Hello. My name is Ms. Sophina.I am contacting you on behalf of John L. Ford. Mr. Ford would like to improve grain dryers. Because you have vital interests in agriculture, you are invited to visit FORD’S BETTER IDEAS crowdfunding page to view the initial project details crop drying at the following website:

https://assets.gogetfunding.com/better-ideas-grain-dryer/

Consider donating to this project and sharing the crowdfunding page with friends & family.

Moreover, please respond to our questionnaire.You understand your grain business better than anyone.You know and do what it takes to make it happen from beginning to end.Share your experience with us by telling us about your grain-drying needs, how you currently fulfill those needs, and other aspects of your business by responding to the following questionnaire.Your answers will help us know how we can best help you.The information you provide will also establish initial measurements to track the benefits made by improvements.

Mr. Ford will not sell your personal information. However, your answers may be used in reports and other published materials. The answers become property of Mr. John L. Ford and his companies.If you have questions about this survey or other grain-drying concerns, feel free to contact Mr. Ford at [email protected].

Thank you so very much for your donations and taking the time to participate in this project.

DIRECTIONS:

Please forgive the questionnaire’s length.We really appreciate the time and effort it takes for you to answer these questions. Write your answers in the space provided and be as complete with your answers as you can. Feel free to add to the document if you need additional space for your answers. If you represent a company, please submit only one questionnaire for each location.

You may decline to answer any question by writing DECLINED in the answer area.If a question does not apply to your situation, please say so by writing NA. If you do not know the answer, please write IDK.

Please label all units of measurement, especially if these differ from the measurements in the question. If you dry more than one type of grain, please note the type of grain when giving measurements (i.e. bushels of corn).

We’d like to isolate the figures for grain drying.However, possible overlap might occur.This could happens, for example, if electric dryers use the same meter as the facility and these are billed together, or if a dryers’ propane tanks also serve the farmstead and transportation needs. If possible, please try to separate the measurements and expenses for grain drying from those figures that result from running other parts of the facility/farmstead or in transportation for growing, harvesting, and transferring crops.

Possible overlap is one reason that this survey also asks about energy use for electricity and transportation. There are several others reasons that some questions do not relate to grain dryers.

The second reason is that drying grain is only a single aspect of agriculture’s energy usage & fuel requirements.Information about electricity and transportation helps us understand the bigger picture and allow us to figure totals and percentages. Lastly, Mr. Ford’s other projects deal with energy improvements for electricity and transportation.It seems better to ask for the information at one time.

Thanks again for your participation!

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name:
Company:
Contact information: Email: Phone: Address: Dry your own grain? Provide grain-drying services for others? Use a grain-drying service? If yes, what companies provide this service to you?
PLEASE TELL US:
Yes or No, do you:		YES		NO
o Dry your own grain?
o Provide grain-drying services for others?
o Use a grain-drying service? If yes, what companies provide this service to you?
As of January 2018, are you still drying crops?If yes, tell us which grains and if you are using: Heat drying: Cold drying:
What grains do you dry?
During which months do you use your grain dryers?
When did you start drying in 2017?
When did you finish most of the drying?
Time: Moisture content produces a range in drying times. Please estimate drying times for the low, midrange, and high moisture contents: . 1.What is the estimated heat drying-time for: a. low moisture b. midrange moisture c. high moisture 2. What is the estimated cold drying-time for: a. Low moisture b. Midrange moisture c. High moisture content
Would you be interested in retrofitting your dryers for energy improvements? (yes, no, or maybe)
EQUIPMENT:
How many dryers do you or the company own?
Please describe each dryer in the following ways: If dryers are alike in all listed ways, please account for them in groups instead of individually.If you have more than 4 dryers that are dissimilar, please copy and paste the other dryer’s Q&A information to the end of this document.
	DRYER 1	DRYER 2	DRYER 3	DRYER 4
YEAR
MANUFACTURER
MODEL
DRYER CAPACITY
Bushels Tons
MACHINE HOURS 2017 SEASON
DRYER CATEGORIES: Check all that apply
Natural air Low temperature High temperature Batch Automatic batch Continuous flow In-bin Column Self-contained Stationary Deep-bed
What was the cost of purchasing the dryer?
What was the cost of installing the dryer?
What is the dryers’ expected useful life? (in years, harvest seasons, or machine hours)
By what percentage has the dryer depreciated?
Are your dryers currently under Manufacturers’ warranty? If so, what is the warranty period?
ENERGY USE FOR CROP DRYING:
ENERGY SOURCES	Propane Natural gas Electricity (describe the Kilowatts hours, amps, & voltage)
ELECTRIC/FUEL SUPPLIERS
Are the dryers using separate meters/fuel tanks or does it share a meter/fuel tank?	Separate	Shared What else uses this meter/tank?
FUEL CONSUMPTION (Gallons, Kilowatts hours, etc.)
2017 Harvest Total 2017 Per month September October November December
FUEL EXPENSES
2017 Harvest Total Per ton of grain Per month
ENERGY USE FOR FACILITY/FARMSTEAD: Yearly totals are fine, but monthly totals provide more accuracy. Electric Propane Natural gas Diesel Ethanol Electric Propane Natural gas
Are these figures separate from grain drying?	YES		NO
Do you currently have backup generators for your facility and/or farmstead? What fuel do these use?	YES		NO
FUEL TYPE & FUEL COSTS FOR TRANSPORTATION (gallons & total fuel costs for 2017):
Are there questions we should have asked or information that you think we should know? In other words, tell us what is on your mind.
Do you have any questions for Mr. Ford?
May we contact you in the future?