bin(s) 
and/or multiple grain beds (simple gravity type is fine), and if you are 
reselling for human consumption or seed you absolutely need a grain cleaner.  
Yo need to be able to dry the grain.

Third is small storage and handling.  Smaller containers, methods of moving 
from bulk to smaller storage, grain cleaner if for human consumption.  
Containers must be USDA/FDA approved material, should be lock-tight to 
prevent contaminants, and a insects pests.  Trash cans will not do, pests 
will get into them AND moisture.

Again, you can work up in small amounts.  I started milling corn my hand in a 
Grizzly metal burr hand crank mill and sifted by hand using non-GMO mix of 
dent hybrids and Johnny Seeds heirloom types.  It was miserable.  But the 
next step would cost about 4 thousand dollars.

Right now I store in bulk in a single 2.1 tone grain hopper, the kind you 
find used by hog and chicken farmers.  This is where I store dried, but not 
cleaned whole grain.  I also use gravity bed grains carts stored in a barn 
tarped up securely large quantities of corn (I have about 100 bushels waiting 
to get cleaned before spring).   I then clean 6 bushels at a time and store 
then in 55 gallon food storage drums with lock-down drum type heads.  The 
grain is taken from the barrels and milled they day its ordered or the night 
before.  You do NOT want to mill and store.  The flavor changes, you risk 
mold issues, and you need a very large cooler to prevent these issues.

Customers received it bagged and zip tied if under twenty five pounds or in a 
HDPE bucket with gasket lid in 25LB quantities.

I clean all my own seed.  I mill all my grains on a 8" stone mill, 
electrically driven.  Corn I mill at about a 50 pounds per 30 minutes and the 
smaller grains at about half that time.  Seed cleaner, mill, storage 
containers and feed hopper cost me about 8 thousand dollars.  I picked up an 
extra grain cart on Craigslist for 350.00 with decent running gear and a new 
hopper runs about 1200.00 and yo need to poor a pad and mount it and build 
it.  So the cost/labor varies immensely there.  You need an auger to load the 
hopper as well.  The hopper is FAR more secure than the grainwagon.

Pest issues, both insects and rodents WILL be an issue.  They will be and 
they will ruin your grain and you have to dump or reclean grain.  That is a 
fact of life dealing with grains AND you can lesson the exposure by setting 
traps and putting out varies controls depending on how you are certified (or 
not).  The electric and sticky traps are my favorite, but simple mouse traps 
everywhere does a wonderful job.  The best thing to do is to seal your mill 
as best as you can and then put in an air handling system.  If you can avoid 
storing in bags do so.  Rodents raccoons will be in them if stored in an 
unsecured area.  Moisture will be an issue as well.