Key takeaway
A smaller settlement weight can reflect a contract convention; it is not a measurement of spilled grain.
Choose the mass basis before asking what disappeared
An intake ticket, dryer record and settlement statement may all describe one load with different weights. The owner’s first decision is whether a reduction represents calculated water removal, a measured dry-matter loss or a contractual allowance. A single shrink percentage obscures that distinction and can produce misleading training labels for loss or process performance.
Iowa State University Extension explains dry-matter conservation during water removal and separates handling shrink from moisture shrink. Its historical soybean guidance also distinguishes calculated water shrink from additional commercial allowances. These physical distinctions were rechecked 11 October 2026. The old articles’ commodity prices, storage advice and market arrangements are not current evidence for a particular contract.
Reconcile one load on a wet basis
This hypothetical load has a net intake mass of 10,000 kg and moisture of 20% on a wet basis: water as a fraction of total wet mass. Dry matter is therefore 10,000 × (1 − 0.20) = 8,000 kg. If only water is removed and the target moisture is 15%, expected total mass is 8,000 / 0.85 = 9,411.8 kg, rounded to one decimal.
The corresponding water-only reduction is 588.2 kg, or about 5.882% of the original load. Now assume an invented commercial settlement factor of 1.4% of original mass for each moisture percentage point removed. Five percentage points give 7%, or 700 kg, and a settlement weight of 9,300 kg. The 111.8 kg difference from the water-only calculation is an allowance under these assumptions; it is not observed physical loss.
| Basis | Calculation | Result | What the result means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry matter at intake | 10,000 × 0.80 | 8,000 kg | Assumes intake moisture and net mass are valid |
| Water-only target mass | 8,000 / 0.85 | 9,411.8 kg | Assumes dry matter conserved at 15% wet-basis moisture |
| Water-only reduction | 10,000 − 9,411.8 | 588.2 kg | Calculated water removal; rounded |
| Invented settlement reduction | 10,000 × 1.4% × 5 | 700 kg | Contract assumption, not measured handling loss |
| Settlement weight | 10,000 − 700 | 9,300 kg | Commercial basis used only in this example |
Do not turn the residual into a damage label
Add a hypothetical final scale observation of 9,320 kg. It is 91.8 kg below the water-only target calculation and 20 kg above the invented settlement weight. Neither comparison establishes spillage, theft or dryer damage. The target calculation depends on both moisture observations representing the load, the scale boundaries agreeing and dry matter being conserved.
Assign the residual a review status until the load records support an explanation. Check sampling time and location, scale tare, gross versus net mass, commingling, split loads and moisture variation. A final moisture other than 15% changes the expected mass. A moisture value on a dry basis is a different denominator and cannot silently enter the wet-basis equation. Retain the raw observations and uncertainty notes rather than forcing reconciliation.
Keep the contract factor separate
A reviewable load record needs intake and final net mass, moisture basis, sample identity, sampling time, instrument or lab reference and the exact settlement convention. The convention should specify the moisture endpoints, how partial percentage points are handled, the mass to which the factor applies and any rounding. Drying, storage and handling charges belong in separate fields.
The historical extension passages explain why water shrink and an extra allowance can differ; they do not establish today’s factor for this load. Read the actual applicable purchase or storage terms before labeling an allowance. An archive that retains only the settled weight may support settlement-history analysis but not physical-loss analysis. State that limitation rather than reverse-engineering a missing scale reading from a commercial factor.
Finish with two usable series
The completed example keeps a physical series—10,000 kg intake, 8,000 kg assumed dry matter and 9,411.8 kg water-only target—beside a commercial series with its invented factor and 9,300 kg settlement weight. The separate 9,320 kg observation remains a measurement to investigate. A buyer can choose the relevant series without mistaking an accounting convention for an observed production event.
Use Inventory to map load tickets, moisture results and settlement terms; Readiness can assign missing sample or scale records. Begin any external conversation with a synthetic load and a dictionary of these bases. Actual grower identities, prices, customer terms and restricted contracts need their own disclosure review. A clean reconciliation makes the records interpretable; it does not establish license value or demand.