Grain spoilage and grain loss aren’t the same thing. Grain loss is the result of grain spoilage. Meaning, when grains go bad, it contributes to or causes the loss of grains, either in quantity or quality. In this article, you will learn what grain spoilage and grain loss is, how and where it occurs.

What is grain spoilage?

Grain spoilage is the deterioration or damage of grain. It can also be described as when grain food goes bad. This usually happens during storage; that is, when the grain is stored in unsuitable ways such as storing grain that has a high moisture content under high temperature. These unfavorable conditions for the grains, are however favorable for mold growth and insects or pest infestation, causing grains to lose their quality.

When grains get spoiled, it causes the farmer or commodity trader to lose grain. This is because the farmer, trader or aggregator would have to throw the spoiled grains away in most cases. And this causes a reduction in grain quantity.  Eventually, grain spoilage leads to grain loss.

What is grain loss?

As explained earlier, grain loss is the measurable decline in the total yield of grain and may affect the quantity and quality of grain yield. It must not be confused or replaced with grain spoilage. Since it does not only restrict the use of the grain as spoilage does. Grain loss makes the use of the grain impossible.

What this means is that grain spoilage may not render grains completely useless. However, grain loss does. For example, during the winnowing or threshing stage where the grain is separated from the husk, grain can get broken in the process. This may be due to the excessive force exerted on the grain. In this case, the grain is considered spoiled but not useless.

However, when grain spoilage occurs through rodents, insects and mold, grain loss occurs. This is because in this case, the grains are rendered useless.

Effects of grain spoilage and grain loss

When grains get spoiled and lead to grain loss, the effects are significant. Many things can go wrong if you keep losing grains through grain spoilage. Some of these include;

• Loss of food: grains are the staple food of many countries in the world. We all use grains for food. Grain spoilage and grain loss will lead to the loss of food. This means it will be difficult for a lot of people all over the world to feed themselves rice, beans, corn, millet, and wheat. There will be a significant surge in hunger in most parts of the world.
• Loss of investment: farmers and commodity traders invest huge sums of money in the production of grains. If grain spoilage and grain loss is not checked or managed, grain farmers and aggregators will lose their investment.
• Loss of income: consumers are always looking to buy quality goods, which include quality grains for grain consumers. When consumers buy, farmers and commodity traders are able to get income for their efforts. However, when grain spoilage occurs, the quality of the grain decreases, hence consumers will not be interested in buying. Which means the farmer will make no income for his efforts.

What you can do

Grain spoilage and grain loss can be prevented and managed if grain farmers and commodity traders will take the necessary precautions and put in place appropriate measures to curb the situation. 

These include providing clean and airtight storage facilities for grains, drying grains to their required moisture content, and removing infested grains away from uninfested grains. It is also important that grain farmers, traders and aggregators employ the use of moisture meters to measure the moisture content of grains before storage. 

Our GM 102 GrainMate Grain Moisture Meter comes in handy when it comes to measuring moisture content of grains. Call us now on 0555699870 to purchase your affordable GrainMate GM-102 Grain Moisture Meter.