Since we didn’t have chickens anymore, my dad gave his blessings to the project. First, I had to knock down the roosting rails and remove a few nest boxes. Then I sweated hard to clean out what I assumed was a lifetime buildup of chicken litter from the floor. That was a project. I finally got down to bare wood, washed everything thoroughly with water and bleach. I dragged in an old cot that had been stored in the woodshed. This all took a few days to accomplish.

Finally, I sat on the cot on a hot July day enjoying the combined lingering odour of bleach and chicken poop, looked around at the bleakness of the 10×15 foot space, and worried there still might be a chink somewhere for mice or a rat to venture in. I don’t think I ever did sleep in the place — the glitter quickly disappeared off a great idea.

The Saddle Hill project

Fortunately the same fate did not befall a great idea the Morrison family of southern Alberta had for diversifying their ranching business — get into the rural hospitality industry by converting grain bins into guest cabins.

While the project has been more than two years in the making, today you can stay at Saddle Hill Ranch Cabins (also on Facebook and Instagram) along the Castle River — northwest of Pincher Creek, south of Lundbreck.

You can enjoy any of the five fully furnished, year-round “cabins” that are actually retrofitted 5,000 bushel Westeel grain bins. Except for the windows and doors they still have that corrugated grain bin look from the outside, but you’ll find an amazing transformation on the inside — a fully insulated and drywalled interior, power and modern plumbing, Wi-Fi and TV service, two beds (sleeps four), a curved staircase leading to the loft, heated floors, a fireplace, a living room as well as a kitchenette.

The cabins have been named to capture a western atmosphere: The Cattleman, The Trail Boss, The Wagoneer, The Cowboy and The Wrangler. And each features art work from local artists, that is also for sale.

Each cabin provides a cosy 400 sq. ft. of living space on the inside, while outside the door you are steps away from the Castle River and close proximity to other renowned southern Alberta fishing streams. The foothills and Rocky Mountains for hiking and hunting make a great back drop to the west, and if you’re into winter recreation, you’re only 25 minutes from the Castle Mountain Ski Resort.

It wasn’t exactly an overnight project, however. Getting the Saddle Hill Ranch Cabins on site and retrofitted for the July 2025 opening took a lot of planning and work, says Breanna Morrison, who along with her husband, Dylan, own and operate the third-generation Saddle Hill Ranch cow-calf operation.

“Finding the grain bins turned out to be the easy part,” says Breanna who also works as an agricultural lender for CIBC. This fall she continues to be home on maternity leave, after they welcomed their third child (all under four years of age) into the family in June.

It took about two years to get 20 acres designated as Rural Recreation Zoning and obtain other construction permits. There was some pushback from the community as people considered the impact of this recreational activity, but the rezoning was approved.

Breanna bought three of the grain bins through an online auction from a farm near Manning (a community in the Peace River Region about 1,000 km north of Pincher Creek) and later found two more just north of Calgary. They specifically wanted 21-foot diameter bins, five-tiers high to provide sufficient space. The bins cost in the $2,000 to $3,000 range each.

Once the bins were secured, that’s when the real work and expense started. They had to build a road into the site, pour concrete pads, bring in power, drill a water well and install two septic systems.

Cutting openings in each bin for windows and doors was relatively straight forward, but it took some effort to get window and door casings to seal. Even the top hatch or inspection hatch of each bin was converted to a skylight.

Outfitting the interior of the bins was a combined effort. The Morrisons did as much work as they could themselves, but also hired contractors as needed. Dylan’s dad constructed the circular staircases that lead to the loft area.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” says Breanna.

“Remodeling the first bin took the longest as we figured out how to make things fit within the curved configuration of the bin. And then we got faster as we worked on each of the other bins.”

Construction started on the first bin in the fall of 2023, and all were completed and ready to go for the grand opening in July 2025. Along with their own money invested in the project, the Morrisons appreciated a grant and other support provided by Travel Alberta. Other than Travel Alberta, which promotes the “hidden gem” features of southwest Alberta, their main advertising relied on their website, along with social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

For the summer run, the cabins, which rent for between $250 and $300 per night depending on the season, were fully booked. There has been a bit of lull in bookings this fall, but they are expecting more bookings this winter as skiers and snowmobilers look for accommodation in the area.

“We have been really pleased with the response so far and look forward to the winter recreation season,” says Breanna.

While Breanna was trying to look after cabin cleaning herself, she found it too much to manage along with a young family. She hired the services of the Pincher Creek Hutterite Colony, who do what she considers a “fantastic job” of cleaning and making up rooms.

