The push to process grain more quickly doesn’t end when crops are processed by a combine. Several makers of grain-handling equipment at the 2010 Farm Progress Show told Farm Equipment that they’re under pressure to make equipment that is bigger, more powerful, more efficient and easier to use.

Farm Equipment editors saw everything from higher-capacity grain augers, conveyors, carts, baggers, driers, bins and vacuums to smaller, niche solutions designed to make working with this equipment easier.

After listening to requests from dealers, BRANDT AGRICULTURE introduced its first grain cart this year. The 1020XR grain cart has a capacity of more than 1,000 bushels, a corner auger and 24 in. of additional horizontal reach and 24 in. of vertical clearance for easier unloading. The cart also has a clean inner design with fewer catch points, which is desired by customers that alternate between crops, says Jason Bouchard of Brandt.

Brandt — which has a marketing agreement with Loftness —has surpassed sales projections this year with its grain baggers, too. “They don’t want to be waiting at the elevator, and with baggers there’s less cost than with permanent storage,” Bouchard says.

LOFTNESS came up with something to make working with its GBL Grain Bagger easier: a drive-up swing-auger system that allows truck drivers to unload grain directly into a bagger. “This is a good system if you’re bagging away from the field, or if you have limited on-farm storage or limited storage in the field,” says Loftness’ Dave Nelson.

“You can continue to combine, even if the elevator is full. It can speed up the harvest significantly.” Like other areas of the grain-handling sector, grain augers and conveyors are being introduced with capacity and durability in mind as customers squeeze every bit of efficiency out of their operations.

After purchasing the shuttered Feterl plant in Salem, S.D., earlier this year, BUHLER INDUSTRIES is rolling out heavy-duty augers that have been out of the market for a couple of years. “The Feterl acquisition has given a more extensive auger portfolio. It’s been a terrific fit for us,” says Buhler’s Adam Reid.

Highlighted at Farm Progress was the Farm King 12122, a 122-ft., 12-in. conventional-lift auger that can move 300 bushels of a grain a minute. “The dealers and farmers wanted it,” Reid says. “These are for big growers and grain co-ops.”

Some grain-handling products are geared to boosting productivity and ease of use. PIT EXPRESS introduced a standalone, drive-over pit for 10- and 13-in. augers to speed up the unloading of hopper bottom trailers.

The pit, capable of processing 5,000-8,500 bu. of grain per hour, comes in 10- and 13-in. models. The pit was designed for Brandt augers but can be used for other brands.

Another area of product expansion includes grain-drying towers and accessories that give farmers more flexibility in harvesting and storing grain. Shivvers Manufacturing introduced its AirMaxx30, a 30-hp, double-width, double-inlet fan that produces air flow up to 30,000 cu. ft per minute. “In a 36-ft. bin you can put two of these on and dry a lot of grain. You can dry up to 18,000 bushels a day,” says Jim Ratliff, Shivver’s sales manager. When grain stocks are down, or conditions are wet, having a drying system could allow a farmer to harvest earlier, he says.