Customer Testimonial
<< Back to MapPressure Curing Corn in Iowa
With the Pressure Cure® system you just don’t have all the moving parts you do with a stirrator bin, and you don’t have to worry about the price of gas.
Lee Robertson
Oakville, IA
Lee Robertson enjoys reduced labor expense since converting to Pressure Cure®
For Lee Robertson, Oakville, IA, simplicity and labor savings were of uppermost importance in selecting a system to replace his aging batch dryer. In ‘97 Robertson took the first step toward meeting these objectives by retrofitting one of his four 36’ storage bins with the Pressure Cure® system. “I used the one unit and got along real good with it. I was real pleased with the quality of corn I got out of it,” says Robertson. In 1999 he completed the transition to Pressure Cure® by retrofitting the remaining three 36’ bins on the farm. Robertson appreciates the simple, trouble-free operation of his Pressure Cure® systems, especially when compared with the batch dryer. “With the batch dryer system I had at least 7 motors running at one time when drying and moving grain into the bins. I always had to have someone around to make sure everything was running, even though it was supposed to be fool-proof and automated. I had several times where a motor quit and I had a pile of corn on the ground.” Robertson eliminated a stirrator system from consideration for similar reasons: too much potential for costly mechanical problems and “babysitting.” “With the Pressure Cure® system you just don’t have all the moving parts you do with a stirrator bin, and you don’t have to worry about the price of gas.” As a result of the mechanical simplicity of his systems Robertson is confident that his long-term maintenance costs will also be much lower than with conventional drying methods.
Robertson is already enjoying reduced labor expense since converting to Pressure Cure®. “Every fall I used to hire two or three guys around here for harvest. Now I have just one full-time employee.” Robertson is also impressed with the consistent, high quality grain coming out of his Pressure Cure® bins. “I used a batch dryer for better than 30 years and have never gotten 60 pound test weight... and the corn usually has more fines after it is batch dried. Just hauling out, you can see a difference in the quality of this Pressure Cure® corn. I’ve had 60 pound test weight [with the curing bins]. I’ve never been able to do that in a continuous flow or batch dryer.”
In addition to superior test weight and overall grain quality, Robertson is impressed with the consistent, even moisture content of the grain from his curing bins. “I was concerned about getting the corn on the bottom too dry. I was surprised... from top to bottom I didn’t have much difference in moisture at all.” Robertson sells a portion of his corn on a mill corn contract. “They dock you if you are below 13% or above 15.5% on moisture. I have always been within the margins on everything I’ve hauled in there.”
From simplicity and labor savings to improved grain quality, Lee Robertson is experiencing a variety of favorable benefits which are ultimately improving his bottom line. “It sure works for me.”