The Saddle Hill Ranch Cabins project is intended as a farm diversification project.

“We are an operating cattle ranch and also raise quarter horses, but we felt the cabins were an opportunity to make use of the resources we have in this part of the country, and also have another source of income.”

Breanna says she hasn’t ruled out the idea of expanding the tourist cabin business one day, but for now is interested in getting a few seasons under her belt with the existing setup.

I don’t want to tempt her, but if she ever thinks about remodeling chicken coops into guest accommodation, I know where she can get a good deal on a gently used, very rustic first unit. I don’t know if saying “Lee Hart almost slept here once” would help with marketing, but it’s worth a try.

The post A great idea for repurposing grain bins appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The four organizations include Venlaw Manufacturing, the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre (Food Centre) and Ag-West Bio.

The announcement was made at the GIFS facility in Saskatoon Aug. 12 by Eleanor Olszewski, federal minister of emergency management and community resilience and the minister responsible for PrairiesCan.

“As you know, our country’s really dealing with a shift in the global economic and political landscapes,” said the minister.

“And that makes us have to rethink, really, how we do our business. And things like food security and economic resilience for our country have become more important than ever.”

Venlaw Manufacturing will receive $2.1 million under the Business Scale-up and Productivity program. Venlaw is based in Watson, Sask., and has been importing and outfitting custom grain bins since 2020.

“Moving our business from importing and retailing grain bins to manufacturing our own product in Watson, Sask., is an extremely capital-intensive venture,” Venlaw co-owners Rebecca Paszt and Tom Dooley said in the press release.

The funding will enable the business to make the move from import to manufacturing. It will be used to purchase equipment for scaled-up production of a roof roll forming and sidewall line, material handling for finished goods preparation and a finished cold storage building. It also assists with the development of the company’s export market.

For PrairiesCan, the goal of this portion is to reduce imports of manufactured products, focus on Canadian-made and increase use of Canadian steel and local supply chains.

Meanwhile, GIFS will receive $1.6 million to develop a genomic selection-based accelerated breeding program. It’s aim will be to advance breeding capabilities for livestock and crops to increase yield and quality and bring product to market quicker.

For GIFS, this funding builds on the previous $2.5 million it received from PrairiesCan in 2022 for the establishment of Canada’s engineering biology platform focused on food and agriculture.

The Food Centre will receive $420,000 for renovations and equipment to increase capacity for co-packing and incubation space.

Ag-West Bio will receive $20,000 for the 2025 and 2026 Agri-Value Forums to hold the conference, workshops and tours to promote Saskatchewan’s value adding industry.

GIFS, the Food Centre and Ag-West Bio’s funding is part of the Regional Innovation Ecosystems program.

“Agriculture is fundamental and vital to us as human beings, but it’s also an essential economic activity for the Prairies and so for Canada, too,” said Olszewski.

The investments are estimated to create more than 30 new jobs, $7 million in export revenue and $51 million in new commercial revenue growth.

The post Sask. agriculture sector receives federal funding appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

For Paul Brisebois, getting the crop safely off the field and into the bin boils down to two words: capacity and efficiency.

“What we’ve seen through consolidation of farms is a continued trend to larger grain storage and handling on-farm; mostly flat-bottomed,” he said. “Traditionally, in Western Canada, they need hopper bottom bins and the reason for that is the variety of crop that we have.”

Brisebois, senior vice president for Canada for grain storage manufacturer AGI, was at Ag in Motion west of Langham, Sask. on July 16. He explained that as farms have increased in size, their storage requirements now mean far greater quantities of a single crop, whether it be canola or wheat. This means higher capacity, flat-bottomed bins. These are often centrally located, with larger capacity handling equipment and sometimes permanently installed handling equipment.

Another on-farm trend is on the conditioning side, whether it is blending tough and too-dry grain to get an optimal moisture level, aeration systems, or simply high-capacity grain drying so harvest can continue even if Mother Nature is not particularly co-operative.

“We’ve seen the trend to more producers getting NECO dryers, mixed-flow dryers in the market just cause it enables them to smooth out harvest. If it’s coming in late, if it’s coming in at different times, you can condition it properly.”

—Watch for more coverage of grain handling and storage trends and innovations from Ag in Motion in upcoming issues of Grainews, the Western Producer, and other Glacier FarmMedia publications.

The post Farm growth pushes farmers to bring grain handling and conditioning home appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Aerate and turn stored crops while monitoring grain bin moisture and temperature, especially when outside temperatures fluctuate, wrote Neil Blue in a recent news release.

