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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

corn question

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Chris in WI

10-19-2006 07:13:34




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Exactly how to you guys tell when your corn is ready to combine? I am kind of new to this and I have heard a couple diferent methods, but I still am unsure what to check for.
Thanks




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Gerald J.

10-19-2006 20:01:58




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
In the days of cheap drying fuel and lots of corn borers and corn not resistant to corn borers (skinny cob connections to the stalk) the universities worked it out that 21% was the optimum picking efficiency. Now that propane and natural gas cost more than ten times as much, lots of corn has some resistance (fat cob stalks) or even BT in the corn, the optimum picking moisture has to be lower but I've not seen any new publications about it. Unless the corn came from Pioneer which seems to have a problem standing in the fall, waiting for lower moisture works quite well, last year my corn came out of the field at 14.7% as measured by the elevator (two points wetter than my hand shelled samples on my moisture tester) which avoided drying charges so long as I sold it and didn't store it. To store it I would have had to have paid drying and shrink down to 14%. Fortunately I had sold most of it at a fine price in the summer ahead of time and then got a 50 cent LDP so I took the $1.85 cash that the corn got up to the next week and avoided shrink, drying, and storage costs. There was some corn down and some ears that sprouted in the beans this year but not enough to have paid for drying had I harvested earlier.

Corn that sits through wet snow has a greater tendency to rot at the bottom and fall over so lots of snow hurts, but I have seen fields stand until spring.

Gerald J.

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John (C-IL)

10-19-2006 10:19:44




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
Everyone is dancing around the answer, but moisture content is the correct answer. From there everyone has a different opinion as to optimum moisture for harvest, but above 15% is where you will encounter shrink and drying charges. You have to balance that with the harvest losses when harvesting below 20% moisture. There have been reams of papers written about kernal respiration, harvest losses and storage issues at various corn moisture levels.

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Dan-IA

10-19-2006 15:34:26




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 Re: corn question in reply to John (C-IL), 10-19-2006 10:19:44  
Are any of those reams of papers online anywhere? I've been at this for coming up on 2 years now, but I've been letting Dad make the big decisions. Lookin' to learn if I can.

Oh, we try not to take it out higher than 18%. One farm waits until 16% because we don't have a drier for the bin that holds that crop. We're taking a special exception this year and pulling it out wet now because they're talking snow.

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John (C-IL)

10-19-2006 17:12:41




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 Re: corn question in reply to Dan-IA, 10-19-2006 15:34:26  
Start here, there is enough reading to keep you occupied for several months of winter nights. Everything you wanted to know about farm management and a lot of things you don't want to know.

If you want to try a test, pick out 5 acres and combine every other pass at 20-22% moisture and keep track of the expenses and income. Then, go back later and harvest the other half at whatever moisture you think will save you the most money and compare. The risk is low and the results will be on your own farm and won't cost you much either way.

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jddriver

10-19-2006 09:46:53




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
Remember it will pick up 1-2 points going thru combine



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Nebraska Cowman

10-19-2006 09:41:04




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
I eat some. You get so you can tell within a couple points.



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nickg

10-19-2006 08:53:21




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
Also take in to effect that if your going to haul your corn to the bin it can be harvested a little wetter and you can dry it down with your bin fan. If you haul it straight out of the field wet you will take a heck of a dock at the grain elevator for wet corn.Ideally here in Indiana the elevator likes your corn to be less than 18% or you get docked. I am not sure what it is per bushel, but sometimes you have to haul in wet corn.If I have corn that is 20% or higher i store it and lat it dry down in the bin with the fan on it. I wont dry corn in the dryer unless it is above 25%. Every farmer has a little different method to there maddness

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paul

10-19-2006 08:39:02




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
Start the day after the neighbor does - if you planted at the same time.

--->Paul



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nickg

10-19-2006 08:17:31




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
I wait for the ears to drop down but i also have gone out to the field and gotten several ears off the inside rows due to the dry slower than your outside rows and I take them back to the farm and take off the kernels and put them in a moisture tester. I also usually try to shell the fields in the order they were planted and you can pretty well judge when the others are ready.



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nickg

10-19-2006 08:17:13




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
I wait for the ears to drop down but i also have gone out to the field and gotten several ears off the inside rows due to the dry slower than your outside rows and I take them back to the farm and take off the kernels and put them in a moisture tester. I also usually try to shell the fields in the order they were planted and you can pretty well judge when the others are ready.



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BillyinStoughton

10-19-2006 07:50:56




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
Moisture content! The way NG and LP prices are, you don't want to run up too large a bill with the dryer! :)

Billy



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ryanfisher

10-19-2006 07:44:16




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 Re: corn question in reply to Chris in WI, 10-19-2006 07:13:34  
down here in Nebraska, we wait for the ears to turn down, so they are laying against the stalk, and when they do that, they'll be about 18% moisture.



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