Belt, Chain, or Screw? Choosing the Right Conveyor for Agriculture

Efficient handling and transportation of materials is vital on modern farms, helping move grain, feed, fertiliser and other bulk materials safely and consistently. However, choosing the right conveyor for agricultural use is not always simple. Solutions such as belt conveyors, chain conveyors and screw conveyors all offer different advantages, and selecting the wrong system can impact your productivity, costs and overall performance.

But help is at hand from the conveyor experts here at Coveya. In this guide, we’ll be taking a closer look at belt, chain and screw conveyors to help you understand their strengths, limitations and ideal applications, and how they could be put to efficient use as part of your farming operations.

Why Conveyor Selection Matters in Agriculture

The agriculture sector is under pressure like never before from several different factors. There’s a widely acknowledged labour shortage across the farming industry that is making manual handling positions much harder to fill, while rising operating costs caused by fuel prices and other economic factors demand that every process needs to be as efficient as possible. Seasonal spikes in demand can also place additional strain on equipment, especially during harvesting, storage and processing periods.

Choosing the wrong agricultural conveyor belt will quickly exacerbate issues that your investment was supposed to solve. Poorly matched equipment could damage grain, increase product loss, reduce overall throughput and could even use more energy than is necessary. It can also lead to higher maintenance costs and, in some cases, the need for premature equipment replacement. Getting the right conveyor system in place from the very start helps protect your productivity, product quality and overall efficiency.

Understanding the Three Main Agricultural Conveyor Systems

Belt Conveyors

Belt conveyors (including both fixed belt conveyors and mobile belt conveyors) are one of the most widely used types of conveyor in agriculture. They offer a reliable way to move bulk materials over both short and long distances. They are regularly specified for grain handling, seed transportation, fertiliser movement and for loading or unloading trucks. Their sheer versatility and ability to transport large volumes efficiently make them especially suitable for grain storage facilities and processing plants.

Key Advantages of Belt Conveyors:

  • Gentle Handling: Materials travel smoothly along the belt, which helps to reduce damage to grain, seeds and other sensitive materials.
  • High Capacity: Belt conveyors can transport large volumes of material quickly and consistently, and can be specified in different widths.
  • Energy Efficient: Belt conveyors generally require less energy when moving materials over longer distances.
  • Long-Distance Conveying: They are ideal for transporting materials across large farms, storage facilities and processing sites.
  • Minimal Product Degradation: Reduced contact with moving components helps preserve product quality along the line.

These are strong advantages, but it’s worth remembering that belt conveyors are not always a perfect solution. Their larger footprint can make installation more challenging, and of course the belts themselves will require regular inspection and replacement as they wear. They are also generally less effective on steep inclines than some of the other conveyor systems available.

Chain Conveyors

Chain conveyors are generally more appropriate for agricultural environments where durability and heavy-duty performance are vital. They are regularly specified for grain elevators, bulk storage facilities, feed mills and similar use cases where large volumes of material need to be transported with consistency and efficiency. Their robust construction makes them especially suitable for very demanding environments that require near-continuous operation.

Key Advantages of Chain Conveyors:

  • Durable Construction: They are built to withstand demanding agricultural environments and heavy, prolonged use.
  • Heavy Load Handling: Chain conveyors are well suited in situations where large volumes of grain, feed and other bulk materials need to be moved.
  • Effective Over Long Distances: They are adept at transporting materials efficiently across larger facilities and storage operations.
  • Suitable for Abrasive Materials: They’re a practical choice for handling more demanding materials that may cause rapid wear in other systems.

These advantages make chain units a popular conveyor for agricultural facilities. However, they are not always the ideal solution, as their greater number of moving parts can result in higher maintenance needs. They generally consume more energy than some alternative conveyor types, and the initial investment needed can also be higher due to their heavy-duty construction.

Screw Conveyors

Screw conveyors are a popular choice for agricultural use when materials need to be moved in a controlled and contained manner. They are frequently used in grain bins, feed systems, seed processing facilities and in fertiliser handling applications. Their compact design and modular construction allow them to be installed in areas where space is limited, making them versatile across a wide range of farming environments.

Key Advantages of Screw Conveyors:

  • Compact Design: They generally require less space for installation than some of the alternative conveyor systems available.
  • Fully Enclosed System: Dust is more contained, spillages can be minimised, and materials can be protected from contamination.
  • Cost-Effective: Screw conveyors often come with a lower upfront investment and can be more straightforward to install.
  • Flexible Installation: These types of conveyors can be configured to suit a wide range of layouts and agricultural applications.

