Grain, feed, fertilizer and dry bulk
Hopper bottom dispatch that keeps the trailer earning after harvest
Grain work comes in rushes: harvest lines at the elevator, then weeks of quiet. We plan your harvest runs and line up the off-season freight before the rush ends, and every load is offered to you before it is booked.
Deal me in: 3 taps
Pick all three and your fee shows here. No haul, no pay.
Keep my hopper rollingWhat a hopper bottom can haul
Grain at harvest. Corn, soybeans, wheat and other small grains from fields and farm bins to local elevators, ethanol plants, feed mills and river or rail terminals.
Stored grain the rest of the year. Farmers and elevators sell from storage when prices suit them, which keeps a steady trickle of loads moving to processors and export points through the winter and spring.
Fertilizer, feed and byproducts. Dry fertilizer before planting, livestock feed, distillers grains and other byproducts from ethanol and processing plants.
Other free-flowing bulk. Sand, salt and similar materials where the trailer and the receiver's setup allow. Clean-out rules apply between some of these and food grain.
Weight decides the load, not the trailer
Grain is dense. On many tractor and hopper combinations, the federal 80,000 lb gross limit is reached before the trailer is heaped. 23 CFR 658.17(b)Checked October 2026 Take your empty weight away from 80,000, divide by the crop's test weight per bushel, and you have your legal bushels. Use your elevator's test weight, not a book figure, because moisture and quality change it.
Hours during harvest
Drivers hauling agricultural commodities within 150 air-miles of their source are outside the federal hours-of-service rules during the planting and harvesting periods each state sets. 49 CFR 395.1(k)Checked October 2026 Longer runs to distant terminals fall back under the normal limits, so we plan those around your hours.
License and equipment
A tractor and hopper trailer is a Group A combination, so for-hire interstate work needs a Class A CDL. 49 CFR 383.5Checked October 2026 Tarps matter too: loose grain blowing off an open trailer draws tickets, and many receivers expect a covered load.
Elevator lines
At peak harvest, lines at the elevator can run for hours. A load that pays well on paper can lose its value in a long line. We watch which elevators and plants are moving trucks quickly and steer loads there when you have the choice.
Clean-outs between products
A hopper that hauled fertilizer can't go straight to a load of food-grade grain, and some feed mills are strict about what was in the trailer before their product. Residue in the hoppers and on the gates is the usual problem.
We sequence loads so clean products follow clean products where possible, and plan a wash or a thorough clean-out when the next load demands it. The cost of the clean-out goes into the decision before you accept.
Storage moves and ground piles
When harvest outruns storage, elevators pile grain on the ground and move it later, and farmers hold grain in bins until prices suit them. Both turn into loads in the weeks and months after harvest.
That freight is less frantic than harvest and often runs longer distances to processors and terminals. It is a good way to keep a hopper earning into the winter.
Ethanol plants and byproducts
Ethanol plants buy corn all year and ship out distillers grains, a common livestock feed. That gives grain country a steady two-way flow: corn in, byproducts out to feedyards and dairies.
Pairing a corn load in with a byproduct load out is one of the better ways to cut empty miles on a hopper. We look for those pairs on your lanes.
What elevators and buyers check
Your authority, insurance and safety record for for-hire work, a clean trailer with tarps that close properly, and often a scale ticket at both ends. Some processors require driver site safety training and appointment scheduling, and terminals may book trucks into time slots during the busy weeks.
We keep track of each buyer's requirements, so the first load at a new plant isn't the one where you find out about the orientation video.
What grain haulers ask us
"Harvest is local. Why do I need a dispatcher?" You may not during harvest. The value is in the other months, when local work dries up and the trailer needs freight further afield.
"Will you keep me close to home?" Yes, if that is the plan. Tell us your radius and we work inside it.
Grain hauling mistakes we help you avoid
- Loading by volume, not weight. A heaped trailer of heavy grain can be thousands of pounds over the limit.