“Several cases of spoiling crops have showed up lately, leading to marketing difficulty and large price discounts. Perhaps the mostly warm temperatures this winter and the January period of record cold temperatures have been a factor.”

Manitoba has similar problems, said Anne Kirk, cereal crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

“We have definitely heard of some issues with canola having some heating in the bin and some higher moisture zones,” she said. “That’s something that farmers definitely need to be on the lookout for.”

Kim Stonehouse, crops extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Agriculture, wrote in an email that few problems have been noted in her province.

Spoilage in bins is usually caused by moisture migration.

“In the fall and winter, grain in the bin cools because it’s colder on the edges. Cooling causes that air to become heavier so it settles towards the bin floor,” Kirk said.

“As it moves towards the floor of the bin and into the centre, (the air) becomes warmer because the grain on the inside of the bin is warmer, and then that warmer air becomes lighter.”

That warm air rises in the centre of the bin and cools again when it reaches the cold grain near the surface.

“So what results is an increase in moisture content near the surface, which can cause rapid grain spoilage.”

After storage, grain and oilseeds will respire for a month or more, added Blue.

“This respiration can release moisture, which in turn can lead to spoilage. Dense crops like canola are particularly subject to storage problems, although all crops with moisture can spoil.”

Producers’ best bet is to aerate binned crops during the respiration period. This can reduce or eliminate spoilage.

At this point most growers have had crops in their bins for months. What happens when temperatures go from unseasonably warm to bone-chilling cold over a short time?

That requires a timely bin check, said Kirk.

“Do you have a high moisture zone? Is your grain kind of crusty on top, which indicates higher moisture? What temperatures are you going to add?”

Cycling can equalize temperatures in the bin.

“Especially for something like canola, take a load or part of a load out of a variety of canola bins to just check it and then cycle it through so you are mixing it up a bit and not creating those really high moisture results in the bin,” Kirk said.

Blue also recommends turning the crop. It’s better to do this when it’s cold outside. However, spring may call for another bin turning.

“If continued safe storage is questionable, it may be advisable to turn the grain again in the spring as the stored grain warms. Or use the fan if the bin is equipped,” said Blue.

Consistent monitoring is key, he added.

“Many producers use in-bin monitoring systems to detect potential storage trouble. While lower than last crop year’s prices, crop prices are still historically high and worth protecting in storage.”

Monitoring can also be done with a grain probe, said Kirk.

“We like to recommend probing all sides and the centre of the bin with a normal grain probe to check the moisture and the temperature.”

Monitoring is always a good practice, wrote Stonehouse.

“Grain can store for a long period of time if the temperature is kept below five degrees Celsius even if it is out of condition.

“If there is spoilage happening, it is possible that the grain did not cool to below zero degrees Celsius after harvest due to the unusually warm weather we had. In this case, the cold weather could cause … moisture migration.”

Basic management is the same even in the sub -40 C conditions that occurred in January, said Blue. However, there may be more of it.

“The colder January temperatures would further cool the outside portions of the stored crop, possibly leading to more moisture migration from the bottom middle up towards the top where that moisture would meet cold crop, possibly causing condensation there.”

Although 10 per cent moisture (the “dry” moisture standard for canola) is usually sufficient for canola being marketed, its actual temperature in the bin should be lower, said Blue.

“Safe, longer-term storage moisture levels are below eight per cent. If it is binned at high temperatures, canola can even spoil at six per cent moisture.”

The Canadian Grain Commission outlines moisture standards for a number of grains but consumer expectations also play a role.

“Certain markets or contracts may have different moisture level specifications than (the commission’s),” said Blue. “For example, feed barley sold to a domestic feed user is commonly considered to be dry at 15 per cent moisture or less.”

Kirk also recommended CGC resources.

“The Canadian Grain Commission has some good, safe storage guidelines,” she said. “They have a lot of graphs on their website where you can plot out your initial moisture content of your grain and the temperature of the grain going in the bin.”

The post Whether warm or cold, know your bin inside-out appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“Perhaps the mostly warm temperatures this winter and the January period of record cold temperatures have been a factor,” said Blue.

After being placed into storage, crops respire for a month or more, and this can release moisture. Dense crops like canola are particularly subject to storage problems, although all crops with moisture can spoil.

Alberta had a very dry harvest with most of the crop combined at officially dry moisture levels. However, some harvest days were warm, and those crops placed into storage have a large differential compared to winter temperatures.

