Which grains you handle
Horizon Grain can set up Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Milo and White Corn. A grain is in use once its settings are saved. Only saved grains show in the delivery form’s Grain list.
Corn and soybeans start with typical Midwest shrink, discount and drying tables. Wheat and milo start with empty tables and no storage charge, so fill in your own.
Set up or change a grain
- Go to Site Config. On the Commodity Rates tab, pick the grain from the Commodity list.
- Fill in the settings below. To add a table row click + Add Row; to remove one click the × at the end of the row. The ⓘ next to each table title explains its columns.
- Click Save Configuration.
Each grain is saved on its own. New loads use the new settings, and storage invoices you calculate after saving use the new rate.
Storage settings
- Storage Charge is the monthly rate per bushel. Each month’s storage invoice is the farmer’s bushels on hand times this rate.
- Charge Timing: First of Month bills on the balance at the end of the previous month. End of Month bills on the balance at the end of the month you calculate.
- Minimum Storage Charge ($/bu) charges one month of storage on grain sold before its first month-end billing. Usually the same as Storage Charge; 0 waives it.
- Storage Capacity (bushels) is for your reference only. Leave it empty if you don’t track it.
See Storage charges.
Pricing settings
- Basis ($/bu) fills in the basis when you buy a farmer’s stored grain. It’s added to the market price: 0.15 is 15¢ over, -0.20 is 20¢ under. You can change it on each sale.
- In-Fee ($/bu) is your service charge per bushel, subtracted from the price. It also fills in on each sale.
- Checkoff Rate is taken off purchases. For corn it’s dollars per bushel (standard $0.005). For soybeans it’s dollars per dollar of the sale, figured on market price plus basis (standard $0.005). Wheat and milo show No checkoff for this grain. in its place.
Shrink and drying
- Target Dry % is the moisture you dry to. Loads above it get moisture shrink, and in formula mode it sets the drying points.
- Shrink Loss sets the weight lost per point of moisture. See Moisture shrink.
- Test Weight Shrink and Damage FM Shrink take a percentage off the load’s weight when its test weight, or damage and foreign material, falls in a range.
- Moisture Drying Charges sets the drying charge. Table charges a fixed amount per bushel for each moisture range, on delivered (wet) bushels. Formula uses Base Rate ($/bu) plus Per-Point Rate ($/pt) for each point over Target Dry %, with no charge at or below Start Threshold (%), on the Bushel Basis you pick. See Drying invoices.
Common problems
- A grain isn’t on the delivery form. Its settings haven’t been saved. Open it in Site Config and click Save Configuration.
- “You have unsaved changes to this Site Configuration.” You picked another grain before saving. Click Cancel, then Save Configuration.
- “Test Weight Shrink: a row has Range Start … above Range End …” A row was entered backwards and would never match a load. Swap its two numbers and save again. Damage and drying tables are checked the same way.
- A wet load shows no drying charge. Its moisture is below the first row of the drying table, or at or below the Start Threshold (%) in formula mode. A reading between two rows takes the higher row, so 15.55% takes the row that starts at 15.6. A reading above the last row takes the last row.