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Wheat barley storage moisture

Updated: 22 October 2026

The meter has just shown a percent on wheat or feed barley, and you need the target. Wheat barley storage moisture in the UK is not a single pass mark. AHDB’s line is to dry cereals at or above 18% straight away, keep a longer store below 14.5% and cold, and treat malting barley as nearer 13% and not cooled below 10°C. Oilseed rape is only a contrast. The seven cards are the [grain moisture meter comparison](/hub/measuring-equipment/grain-moisture-meter). This page does not rank them. Peter F. used AHDB’s storage pages and the Food Standards Agency code on 21 October 2026. A qualifying Amazon purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The meter has just shown a percent on wheat or feed barley, and you need the target. Wheat barley storage moisture in the UK is not a single pass mark.

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On this page
  1. 1.Three numbers for wheat and feed barley
  2. 2.Cold grain, with one exception
  3. 3.The meter is least steady where the risk is highest
  4. 4.Oilseed rape is a different target

Three numbers for wheat and feed barley

A meter that reads 15.2% has not cleared a long store. Trade often still happens at 15%, so the load may be saleable and is not yet in the quieter band. Grain at 14.5% in a shed at 25°C is not the same store as grain held near 5°C. Put batches at or above 18% first in the dryer queue. Temporary holding generally runs until 31 October unless a derogation applies. A 200-tonne bay at 19% is the load you dry before a bay that already reads 14%.

Cold grain, with one exception

For feed cereals, aim below 15°C within about two weeks, below 12°C within about three to four months, and below 5°C by the end of December. Do not put malting barley on that last step. If the two lots share a bay, cooling everything to 5°C is the wrong treatment for the malting lot. The Food Standards Agency’s ochratoxin A code says dry below 18% and then hold near 15%. That sits beside AHDB’s tighter long-store line. Use 18% as the alarm to dry now, and the stricter target when the grain will sit for months. A reading of 16% fails both for a long hold.
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The meter is least steady where the risk is highest

A screen that says 17% may be a heap closer to 18%. Treat a high reading as a reason to dry, not as an all-clear. A single shallow probe stab is a weak way to decide you have hit 14.5%. Draw a sample and repeat it, which is the job of how to measure grain moisture. If the repeats jump by a full percent, the heap is not ready to label, however close the average sits to 14.5%.

Oilseed rape is a different target

Do not copy 14.5% onto oilseed rape. If the listing does not name rape, do not assume the wheat setting is close enough. One RQ-W65pro page names rape and the other does not, and neither has an oven result you can lean on. Which listing can support a reading is on the best grain moisture meter page. ISO 712-1:2024 is the oven reference for cereals inside its scope. It is not a badge a handheld can claim, and it does not cover maize. Hay heating belongs with fire-service guidance, not with a 14.5% cereal store. A warm heap at 14.5% still wants the cooling schedule.

Common questions

What moisture should UK wheat and barley be stored at?
For a longer store, AHDB puts cereals below 14.5% moisture and cold, about 5°C, with feed wheat and feed barley in that group. At or above 18%, dry immediately. Below 13%, mite breeding is effectively limited. Grain sold at 15% or a little above can still be a trade parcel, and it is not yet at the long-store line. Malting barley is the exception inside barley: nearer 13%, and not below 10°C in the store.
Why does 13% matter for mites?
AHDB says mite breeding is effectively limited below 13% moisture. That line sits under the 14.5% food-safety threshold, not instead of it. At about 5°C, wheat at 14.5% is near 56% equilibrium relative humidity, and mould and mite reproduction stop below about 65% equilibrium relative humidity. Cold grain at a modest moisture is part of the same control. A meter reading of 13% on a warm surface sample is not, by itself, a mite survey.
What is different about malting barley?
Hold it nearer 13% for a long store, and do not cool it below 10°C, because colder grain can induce secondary dormancy. The December target of 5°C is for feed cereals, not for this contract. Test germination before storage, after about three months, and before delivery. The moisture meter will not report germination. If feed barley and malting barley share a bay, do not cool the bay to the feed target and assume the malting lot is unharmed.
Can you trust a meter more when the grain is very wet?
You should trust it less. At or above 18%, AHDB’s meter comparison found under-reading of as much as 1%, which is the region where the storage risk is also higher, including warm grain and ochratoxin A from Penicillium verrucosum. Near 15%, maintained meters were usually within about ±0.5% of an oven. Use a high reading as a prompt to dry, keep a margin, and do not treat the screen as a clearance for mycotoxins.
Where does oilseed rape sit next to cereals?
It sits much lower. AHDB’s long-store target is 7.5–8%, and the seed should not be dried below 6%. The cereal figure of 14.5% is too wet for that store. One of the two RQ-W65pro listings names oilseed rape and the other does not, and neither result has been oven-checked here. If your meter has no rape curve, do not borrow the wheat setting. Maize is a further outsider: it is outside ISO 712, and it is outside this wheat and barley page.
Does drying to 14.5% mean the grain is free of mycotoxins?
No. Drying and cooling reduce the conditions in which storage fungi such as Penicillium verrucosum develop, especially once grain is below 18% and then held colder and drier. They do not test the grain, and they do not remove a toxin that is already there. The Food Standards Agency code says dry below 18% and hold near 15%. AHDB’s longer store is tighter: below 14.5% and cold. A mycotoxin result, if the contract needs one, comes from a lab, not from the moisture meter.

Related pages

Grain moisture meter buying guide

Grain moisture meter

Best grain moisture meter: sample, probe or grinder

How to measure grain moisture: sample, then repeat

Grain moisture probe or cup meter: when to use which

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures for these seven listings. The price band is this set, not a market average. A seller’s ±0.5% line is not an oven result.

  1. AHDB: how to use a grain moisture meter (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. AHDB: grain storage moisture targets (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. AHDB: pests, fungi and ochratoxin A (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. AHDB: hazards in longer-term grain storage (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. FSA: mycotoxins publications (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. AIC Grain storage guide 2023 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. ISO 712-1:2024 cereal oven method (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service: storing hay safely (retrieved 22 October 2026)