Stores, dryers, ventilation
What does grain storage cost?
Tonnage sets the shell price. Everything else on the invoice is drying capacity, ventilation and the hygiene the buyer's assurance scheme expects. The honest version of this decision is that inadequate drying costs more in rejected and downgraded loads than the kit you did not buy, so we have put the storage targets your grain actually has to hit next to the cost drivers. Tell us the tonnage and we'll get UK suppliers quoting your site.
Three steps
- Tell us the tonnage, the crops and what drying you have. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to grain store and drying suppliers covering your area, and to no one else.
- They quote your actual site and tonnage. Compare, choose, or walk away.
Grain Storage Costs is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to relevant grain store and drying equipment suppliers, who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are an independent guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by AHDB, Red Tractor Assurance or any supplier named, and nothing here is agronomic, structural, compliance or legal advice, check the current version of any standard or guidance before relying on it.
What drives the cost of grain storage, 2026
Last updated
The cost drivers on a grain store and drying project, and the question that makes two quotes comparable. Ordered roughly by how much money each one moves.
This is a cost-driver table, not a price list. We publish no cost per tonne of grain storage because the range is genuinely enormous: the same tonnage costs one figure as a floor store in an adapted building with aeration and another entirely as a new portal frame with a high-temperature dryer and weighbridge, and groundworks alone can vary several fold across sites. Rather than invent an average, each row names a driver, explains why it moves the money, and gives the question to put in the enquiry so that the quotes you get back can be laid side by side. The storage targets referenced in the rows are AHDB's published grain storage figures and are cited in full in the guides.
| Cost driver | Why it moves the price | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Tonnage and grain depth | Sets the footprint, the wall design and the frame. Deeper grain means higher retaining walls and harder aeration, and AHDB warns that at greater depths duct spacing has to be reduced. | The price per tonne at your tonnage and at the next size up, and the grain depth the design assumes. |
| New build or adapted building | Adapting an existing shed can be the cheapest tonne you ever buy, or the most expensive, depending on whether the frame takes wall thrust from grain and whether the floor is sound. | A structural opinion on whether the existing frame and floor take the loads, before anything is ordered. |
| Groundworks and floor | Slab, drainage, retaining walls and access apron are usually the largest single line on a new store and the one that varies most between sites. | Groundworks quoted separately, with a stated allowance for what is found under the topsoil. |
| Drying method | AHDB puts high-temperature drying at high capital cost and fast, weather-independent throughput, and near-ambient drying at low capital cost and slow, weather-dependent throughput. That is the fork the whole project turns on. | Throughput in tonnes per hour at your typical intake moisture, not at a best case. |
| Ventilation and aeration | Ducts, fans, pedestals and controls are what let you hit the cooling targets. Skimping here shows up as spoilage, not as a smaller invoice. | The design airflow per tonne, the duct layout, and whether differential thermostat control is included. |
| Crop and end market | Malting barley, milling wheat and seed carry tighter drying temperature limits than feed grain, which restricts the plant you can use. | Confirmation the dryer can hold your market's grain temperature limits at your throughput. |
| Handling and intake | Conveyors, elevators, pits, cleaners and sampling arrangements are frequently quoted as extras and are frequently what determines whether the store works at harvest pace. | The intake rate in tonnes per hour, and every handling item listed as a line rather than bundled. |
| Hygiene, proofing and pest control | Rodent and bird proofing, sealing and cleanability are assurance scheme requirements, not optional finishes, and retrofitting them is dearer than building them in. | Proofing and cleanability specified in the build, and a written store hygiene plan for the first season. |
| Monitoring and records | Temperature and moisture monitoring is what turns a store into evidence you can show a buyer or an assessor. | The monitoring equipment included, and how readings are recorded and retained. |
- AHDB puts food safety risk as increasing above 14.5% moisture content in cereals, and advises drying grain at or above 18% moisture content immediately.
- AHDB's cooling targets are: below 15°C within two weeks of harvest to reduce insect activity, below 12°C within three to four months to stop insect activity, and below 5°C by the end of December to help kill adult insects and prevent mites increasing.
- Red Tractor's crops standard CR.VC.3 allows toxic rodent baits in a grain store while combinable crops are stored only where gel or paste products are used, placed in lockable, secure, identifiable bait boxes fixed to the building with positions recorded on a store map, against a documented need and documented training.
Cite this page
“What drives the cost of grain storage, 2026”, Grain Storage Costs, https://grainstoragecosts.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). This is a cost-driver table, not a price list. We publish no cost per tonne of grain storage because the range is genuinely enormous: the same tonnage costs one figure as a floor store in an adapted building with aeration and another entirely as a new portal frame with a high-temperature dryer and weighbridge, and groundworks alone can vary several fold across sites. Rather than invent an average, each row names a driver, explains why it moves the money, and gives the question to put in the enquiry so that the quotes you get back can be laid side by side. The storage targets referenced in the rows are AHDB's published grain storage figures and are cited in full in the guides.
Read next
The longer answers, with sources.
Grain drying costs: high-temperature or near-ambient, and what it saves
High capital and fast, or low capital and slow: AHDB's two drying approaches compared, the temperature limits by end market, and why under-drying costs more.
Grain storage targets: moisture, cooling and the dates to hit them by
AHDB's published moisture and cooling targets for safe grain storage, what happens to insects and mites at each temperature, and what monitoring you need to prove it.
Grain store hygiene, Red Tractor rules and feed business registration
What an assured grain store has to do: store preparation and proofing, the Red Tractor rules on baiting a loaded store, and feed business registration.
Floor store, silos or bins: which grain store suits your farm
Flat floor stores, steel silos and bins compared on cost, flexibility, segregation and ventilation, plus the honest test for whether an existing building can be adapted.
Frequently asked
How much does grain storage cost per tonne?
We do not publish a figure, because the honest range is enormous. The same tonnage costs one thing as a floor store in an adapted building with aeration, and something else entirely as a new portal frame with a high-temperature dryer and handling plant, and groundworks alone vary several fold between sites. Use our cost-driver table to make quotes comparable, then get three.
What moisture content is safe for storing grain?
AHDB says food safety risk increases above 14.5% moisture content in cereals, that below 13% moisture uptake is considerably limited and effectively prevents mites breeding, and that grain at or above 18% should be dried immediately. Oilseed rape should be dried to 7.5-8% for prolonged storage and never below 6%.
How quickly does grain need to be cooled after harvest?
AHDB's targets are below 15°C within two weeks of harvest to reduce insect activity, below 12°C within three to four months to stop insect activity, and below 5°C by the end of December to help kill adult insects and prevent mites increasing. Cooling should start as soon as the aeration ducts are covered.
Do I need to register my grain store with anyone?
If grain is going for feed, probably yes. Government guidance lists arable farms growing, using or selling crops for feed use, and storage of feed and feed products, among the activities that need registering as an animal feed business, by application to your local authority, which may be Trading Standards or Environmental Health.
Is it worth investing in drying rather than storing wet grain?
Usually. The case is not made on the dryer's invoice but on the loads you stop losing: rejected or downgraded consignments cost the price difference plus haulage, reload and the buyer relationship. Cooling capacity also buys tolerance, because cold grain at a given moisture is safer than warm grain at the same moisture.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to relevant grain store and drying equipment suppliers, who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from those suppliers, which is how the service is funded.