Farm tools
Know your farmBefore you commit
26 free farm tools on South African figures: Grain SA, SAFEX and the Land Bank. Pick one, type your own numbers.
Grain drying
What will wet grain cost me at the silo?
1. Your grain and silo
Its own 2026/27 notice.
Not chosen: the higher charge until you choose. New generation: Bamboesspruit, Bloemhof, Bothaville, Bultfontein, Geneva, Heilbron, Hertzogville, Hoopstad, Leeudoringstad, Migdol, Ventersdorp, Wesselsbron, Willemsrust Silo.
Senwes: Notice for the delivery of maize and grain sorghum, 2026/2027 marketing season, paragraphs 8 and 10.2, 2026-05-01 to 2027-04-30, excluding VAT.
2. Your load
From the grading slip, to one decimal. Every grade of maize may hold at most 14% (grading regulations).
Optional: the gross mass on the weighbridge.
Optional: what your buyer pays a ton; for the rand of the mass deducted.
3. Your silo’s own figures (optional)
Empty uses the published notice; type over it when your silo charges differently.
Empty uses 12.5%: Maize 12,5% (regarded as dry grain)
Empty uses the band for your moisture (table below). Excluding VAT.
| Senwes moisture band | R a ton |
|---|---|
| 14.1 to 14.5% | R 103.21 |
| 14.6 to 15.0% | R 134.97 |
| 15.1 to 16.0% | R 138.65 |
| 16.1 to 17.0% | R 197.32 |
| 17.1 to 18.0% | R 293.92 |
Assumptions used
- The moisture formula, word for word: "Gross Mass X 100 - Actual moisture content / 100 - Statutory prescribed moisture content of type of grain" (Senwes Limited, 2026/2027 notices for maize and grain sorghum (paragraph 10.2), sunflower (8.2) and soybeans (7.2)). For OVK and your own silo the same formula is used on the dry basis shown (OVK states the basis, not the formula).
- Senwes: Maize (white or yellow) 2026-05-01 to 2027-04-30, dry basis 12.5%; Grain sorghum 2026-05-01 to 2027-04-30, dry basis 12.5%; Soybeans 2026-03-01 to 2027-02-28, dry basis 12%; Sunflower 2026-03-01 to 2027-02-28, dry basis 9%. Read 2026-11-03, https://senwes.co.za/products-and-services/grain; tariffs excluded.
- OVK: Maize (white or yellow) 2026-05-01 to 2027-04-30, dry basis 12.5%; Soybeans 2026-03-01 to 2027-02-28, dry basis not stated; Sunflower 2026-03-01 to 2027-02-28, dry basis not stated; Wheat 2026-10-01 to 2027-09-30, dry basis 13%. Read 2026-11-03, https://www.ovk.co.za/Products/Page/8/Grain; tariffs excluded (weighing costs include VAT).
- Grading regulations (Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990), the most moisture any grade may hold: Maize (white or yellow) 14% (No. R. 4368 of 16 February 2024 (GG 50129), regulation 7(h) as inserted by Correction Notice R. 4433 (GG 50203, 1 March 2024)); Grain sorghum 14% (Regulations of 8 January 2016 (GG 39580)); Soybeans 13% (No. R. 370 of 21 April 2017 (GG 40794)); Sunflower 10% (No. 45 of 22 January 2016 (GG 39613)); Wheat 13% (No. R. 1547 of 29 November 2019 (GG 42862), bread wheat); Barley 13% (No. R. 443 of 21 June 2013, malting barley). Read 2026-11-03.
- A choice, not a published figure: the drying charge is counted on the tons delivered (the notices do not say which mass), and the moisture is read to one decimal for the band. No mass is added for grain drier than the dry basis.
The answer
Enter the moisture on your grading slip.
How this works and the sources
What a wet load costs you at the silo. The silo reduces the mass you delivered to its dry basis with the moisture formula Senwes publishes in every notice: net mass = gross mass x (100 - actual moisture) / (100 - dry basis). Above the moisture its notice names, it also charges for drying, a rand amount a ton for each moisture band. Choose the crop and the silo owner, type the moisture on your grading slip and the tons on the weighbridge, and add your price to see the rand the deducted mass costs. For a silo whose tariff is not published, type its dry basis and charge.
What this does not tell you
- Only Senwes and OVK are built in, from their own 2026/27 notices. VKB, AFGRI and other silos publish no current drying tariff that we could find: choose "Another silo" and type its figures. Senwes publishes no 2026/27 wheat or barley notice yet (its 2025/26 one ended on 30 September 2026), so wheat and barley at Senwes need the silo's own figures too.
- The notices give the drying charge a ton but not on which mass; the tool charges it on the tons delivered (the higher of the two). They also do not say what happens between their bands; the moisture is read to one decimal, as a meter does.
- Only the moisture deduction and the drying charge. Handling, storage, the physical loss deduction (Senwes 0.85% to 1% on maize, 0.3% to 0.5% on oilseeds), screenings, sieving and grading are not in it, and VAT is excluded (the notices are without VAT).
- Whether the silo takes the load at all is its decision: drying depends on capacity, and the wettest bands need permission. Dried grain may be withdrawn or traded only after the days the notice names.
- The price is yours: we do not know what your buyer pays. Nothing you enter is uploaded or kept by us; the share link carries farm figures only, never a silo or farm name.
Sources
- Senwes Limited, grain storage and handling tariffs 2026/2027 (maize and grain sorghum, sunflower, soybeans), excluding VAT: maize and grain sorghum, sunflower and soybean notices (drying tariffs, excess moisture) (2026-05-01)
- OVK, silo service tariffs 2026/2027 (maize, popcorn and sorghum; soybeans and sunflower; wheat), excluding VAT (2026-10-01)
- OVK maize: Silo Dienstetariewe 2026 / 2027, Mielies, Springmielies & Sorghum (Afrikaans; the English 2026/27 maize notice is not published) (2026-05-01)
- OVK soybeans: Silo Service Tariffs 2026 / 2027, Soja beans (2026-03-01)
- OVK sunflower: Silo Service Tariffs 2026 / 2027, Sunflower (2026-03-01)
- OVK wheat: Silo Services Tariffs 2026 / 2027, Wheat, date of issue 1 October 2026 (2026-10-01)
- Grading regulations, maize: No. R. 4368 of 16 February 2024 (GG 50129), regulation 7(h) as inserted by Correction Notice R. 4433 (GG 50203, 1 March 2024), "shall have a moisture content of not more than 14 per cent" (2026-11-03)
- Grading regulations, sorghum: Regulations of 8 January 2016 (GG 39580), "with the exception of Class Other, have a moisture content of not more than 14 percent" (2026-11-03)
- Grading regulations, soybeans: No. R. 370 of 21 April 2017 (GG 40794), "with the exception of Class Other soya beans, have a moisture content of not more than 13 percent" (2026-11-03)
- Grading regulations, sunflower: No. 45 of 22 January 2016 (GG 39613), "with the exception of Class Other Sunflower seed, have a moisture content of not more than 10 percent" (2026-11-03)
- Grading regulations, wheat: No. R. 1547 of 29 November 2019 (GG 42862), bread wheat, "with the exception of Class Other Wheat, have a moisture content not exceeding 13 percent" (2026-11-03)
- Grading regulations, barley: No. R. 443 of 21 June 2013, malting barley, "with the exception of Class Other Barley, have a moisture content not exceeding 13 per cent" (2026-11-03)
Estimate, not advice. Confirm every figure with your bank, attorney and tax practitioner before a decision.