The post Check your grain bins for spoilage appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

• CYCLE: The best method, even with bin monitoring cables, is to remove about a third of the canola. This disrupts the moisture cycle and helps stop heating or spoilage.
• CABLES: These give a quick assessment of temperature readings, and some also offer moisture readings, at nodes throughout the bin.
• PROBES: Probing through doors or roof hatches may uncover hot spots near the bottom and top of the bin, but not through the central core and all sides.

Be careful and consider safety when climbing bins to probe grain and use appropriate safety equipment such as a harness. 

The post How to safely check your grain bins for spoilage appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

There were bins 19 feet in diameter, with a 2,700 bu. capacity, but few farmers bought them because they were hard to shovel out and sweep augers weren’t widely available.

These days, the numbers are a lot bigger. The most common flat-bottom bins today are 36 and 42 feet in diameter and store 25,000 to 40,000 bu., says Derek Johnson of bin maker AGI.

“Over the last 10 or 20 years, the size of bins has grown dramatically, just based on sheer production. We know genetics have improved, farming practices have improved and with that comes an increase in production.”

That brought a push for larger bins, more sophisticated grain-handling solutions and high-tech monitoring equipment.

“Growers are looking for a system that’s fairly easy to run and fairly easy to maintain,” Johnson says. “That comes down to the monitoring systems that they’re putting into their bin, being able to see the condition of their grain on their phone, being able to control their fans — being able to turn them on when they see there’s potentially a hot spot in the bin and condition that grain down and keep it cool.”

Putting that much cereal grain, pulse or oilseed in one place for an extended time comes with a challenge to keep that product safe and in condition.

Just the effect of that grain’s weight pressing down is significant. A 19-foot bin from the 1970s could hold roughly 162,000 pounds of wheat, assuming a bushel weight of 60 lb. The biggest bins of today hold 2.4 million lb., nearly 15 times as much.

That packs grain tightly into the bottom of the bin and increases static pressure (resistance to airflow), making temperature and moisture control more difficult. Those challenges are offset by lower cost per bushel and less hassle switching from bin to bin during harvest and grain shipping.

Grain price trends over the years makes the math better, too. Farmers can typically get the best price several months after harvest.

“That’s when those grain companies are looking for product,” Johnson says. “To capture those premiums in the marketplace, you have to have safe storage.”

While grain bags have recently grown in popularity, they’re better suited to short-term storage to ease harvest logistics. Grain can be stored in them for longer periods, but not as reliably and with considerable risk and management requirements.

One grain storage specialist says managing a bin isn’t complex, but farmers need a clear picture of what’s happening inside.

Wayne Clews of Clews Management says many farmers guess the condition of the crop in the bin and run fans as a safeguard. However, that can work counter to their best interests.

Rather than incrementally reducing the temperature of grain as the air temperature co-operates, an up-and-down tug of war ensues. A cool night cools the grain and warmer days bring the temperature back up.

“You can actually be hurting yourself,” Clews said during the Ag in Motion outdoor farm show this summer near Saskatoon. “You’re better off if you know what’s happening in the bin. That’s where it starts.”

Clews said recent advances have made it easier to monitor temperature and manage fan operation.

“I sold my first cable [to monitor bin temperature] in 1969,” he said. “Back then, you had to drive into the bin yard, maybe move a little snow, and plug into the cable. These days you can take a cup of coffee into your office in the morning, get on the computer and in a few minutes know what’s happening in your bins.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean bin monitoring is universal. It’s pretty much standard equipment on new large-capacity bins, but there are still a lot of older, smaller bins with no sensors.

In the end, it comes down to three factors, Clews said: the moisture of the grain; the temperature of the grain; and how long the farmer wants or needs to store it. That equation can change based on variables like commodity prices.

“When canola falls from $20-something to down into the teens… there’ll soon be some out there that’s over 365 days [in storage],” Clews said. “That’s a whole new challenge. What was safe for 200 days may not turn out to be all that safe for 300 days.”

That’s when close monitoring of a bin can pay off.

While a physical sensor in the bin itself is the gold standard, there are other approaches to manage grain storage that rely on data, not cables.

OPI has been a leader in grain storage technology for decades. It’s taking a new approach that provides some free hardware, offers a user-pay model for some services and a service that uses virtual weather data to alert farmers on the optimum time to run their fans, says the firm’s founder and owner, Dave Crompton.

“We’re trying to knock down some of those barriers to entry and get people into the tent and talking and thinking about grain storage differently.”

Crompton says the hardware-based approach is always going to be the gold standard but OPI aims to give producers smaller, easier steps to get there.