These benefits make screw conveyors particularly attractive for smaller agricultural needs and controlled material handling. However, it’s worth noting that they are generally better suited to shorter conveying distances than belt or chain conveyors. Also, the increased contact between materials and moving components, such as the screw itself and the walls of the enclosed chamber, can lead to greater product degradation than some alternative agricultural conveyor belt systems. For example, grain damage may be a significant concern if systems are operated at high speeds.

Which Conveyor Is Best for Grain Handling?

Let’s take grain handling as a major agricultural procedure that we can use as an example. Selecting a conveyor for grain handling requires consideration of factors such as grain damage, throughput requirements (usually quantified as tons per hour or TPH), dust generation, transfer efficiency and overall capacity. The right agricultural conveyor system for your needs will depend on the size of your operation, the distances involved and how your grain is stored and processed.

Belt Conveyors are generally best for:

  • Large grain facilities
  • Export terminals
  • Long-distance grain transport
  • Sites where the equipment footprint is less of an issue

Chain Conveyors are generally best for:

  • Grain storage facilities
  • Heavy-duty grain handling operations
  • Facilities requiring robust, long-term performance

Screw Conveyors are generally best for:

  • Shorter-distance grain transfer
  • Bin loading applications
  • Controlled material movement
  • Sites where space is limited

Which Conveyor Works Best for Feed and Fertiliser?

When handling animal feed, maintaining product integrity is a top priority. The right conveyor should minimise damage to the feed while helping prevent any contamination, ideally with robust dust control throughout. This is particularly important in feed mills where product quality and consistency are essential.

For fertiliser handling, different considerations come into play. Characteristics of the fertiliser itself, such as particle size and moisture content, can have a big influence on conveyor selection, and corrosion resistance may be an important factor depending on the type of fertiliser being transported. Good containment is vital to reduce spillage, minimise waste and maintain a cleaner environment.

Cost Breakdown: Comparing Installation Costs and ROI

Let’s take a broad view of the general differences in cost between various conveyors for agricultural use. For more detailed pricing info and quotes, get in touch with the Coveya team, who will be happy to help.

Belt Conveyor Costs

Belt conveyors generally require more extensive installation work, particularly over longer distances where additional structural support is needed. However, this depends entirely on the type of installation you require, and their efficiency and lower operating costs can balance the upfront investment with long-term value.

Chain Conveyor Costs

While chain conveyors often involve a higher initial investment, which is mainly down to their more robust construction and overall weight, their durability and ability to withstand demanding conditions can result in a longer service life and a better long-term return on your investment.

Screw Conveyor Costs

Screw conveyors typically have lower upfront costs than other systems, mostly because they tend to be used as part of smaller overall installations and are often simpler to fit as a consequence. This can make them attractive for smaller farms and agricultural operations seeking a quicker return on investment.

Conveyor Selection Recommendations by Farm Type

Grain Farms

For grain farms, belt conveyors are often specified for longer-distance transport needs and high-throughput operations, while chain conveyors can be a strong choice for storage facilities and heavier-duty grain handling tasks.

Feed Mills

Feed mills often benefit from screw conveyors for controlled material movement and dust containment, while chain conveyors can support larger-scale handling, long-distance transport needs and near-continuous operation.

Poultry Operations

Screw conveyors are commonly used to make poultry operations more efficient thanks to their compact design, easy-to-control flow options and their suitability for automated feeding systems.

Livestock Farms

For livestock farms, screw conveyors are often an efficient solution for transporting feed safely and consistently while minimising manual handling requirements. They’re well-suited to inclined and near-vertical conveying.

Large Agricultural Processing Plants

Bigger agricultural facilities with longer distances to span generally benefit from belt conveyors for high-capacity transport and chain conveyors for robust, continuous movement of bulk materials.

Require A Conveyor for Your Agricultural Operation? Contact Our Experts Today

Across agriculture and many other sectors, our solutions have made us a global leader in material handling. With decades of experience, Coveya’s engineers are well-placed to help you find the best solution for your needs, whether it’s a single unit or a complex system over a long distance.

We offer conveyors across a wide range of types, whether you need them for a day or a lifetime. We have conveyors for sale, for hire, bespoke options and even used and ex-hire units. Whatever you need, our knowledge, experience, and dedication ensure you get the perfect solution the first time. And it’s all backed up by dedicated aftersales support, comprehensive servicing and maintenance packages and a spare parts service that helps keep your machines at their best.

Ready to talk to us? Give us a call today on 0800 915 9195, email support@coveya.co.uk or use our contact form to let us know what you need. Everything starts with a free site survey so we can see your operations, take any essential measurements and recommend solutions that will actually do what you need them to do.