- Waiting in the wrong line. The elevator with the best price may cost you three loads in waiting time.
- Forgetting the clean-out. Fertilizer residue can get a food-grain load rejected.
- Parking after harvest. Off-season work needs to be lined up before the last field is done, not after.
- Running uncovered. Grain blowing off the trailer draws tickets and complaints.
Long runs to terminals and processors
River terminals, rail loaders and large processors often pay a premium over the local elevator, which makes a longer run worth it when lines are short and the backhaul is planned. The trade-off is time: a 200-mile run each way takes a day that could have been several local loads.
We compare the two on what each leaves after fuel and empty miles, and we look for a byproduct or fertilizer load near the terminal to bring the truck home loaded.
Starting out with a hopper
Many grain haulers start by hauling for farms and elevators they already know, then add for-hire work as the truck and the record allow. Get your authority, insurance and Class A sorted first, and talk to the local elevators before harvest, not during it.
We help new hopper carriers fill the gap between harvests, which is where most first-year grain businesses struggle.
A few winter months of fertilizer, feed and stored grain loads can be the difference between a hopper that pays for itself and one that sits in the shed until the next harvest.
How we dispatch a hopper bottom
Before harvest, we line up the farmers, elevators and brokers you will haul for and the terminals that pay a premium for longer runs. During harvest, we keep the truck cycling with as little empty running as possible. As harvest winds down, we switch to stored grain, fertilizer and feed, so the slow months still earn.
Every load is offered to you first: the pickup, the commodity, the destination, the pay basis and the rate. Once you agree, the broker emails the rate confirmation to you. A no costs nothing.
Your own farm customers stay yours. Tell us their dates and we fill the rest of the season around them. Learn more in our guides to the grain truck and the grain hauling season calendar, or see what hopper gates do at the pit.
The hopper fee EXAMPLE
Say a run to a river terminal pays $950. At the standard rate the dispatch fee is $47.50 and you keep $902.50. A new MC pays 7% for 6 months, and fleets of 2 or more pay 4% while that limited-time rate lasts.
No setup fee, no minimums and nothing in the weeks the truck sits waiting on a wet field. Check a heavy load's axle groups with the federal bridge formula calculator, and see every tier on the dispatch fee page.
Grain hauling dispatch questions
01How many bushels does a hopper bottom trailer hold?
It depends on the trailer's size and the crop, and on your legal weight. Grain is heavy, so on many rigs you reach the 80,000 lb gross limit before the trailer is full. Work it out from your empty weight and the crop's test weight per bushel. The calculator figures on this page are examples; your elevator's scale ticket is the real number.
02What do hopper bottoms haul after harvest?
Stored grain moving to processors and river terminals, fertilizer and seed before spring planting, livestock feed, distillers grains and other byproducts, and free-flowing bulk like sand and salt. Some of those loads need a clean-out first, especially going from fertilizer to food grain. We plan the off-season early so the trailer doesn't park after harvest.
03How are grain loads paid?
Local harvest hauling is often paid per bushel or per hundredweight, and longer runs to terminals or processors per mile or as a flat rate for the trip. Count the empty miles back to the field or the next pickup, because grain hauling has plenty of them. Judge each load on what it leaves after the whole trip.
04Do grain haulers need a CDL?
A tractor and hopper bottom trailer is a combination well over 26,001 lb with a trailer over 10,000 lb, so the driver needs a Class A CDL for interstate work. Some states have exemptions for farmers moving their own grain locally. Check your state's rules if you haul for your own farm.
05How much does hopper bottom dispatch cost?
5% of gross for one truck on an MC older than 6 months, 7% while the MC is under 6 months, and 4% per truck for fleets of 2 or more while that limited-time rate lasts. No setup fee and nothing in a week you don't haul.
Busy at harvest. Busy after it.
Send the application with your trailer and home area. We'll call with grain and bulk loads that fit the season, and you approve each one.