FARGO, N.D. -- For many grain farmers in the region, the 2014 crop is the year they put it in the bag -- for temporary farm storage.
Dan Teich of Underwood, Minn., is a representative for Loftness Manufacturing, a Hector, Minn., company that is the primary maker of the machines for putting grain in bags and unloading them. His company is the only U.S. manufacturer and is sold out through October.
Loaders cost about $28,500. Unloaders are $44,000 for the 10-foot-wide, 300-foot long bags that hold about 13,000 bushels.
Teich guesses perhaps only 1 percent of the grain produced in North Dakota might go into bags rather than on-farm bins. The percentage would be much higher in Canada, he says.
In the year through the end of August, Teich sold 21 loaders and 14 unloaders in North Dakota alone, and has sold several since.
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This normal year, Teich would have sold 10 through an entire year.
"We keep getting orders, so we'll just keep building," Teich says. "It depends on how long the weather lasts. We expect to be making them through November."
The biggest demand has been in North Dakota because rail service hasn't been able to move out old and new crops fast enough, in part because of competition with oil and other commodities. Teich says he's been getting calls from throughout the state.
"The elevators are full, the bins are all full, so they have to come up with another system for storing grain."
