In Finland, oat crops are harvested in August-September, once the crops have fully matured. The crops are harvested with a combine harvester. A majority of the farms have their own machinery, or use common machines with their neighboring farms. Due to the rather wet and cool autumn, cereal crop yields must be dried. Almost every farm has its own hot air dryer. In most cases, cereals must be dried to a moisture level of less than 14 percent. Drying must be carried out as quickly as possible after harvesting, in order to retain high grain quality.
When the crops rotate in the dryer, weed seeds, pieces of straw, and other possible impurities are also often eliminated. Additionally, the grains are honed during drying, increasing the hectoliter weight and making the grains easier to handle. The crop harvest also becomes mixed during drying, which increases
homogeneity of the batch. The cereal and oilseed crops are cooled down to storage temperature prior to storage and immediately after drying. Storage primarily takes place on the farms.