Question 1

How much does it cost to dry wheat per tonne in the UK in 2026?

Accepted Answer

At 85p/litre red diesel, drying wheat from 20% to 14.5% moisture costs approximately £7–9/tonne in a standard batch recirculating dryer, or £5–7/tonne in a modern continuous flow tower dryer. Adding electricity for fans and conveyors (typically £0.50–0.80/tonne) gives a total variable cost of around £6–10/tonne depending on dryer type and fuel price. This does not include fixed costs such as dryer depreciation, maintenance, or operator time.

Question 2

How much red diesel does a grain dryer use per tonne?

Accepted Answer

A batch recirculating dryer uses approximately 10–14 litres of red diesel per tonne to dry wheat from 20% to 14.5%. A continuous flow tower dryer uses roughly 7–10 litres for the same job — around 30% less. An older or inefficient batch dryer can use 15–18 litres per tonne. The exact figure depends on the moisture removed and the dryer's thermal efficiency (MJ per kg of water evaporated).

Question 3

When is it worth drying grain rather than selling wet?

Accepted Answer

Compare the cost of drying against the wet discount offered by the merchant. If a merchant is discounting wheat at 20% moisture by £8/tonne relative to dry, and your drying cost is £7/tonne (including weight shrinkage), then drying is marginally worthwhile. However, you must also account for the weight loss — drying wheat from 20% to 14.5% reduces the weight by approximately 6.4%, so you sell fewer tonnes. The break-even is roughly: drying cost ÷ (1 − moisture shrinkage fraction). If the wet discount plus weight loss value exceeds your drying cost, selling wet is better.

Question 4

What is grain shrinkage when drying?

Accepted Answer

Drying wheat from 20% to 14.5% moisture reduces the weight by approximately 64 kg per tonne of wet grain — around 6.4%. The formula is: shrinkage (kg/t) = 1000 × (MC_in − MC_out) / (100 − MC_out). For OSR dried from 12% to 9%, the shrinkage is about 33 kg per tonne (3.3%). This weight loss must be accounted for in yield calculations, storage capacity planning, and when comparing wet sale price against dry sale price.

Question 5

How do I reduce my grain drying cost?

Accepted Answer

The most effective steps are: (1) Harvest at the lowest practical moisture — every 1% less moisture in saves approximately 1.5–2 litres of red diesel per tonne. (2) Maintain the dryer — heat exchangers, burners and airflow systems that are clean and well-tuned can reduce consumption by 10–20%. (3) Use ambient air cooling and ventilation in store where possible — letting grain cool naturally in the dryer's cooling section or using ambient air drying for the final 1–2% is significantly cheaper than heat drying. (4) Dry to the correct moisture — every 0.5% below target wastes fuel and loses saleable weight.

Question 6

Is gas or red diesel cheaper for grain drying?

Accepted Answer

At typical 2026 prices, natural gas (where available) is usually cheaper per MJ of heat energy than red diesel or LPG. At 10p/kWh gas and 85p/litre red diesel, gas is approximately 30–40% cheaper per unit of heat. LPG is generally similar to or slightly cheaper than red diesel per MJ but requires on-farm storage. The comparison changes if you have a supply contract or if red diesel prices fall significantly. Use the calculator above with your current prices to get an accurate comparison.

Question 7

What is the break-even cost for owning a grain dryer vs contracting?

Accepted Answer

Contract grain drying in the UK typically costs £15–25/tonne including haulage to and from the contractor's site. If your own dryer variable costs are £7–10/tonne, the saving is £5–18/tonne against contracting. To justify owning a dryer, the annual fixed costs (depreciation, maintenance, insurance) must be recoverable over your dryer throughput. A dryer costing £150,000 with a 20-year life and £5,000/year maintenance costs £12,500/year fixed. To recover this at a saving of £10/tonne over contracting, you need to process at least 1,250 tonnes per year.

Question 8

What temperature should I dry grain to for long-term storage?

Accepted Answer

The drying temperature (air temperature in the dryer) is different from the storage temperature. Grain should leave the dryer cool enough to go into store — ideally within 5°C of ambient temperature. For long-term storage, grain temperature in the store should be kept below 15°C to prevent insect activity, and below 5°C in winter. Monitor grain temperature with a probe thermometer every 1–2 weeks and ventilate to cool if temperatures rise. Grain at 14.5% moisture but stored at 20°C will deteriorate faster than grain at 14.5% moisture stored at 10°C.

Crop	Safe storage	Long-term storage
Wheat / Barley / Rye	14.5%	14.0%
Oats	14.0%	13.0%
Oilseed Rape (OSR)	9.0%	8.0%
Maize (grain)	14.5%	13.0%
Field Beans / Peas	14.0%	13.0%
Linseed	9.0%	8.0%

Dryer Type	70p/L	80p/L	90p/L	100p/L	110p/L
Continuous Flow / Tower	£5.15	£5.83	£6.50	£7.17	£7.84
Mixed Flow	£5.83	£6.59	£7.36	£8.13	£8.90
Batch Recirculating	£6.50	£7.36	£8.23	£9.09	£9.95
Batch (older / inefficient)	£7.84	£8.90	£9.95	£11.01	£12.07

Dryer Cost (new)	20yr life fixed/yr	Break-even at £5/t saving	Break-even at £10/t saving
£80,000	£5,000	1,000 t	500 t
£150,000	£8,750	1,750 t	875 t
£250,000	£13,750	2,750 t	1,375 t
£400,000	£21,000	4,200 t	2,100 t

Grain Drying Cost Calculator

Grain & Moisture

Dryer Type

Fuel Type & Price

UK Target Storage Moisture — Quick Reference

Red Diesel Grain Drying Cost Table — UK 2026

How Grain Drying Costs Are Calculated

10 Ways to Reduce Your Grain Drying Cost

Own Dryer vs Contract Drying — Break-Even Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions