[Cowman]

Please pardon my ignorance on this but doesn't dried grain have an almost unlimited shelf life? It seems to me that it would be better to store the grain and grind flour as needed.

[MrB]

That’s my strategy - store the grain, buy a hand grinder.
Country Living Mill, btw.

Get the “power bar” attachment so that people with smaller forearms than popeye can grind wheat, too.

[Outraged Infidel]

“doesn’t dried grain have an almost unlimited shelf life?”

I’ve had things like whole wheat flour and brown rice go rancid. I think it’s the oils in them that cause it.

[ROLF of the HILL COUNTRY]

Dried grain/meal is extremely vulnerable to pests, even “airtight” storage containers won't protect the contents from insect eggs already in the grains. For most people who use the product within a few weeks of purchase, this is not noticeable, but when stored for many months, meal moths and similar critters can make your grain or meal pretty nauseating to look at if nothing else...

The heating process kills the eggs.