Coveya Announces Exclusive Discount for UK Farmers

Coveya is proud to back British farming, and we’re putting that commitment into action with an exclusive offer for farmers nationwide. As part of this special discount tier, we are offering an exclusive 45% discount across our full range of new conveyor equipment.

Our goal with this special promotion is to relieve some of the significant pressure placed on British farmers. As a UK-based manufacturer and supplier, we believe in backing the vital industries that help to feed the nation. Our aim is to do what we can to help farms save money and streamline their processes.

Our discount applies for both the hire and purchase of products from our conveyor range, with the objective to make quality equipment more accessible to farming businesses across the UK.

Coveya conveyor systems are already used widely across the agriculture industry, providing farmers with the means to move grain and feed, transport bulk materials and reduce manual handling requirements.

Why Choose Coveya?

Over 35 years of industry expertise, we’ve developed material handling solutions that cover a wide range of agricultural requirements, from conveyors capable of safely moving delicate produce to heavy-duty systems built to handle high volumes of loose material such as wheat or barley.

If you are a farmer operating in the UK, contact our team at Coveya today. We’ll conduct a free on-site survey to understand exactly how we can help with our range of innovative conveyor systems, now available at a discount to your farming business.

Screw Conveyors in Agriculture: Improving Efficiency on the Farm

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, modern farming relies more and more on efficient material handling to keep productivity high, costs controlled and workflows running smoothly. From grain and livestock feed to fertiliser, seeds and agricultural waste, moving granular materials safely and consistently is vital in the day-to-day operations of your farm.

In this guide, from the conveyor experts at Coveya, we’ll explain in detail how screw conveyors in agriculture are used across the agri sector, their many benefits and the different types of screw conveyors available. We’ll also help you choose the right system for your needs and determine whether agricultural screw conveyors could help improve efficiency on your farm.

Quick Recap: What Are Screw Conveyors?

In short, a screw conveyor is essentially a material handling system that uses a rotating helical screw, often known as a flight, to move granular and loose materials through a tube or trough. They are very effective at transporting powders, pellets, grains and other granular materials in a controlled, consistent and efficient way.

Unlike some conveyor systems, screw conveyors significantly reduce spillage and loss as they tend to use either a trough or a completely sealed tube to transport the material through, which also helps control dust. For a deeper explanation, we’ve prepared a full guide to the different types of screw conveyors.

Why Efficient Material Handling Matters on Modern Farms

Like many businesses, modern farms are under significant pressure to do more with less. Labour shortages across the sector are making it difficult to recruit and retain workers, particularly for repetitive material handling tasks. Meanwhile, rising fuel, equipment and operational costs continue to eat away at profits.

While facing these difficult issues, farmers must continue to harvest and process their produce more quickly to maximise productivity and prevent delays down a very tightly controlled supply chain. It may only be one small part of the overall picture, but this is where screw conveyors in agriculture can play their part.

Automating the movement of grain, feed, fertiliser and other bulk materials can make oft-repeated processes much more efficient and consistent. They can also help lessen product loss through spillage and maintain the quality of products throughout the handling process.

Common Agricultural Applications of Screw Conveyors

Grain Handling

One of the single most common uses of screw conveyors in agriculture is grain handling. They can be used to efficiently transport wheat, corn, barley, rice and soybeans between different areas of your farm or processing facility. Screw conveyors are regularly used for loading and unloading storage bins, as well as moving grain between cleaning, drying and processing stages, helping to maintain a steady and controlled flow of materials.

Feed Handling

Your livestock operations can often be boosted and streamlined by clever use of screw conveyors to transport animal feed quickly and consistently. They’re versatile enough to be integrated into automated feeding systems, helping reduce the need for manual handling while ensuring your animals always receive a consistent supply of feed. Screw conveyors are also commonly used within feed mills, helping move ingredients and finished feed products between different stages of production.

Seed Processing

Seed quality and careful handling are critical for your agricultural operations, so controlled automatic handling is always an important consideration. Screw conveyors can meet the requirements needed to gently but efficiently move seeds between processing, packaging and storage areas while maintaining a consistent flow. When correctly specified, this type of farm conveyor helps reduce unnecessary handling, boosting seed quality and helping operators manage a significant volume of seeds more efficiently throughout each cycle.

Fertiliser Handling

When fertiliser needs to be moved in bulk, it can be difficult to do so safely and efficiently without the ideal equipment. Screw conveyors deliver a controlled way to transfer material, allowing fertiliser to be moved between storage, mixing and application areas with the utmost care and minimal spillage. By reducing the need for manual handling in this area, they can also contribute to workplace safety while creating a more consistent and efficient process.

