Proactive vs. Reactive Grain Storage: Proven Protection with Sentry Pac Pro™ | prevent grain spoilage

We've built Sentry Pac Pro™ around one idea — proven, proactive protection — and I want to explain why being proactive beats reacting to problems every time.

Proven. Proactive. Protection.

What I mean by proactive vs. reactive | prevent grain spoilage

Proactive is exactly that: preventing grain from ever going out of condition so you never have to react to a negative situation inside your bin. Reactive is the opposite — you only know something's wrong when you see elevated CO2 from respiration or you discover a hotspot in the grain.

Those two reactive indicators — CO2 and hotspots — almost always mean grain is already rotting. Once rotting starts, the environment encourages insects to thrive. Cool grain at or below 60°F keeps bugs mostly inactive. Warm grain and hotspots turn the lights on for insects, and they can quickly take number two yellow corn to number three or even number four.

How reactive problems play out in the real world

Here's a good example from a situation in northern Nebraska. An elevator was unloading a flat storage full of black, spoiled corn. They had to call customers who'd stored good corn to bring in clean loads so the elevator could blend off the bad stuff. That's a purely reactive approach, and in the end, nobody wins.

• Farmers who had taken care of their grain had to haul good corn to blend with spoiled grain.

• The farmers who stored grain poorly lost value and created extra work for the rest.

• Financially, they still get paid in the end, but it's inefficient and stressful.

We can do better. Preventative conditioning of your stored grain avoids that scenario in the first place. Sentry Pac Pro™ can prevent grain spoilage before it happens.

A better way to do it

We've stored grain with Sentry Pac Pro™ in a flat storage facility that had aeration tubes underneath the grain. For example, in a facility around 225,000 bushels, we ran Sentry Pac Pro™ by itself and stored corn, wheat, and even edible beans in part of it. Aeration tubes aren't the same as a full air floor, so you have to be especially careful how you manage the airflow.

Key guidance I always tell folks:

• Don't load flat storage if grain moisture is 17–19%. That's asking for trouble with aeration tubes.

• Ideally, put grain in at 15% moisture or below.

• If you're running 200,000 bushels and you get a couple loads at 16% among a bunch of 14% loads, you'll be fine. But don't fill the whole storage with higher-moisture loads.

Why Sentry Pac Pro™ is about prevention

The “Pro” stands for:

proven

proactive

protection

Sentry Pac Pro™ has been about doing things preventatively for decades — this goes back to the 1970s when the concept first began. When we reintroduced the product as Sentry Pac Pro™ at Commodity Classic 2025, we talked to farmers who have been using the Pac for 30–40 years. They would tell us, "I would never have anything else on my bins." They understand the value of a preventative solution — especially one that doesn't rely on cables inside the bin — because it simply works day in and day out, year after year.

What Sentry Pac Pro™ delivers

• Continuous, proactive conditioning that keeps grain from spoiling.

• Reduces the risk of hotspots and insect outbreaks by preventing the conditions that cause them.

• Flexible enough to use in large flat storage facilities with aeration tubes when applied correctly.

Final thoughts and how to reach us

We want to help you store grain better and avoid the headaches of reactive management. If you care about keeping your grain conditioned and delivering the best product possible, prevention is the way to go.

Check us out at sentrypacpro.com and send questions to info@sentrypacpro.com. You can also find our videos on Youtube to see the Pac in action and learn more about how it can fit into your operation.

If you’ve got stories, questions, or want advice on a specific storage situation, reach out — we want to hear from you.