“We feel that’s a better approach than asking people to make this major paradigm shift from the way they’ve always done things — or even the way their parents and grandparents always did things — all at once.”

– This article was originally published at the Manitoba Co-operator.

The post Storage strategies change with bigger bins appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

To help prevent spoilage, the Canadian Grain Commission has developed storage charts for a safe range of grain moisture and temperature. The charts are designed to help farmers use the initial moisture content and temperature readings of their grain as it goes into storage to determine if it can be stored safely for long periods.

Charts are available for barley, beans, canola, flax, oats, peas, wheat and yellow mustard at the CGC website. 

The post Keeping grains safe when in storage appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Over the past 11 years in the province, an average of just over 15 people have lost their lives each year on farms. Most were the owner/operators of the farm.

We urge you to make a commitment now, to keep yourself, your family and your employees safe. This can start with being aware of the most pressing threats on your farm at each time of the year.

[RELATED] Be safe and profitable when storing grain

Did you know that falls were one of the most common types of incidents on Alberta farms last year? Now can be a dangerous time of year for falls because constantly changing weather conditions can make it easy to fall when walking across the yard or from a height while checking grain bins.

I want to focus on grain bins specifically, because two of the 11 fatalities last year were falls from a grain bin and both were an owner/operator on that farm.

Grain bins are much bigger than they used to be, with some reaching as high as 60 feet. However, even a fall from less than 10 feet can be fatal or cause serious injury.

The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code requires other industries to have a fall protection plan in place when a worker may fall three metres or more and the worker is not protected by guard rails. Although this part of the code does not directly apply to farmers and ranchers, you are still required to take measures to ensure individuals working at heights are protected as far as reasonably possible.

The other significant component to these injuries is that they often happen when the person is working alone.

[RELATED] Take it personally — and make a commitment, says farm safety expert

This means the person may have to wait a long time for help to arrive. It is important to let people know where you are working and have a check-in plan. Even better, have someone come along when possible.

Based on these two points, we are asking farmers and ranchers to take time this winter, before climbing bins or any other height on the farm, and ask the following questions: 

1. Is there any corrosion or other factors that may impact the ladders attached to the bins? 
2. Is the person climbing trained to climb? Is there any other factor that may impact their ability to climb (including people taking medication or substances that may make them dizzy, people with physical weakness or severe arthritis, and those experiencing illness that affects their balance or makes them dizzy)? 
3. If you have employees or contractors who need to climb, have you ensured their safety as far as reasonably practicable (i.e., performed hazard assessments and put appropriate hazard-control measures in place)? 

Going beyond grain bins, as the year ends and winter finds us with a little more time inside, now is a great time to make farm safety a priority for your operation and to map out a plan to make improvements for the new year.

If you don’t know where to begin, reach out to us for assistance. 

I wish you all a safe and happy winter season.

Jody Wacowich is the executive director of AgSafe Alberta. The organization’s November newsletter has an article detailing the hazards posed by grain bin ladders. The article also has a list of eight steps that can be taken to reduce the risk. It can be found at agsafeab.ca (click on the Newsletter tab).

The post Opinion: Hiding in plain sight – hazards posed by grain bins appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

It is an opportunity to further understand what is in the bins and how insects can be controlled. Participants who volunteer can ask for the results from their own bins and bin yard.

The survey goal is to help detect potentially new invasive pests to the area and determine what insect species are infesting stored grain on the Prairies, under which conditions, so research can focus on control tactics.

The survey will be conducted in September and October and researchers will need to visit the farm at least twice. During the first visit, they will determine which bins are suitable for insect traps and will deploy these traps. They are probe traps placed under the surface of the grain to catch insects moving throughout it.

Traps will also be placed outside the bin on a shepherd’s hook to catch any flying grain insects. During the second visit, the traps will be removed and a 0.5-kilogram sample of grain will be taken for moisture content analysis.

Researchers will identify any insects inside the traps and notify the participant of the results. When results are communicated in a scientific publication, the insects of interest will only be linked to the RM or city where they are found, not to specific farms. For example, in a publication we would state “Rusty grain beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus was found in a grain bin near Oyen, Alberta.”

Those interested in participating should answer these questions:

1. What is the address of the grain bins? (physical address or GPS co-ordinates)
2. When is the expected date of harvest? (If unknown, researchers can make contact again near the end of August).
3. What commodities are being harvested and stored?

For more information, contact Kelsey Jones at Kelsey.jones@agr.gc.ca

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