Do not purchase a corn-burning stove or boiler without first identifying a reliable supplier of shelled corn. To find suppliers of shelled corn, contact the feed and seed stores in your area as well as any feed mills and grain elevators. The Extension Office in your county or the land-grant university in your state may also be able to identify suppliers of shelled corn. If you know any farmers, contact them directly to inquire if they or other farmers they know will sell shelled corn to you on a direct basis. Be sure that the moisture content of the shelled corn that you buy is no higher than 15.5 % for good combustion characteristics and for safe storage of the corn. (See the link for "Quality of Shelled Corn" on the homepage of the web site.)

Generally, it will be cheaper to buy the corn directly from a farmer than from a feed mill or elevator. Probably the most expensive place to buy shelled corn is from a fireplace/hearth shop where the corn is sold in cute little decorated bags. In many cases, it will be necessary to purchase a large amount of corn at a time to get the cheapest price for the corn. You may find it is necessary to purchase 25 bushels (1,400 pounds) to 100 bushels (5,600 pounds) to negotiate the cheapest price. Whenever discussing price, be sure to consider the cost for the delivery of the corn to your home.

The price of corn fluctuates throughout regions of the U. S. and throughout each year. It is impossible for any supplier to provide a firm price for corn over an extended period of time, unless you buy the corn on a futures contract. You may be able to negotiate a price that is a fixed number of cents higher than the price of corn on the commodity market at the time of your purchase.

Dennis Buffington
Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Penn State University
Email: dbuffington@psu.edu
814-865-2971 (Voice)
814-863-1031 (FAX)