Shrink Calculations

Introduction: Harvest Profit uses a true moisture shrink calculation to convert gross bushels into net bushels after drying. This method accounts for the water removed during drying, but it does not add the extra “handling loss” factor that some elevators apply. Understanding how shrink is calculated ensures your production data and settlements remain accurate.

Steps

1. Understand the shrink formula
   • Net Bushels = Total Bushels × (1 – Starting Moisture) ÷ (1 – Ending Moisture)
   • Starting Moisture = the actual % moisture of the load (e.g., 20% = 0.20).
   • Ending Moisture = the standard % set in Crop Settings (e.g., 15% = 0.15).
2. Work through an example
   • A load has 1,000 bushels at 20% moisture and will be dried to 15%.
   • 1000 × (1 – 0.20) ÷ (1 – 0.15) = 1000 × (0.80 ÷ 0.85) = 941.18 net bushels.
3. Reference shrink table (to 15% moisture)
   • Use this table to quickly check net bushels per 1,000 delivered:

   Starting Moisture (%)	Net Bushels (per 1,000 gross)	Shrink (%)
   15%	1000	0.0%
   16%	988.2	1.18%
   17%	976.5	2.35%
   18%	964.7	3.53%
   19%	952.9	4.71%
   20%	941.2	5.88%
   21%	929.4	7.06%
   22%	917.6	8.24%
   23%	905.9	9.41%
   24%	894.1	10.59%
   25%	882.4	11.76%

4. Compare with elevator shrink
   • Many elevators use a fixed shrink factor, such as 1.18% per point above 15% (1.0% water + 0.18% handling loss).
   • Because Harvest Profit’s formula is strictly water shrink, your net bushels may appear slightly higher than your elevator settlement sheets.