Biomass and Agricultural Waste

Screw conveyors can also be used efficiently in a range of biomass and agricultural waste processes, especially where materials need to be moved in a contained and controlled manner. Their versatility allows them to handle wood chips, crop residues and various forms of organic waste, helping speed up your waste management operations. Their enclosed design also helps reduce material loss while maintaining a cleaner and safer working environment.

Key Benefits of Screw Conveyors on Farms

1. Reduced Labour Requirements

Efficient screw conveyors can help you reduce reliance on manual labour or redeploy workers in more essential areas across your farm. This can help you save time and money, and can be especially beneficial on farms that have been hit by the general labour shortage across the agriculture sector.

2. Increased Operational Efficiency

Because screw conveyors provide a continuous flow of material, they help streamline day-to-day operations. Faster movement of materials between storage, processing and loading areas reduces delays and bottlenecks, helping keep materials moving consistently throughout your farm and improving overall productivity.

3. Space-Saving Design

The popularity of screw conveyors in agricultural settings is boosted by their relatively compact footprint compared to other solutions, and our expert engineers can even install them in areas where space is limited. Their flexible, modular design also means they can be integrated into existing layouts with minimal disruption.

4. Versatility Across Materials

One of the biggest advantages of farm conveyors is their sheer versatility. They can be used to move a wide range of agricultural materials, including grain, feed, seed, fertiliser, powders and pellets. Our conveyors are built to handle a wide range of materials, as you can discover on our Materials We Handle page.

5. Lower Product Loss

The enclosed design of many screw conveyors helps minimise spillage during the transport of materials, which can really help reduce loss and wastage. This can help protect valuable and hazardous materials while also creating a cleaner working environment and a more efficient overall process.

6. Improved Workplace Safety

By reducing manual lifting and limiting direct contact with moving materials, screw conveyors can help improve workplace health and safety. Our enclosed systems help to reduce exposure to dust and moving machinery, helping create a safer environment for farm workers.

Types of Screw Conveyors Used in Agriculture

Horizontal Screw Conveyors

Horizontal screw conveyors, as the name suggests, move materials across a level plane and are commonly used for short to medium-distance transport on farms. They can be used to transfer grain, feed and other bulk materials between storage areas, processing facilities and other parts of your farm as necessary, providing a simple and reliable solution.

Inclined Screw Conveyors

Inclined screw conveyors are used when materials need to be moved from one elevation to another. In agriculture, they are commonly used for loading silos, storage bins and processing equipment, helping move grain, feed and fertiliser efficiently while making better use of the available space on your farm.

Shaftless Screw Conveyors

Shaftless screw conveyors are cleverly designed to handle materials that may cause blockages in more conventional conveyor solutions. Their design helps reduce clogging when moving sticky, fibrous or difficult agricultural by-products, making them particularly practical for biomass and waste-handling applications.

Tubular Screw Conveyors

Tubular screw conveyors use a fully enclosed casing which helps contain dust, reduce spillage and protect sensitive materials from contamination. This makes them particularly useful where product quality is important or where materials are stored and transported outdoors in changing conditions.

How to Select the Right Agricultural Screw Conveyor

Choosing the right screw conveyor for your exact needs depends on several factors. Coveya’s experts are always here to ensure you get the right machinery for your farm, but here are some important considerations to make when thinking about buying or hiring an agricultural screw conveyor:

Material Characteristics

  • Particle size and consistency
  • Moisture content
  • Abrasiveness of the material
  • Overall flowability

Capacity Requirements

  • Required throughput in tonnes per hour
  • Potential seasonal demand peaks
  • Potential future growth requirements

Conveyor Length and Angle

  • The distance the materials need to travel
  • The required incline angle or angles
  • The impact this could have on conveyor performance
  • Any additional power requirements

Environmental Conditions

  • Potential outdoor exposure and weather conditions
  • Need to transport corrosive materials
  • Dust levels and containment requirements
  • Temperature variations across the year

Maintenance Accessibility

  • Ease of inspection and cleaning
  • Access for routine servicing
  • Replacement parts availability
  • Long-term maintenance requirements

Need A Screw Conveyor for Your Farm? Explore Our Range Today

As a global leader in material handling, Coveya are here to ensure you get the perfect solution with your farm conveyors. Whether you’re looking to buy a conveyor or hire a conveyor, we’ve been providing our modular and sometimes bespoke solutions for over three decades, always with the goal of making material handling easier, safer and more efficient.

And we’re not just here at the start of your journey. Our dedication to support and aftersales means you can rely on us for all your servicing and maintenance needs. We even hold a large selection of common conveyor parts in stock to help keep your operations moving.

Call us today on 0800 915 9195, email support@coveya.co.uk or use our easy online contact form, and we’ll start the process of specifying the exact conveyors you need for your farm.