Grain Moisture Calculator

What is grain shrink?

When you sell grain at a moisture above your elevator’s standard, they discount the weight. You deliver wet bushels; they pay on dry bushel equivalents. The difference is shrink — water removed plus a small handling loss factor.

Most elevators use a shrink factor of roughly 1.3% per point of moisture above 15% for corn. Soybeans and wheat typically run about 1.0% per point. The calculator above uses the standard moisture conversion formula. Always verify with your buyer — shrink tables vary by location and contract.

Why harvest moisture matters

The difference between selling 20% corn at harvest and drying to 15% before selling is real money.

Example: 10,000 wet bushels at 20% moisture converts to about 9,412 dry bushel equivalents at 15% sale moisture. That is 588 bushels of shrink. At $4.50 per bushel, the value difference is roughly $2,646 before drying costs. The math matters before you decide to haul wet, dry on-farm, or let it field-dry.

Run your harvest numbers through the calculator above with your expected price and drying cost per point. You will see whether hauling at 22% and paying elevator shrink beats running the dryer yourself.

On-farm drying vs. field dry-down vs. commercial drying

Field dry-down costs nothing in fuel but risks field loss. Stalk lodging, ear drop, and weather delays can eat more bushels than you save on drying. Most operators harvest corn at 18–25% and dry from there.

On-farm drying gives you control over timing and moisture going into storage. You need bin capacity, aeration, and a drying cost estimate — fuel, electricity, or propane per point removed. Check your bin capacity with the grain bin volume calculator before you commit to storing a wet crop.

Commercial drying at the elevator is simple but expensive. You pay shrink on the ticket plus a drying charge per point. For a quick harvest push when bins are full, it may still be the right call.

Before you decide whether to dry and store, run the full store-vs-sell decision through our store vs sell grain guide. Your breakeven price from the crop breakeven calculator tells you whether holding grain pays the carrying cost.

How to use this grain moisture calculator

1. Select your grain type — corn, soybeans, wheat, or sorghum.
2. Enter harvest moisture from your combine monitor or hand meter.
3. Confirm sale moisture (auto-populated by grain type, overridable for your elevator).
4. Enter wet bushels — from scale tickets, yield estimate, or bin inventory.
5. Optionally add grain price and drying cost per point to see dollar impact.

The calculator returns dry bushel equivalent, bushels lost to shrink, shrink percentage, and estimated drying cost when you enter those optional fields.

Grain Moisture Calculator FAQ

What is the standard moisture for corn at sale?

15% is the industry standard for corn. Soybeans are typically 13%, wheat 13.5%, sorghum 14%. Your elevator may differ — use the override field.

What is the shrink factor for corn?

Roughly 1.3% per point above standard for corn at most US elevators. Some use 1.4%. The formula-based conversion in this calculator is more precise than a flat shrink factor for planning purposes.

How do I convert wet bushels to dry bushels?

Dry bushels = Wet bushels × [(100 − Harvest Moisture) / (100 − Sale Moisture)]. The calculator does this automatically.

Does the elevator’s shrink factor match this calculator?

Not always. Confirm final settlement terms with your buyer. Use this tool for pre-harvest planning and what-if scenarios.

What moisture should I harvest corn at?

There is no single right answer. Balance field loss risk against drying cost. Most operators harvest at 18–25% and dry down. Run your numbers above before harvest starts.