The Farming Thread

[Phelia]

This thread is fun! I liked seeing Johnny get schooled re: fermented grain/grass cow chow.

That field corn can stand in the field for a while. The kernels won't start falling off the cob. The farmer is probably busy harvesting soybeans, which can't wait. The pods will eventually open and spill out the beans.

After the last 2 years of drought, there has been a shortage of hay. Sometimes they bail corn or milo stalks. I watched some guys loading bales of wheat straw today. I heard they were going to a dairy in NE.

If you see a harvested field of corn where they left a strip unharvested, that's for the insurance adjuster to look at. Most corn around here is insured.

Interesting. Of course crops are insured, but I hadn't really ever thought about it. Food is complicated.

i went to the feed store and told the old man what i wanted, only i couldn't remember the name of one of the things. i described it as that styrofoam looking white stuff. he looked me up and down and said, "so, you plan on being a farmer?" then he laughed at me. the perlite wasn't for gardening. i was making things. still. he laughed at me. it wasn't a oh, you're funny laugh. it was a man, you're stupid laugh. there is a difference. i didn't think it was funny. i have a habit of forgetting the names of things, especially at the feed store. i didn't really like his store, because the okra seeds were painted funny colors, and he had no clue how to farm without pesticides.

Fuck that guy and fuck his okra seeds.

 

[JohnnySavage]

http://www.greenprophet.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/cow_thumb.jpg

 

[Phelia]

Lookin' fit.

 

[BotanyBoy]

I'm liking that answer. My only question is that the stuff I saw was hard as a rock. There was no moisture left in it. The kernels on the ear appeared inedible (to my untrained eye).


There are too many goddamn faux farmers around these parts (meaning bankers, lawyers, lobbyists and automobile dealers pretending to be farmers).


It was nice to be out where farming is an actual livelihood (and occasionally not— as any farmer worth his salt would tell you.)

I think the most likely cause would be market....recently WA saw the best and biggest cherry harvest on record. An estimated 1/3 of it was left on the trees. The market flooded and the cost of picking and packaging the shit wasn't worth it so the orchardist leaves the fruit on the tree.

Not hard to believe that happens with other crops/livestock....if it's a really awesome year for everyone your shit might not be worth the fuel to haul it to market. Ouchie.....

Or it could just be a shitty crop someone fucked up or got tore up by god knows what. Shit fucking happens...last summer we had a bear take out 20 grand worth of weed. Want to talk about a bad day at the office? Fuckin' bear can make that happen champ.

Farm better crops

 

[marshalt]

Corn is harvested only after the kernels are dry - if they are harvested with high moisture, they have to be run through a drier before sale - meaning more money out and less profit.

Ding-ding-ding!!!

While the corn might seem totally dried out to you, there is still moisture in it.

 

[trysail]

Corn is harvested only after the kernels are dry - if they are harvested with high moisture, they have to be run through a drier before sale - meaning more money out and less profit.

Ding-ding-ding!!!

While the corn might seem totally dried out to you, there is still moisture in it.

I'm going to keep an eye on those fields.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Klip_kukuruza_uzgojen_u_Me%C4%91imurju_%28Croatia%29.JPG/360px-Klip_kukuruza_uzgojen_u_Me%C4%91imurju_%28Croatia%29.JPG



​

 

[the_kuntess]

unless you weirdo yanks call something that isn't silage silage. like you do with football.

Here in Australia & NZ silage is fermented green feed. Grass or maize silage, maize having a higher food value to the animal.

Maize that is left to stand until dry on the cob is going to be harvested for its dry kernel which is a component in stock/poultry food.

 

[koalabear]

I'm going to keep an eye on those fields.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Klip_kukuruza_uzgojen_u_Me%C4%91imurju_%28Croatia%29.JPG/360px-Klip_kukuruza_uzgojen_u_Me%C4%91imurju_%28Croatia%29.JPG



​

Which ones, popcorn, sweet corn, feed corn or bio fuel corn?

 

[the_kuntess]

It was my understanding that maize is corn in it's natural state, and that corn is the genetically modified version of maize grown in the US for food, feed and fuel?

Generally, sweet corn is a selectively bred cultivar of maize. There is a huge difference between selectively bred and genetically modified.

 

[girlsmiley]

Here in Australia & NZ silage is fermented green feed. Grass or maize silage, maize having a higher food value to the animal.

Maize that is left to stand until dry on the cob is going to be harvested for its dry kernel which is a component in stock/poultry food.

I like the smell. Smells like home. I don't know what the fuck these cunts are talking about.

 

[the_kuntess]

I like the smell. Smells like home. I don't know what the fuck these cunts are talking about.

Exactly.
But we know.

 

[girlsmiley]

Silage is kept under wraps because food.

When the elements are playing silly buggers you can still feed stock.

It's that simple. Or you can sell to other farmers.

Gone are the days of earning a real living on a farm. Farmers are getting screwed over by big business. I know for a fact that NZ supplies China, Europe and the Japanese, yet fall short (kiwis pay through the nose for local produce) when it comes to their own. It's balls.

 

[neci]

Nobody does now that we've got an uncontrollable foreign pest (brown marmorated stinkbug) that destroys apples, pears, peaches, soybeans, corn and most other fruits and vegetables.

that's funny. i've had some wonderful pears, watermelons, peaches, okra, tomatoes, onions, garlic... i could go on, this year. really quite tasty. the pesticides led to so many health problems for friends. farmers their whole lives. they swear they will never go back to powdering crops, because it's their lungs and bodies that have paid the price. some families you have the medical documentation alongside the farming documentation for generations. i've wondered what those figures in mass look like. my practical gardening book from the 50's has a special section on beneficial chemicals. scary stuff.

 

[trysail]

Which ones, popcorn, sweet corn, feed corn or bio fuel corn?

I've been convinced that the unharvested fields of corn/maize are feed corn. We'll see how long they remain unharvested.

 

[chillywilly2]

What this thread needs is more speculation...come on, somebody take a wild guess

 

[affabull]

Judging by the replies there are not too many farmers on lit....

 

[trysail]

Judging by the replies there are not too many farmers on lit....

Statistically, they're less than 2% of the population...

and they're busy.​

 

[Ishmael]

I've been convinced that the unharvested fields of corn/maize are feed corn. We'll see how long they remain unharvested.

Or ethanol production.

Ishmael

 

[marshalt]

I've been convinced that the unharvested fields of corn/maize are feed corn. We'll see how long they remain unharvested.

That is mostly correct. And like Ish said, it may also be for ethanol. Actually, the farmer probably has no idea what the corn will be used for.

 

[koalabear]

Soybean and corn harvest in full swing around here now.

 

[marshalt]

BTW, I grew up on a farm, and have worked several ag-related jobs. I'm no expert, but I could probably answer a lot of your questions.

 

[trysail]

BTW, I grew up on a farm, and have worked several ag-related jobs. I'm no expert, but I could probably answer a lot of your questions.

As of 16 October, there was still lots of corn(maize) standing in the fields.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/10248457053_0cb937e637_b.jpg​

 

[kbate]

As of 16 October, there was still lots of corn(maize) standing in the fields.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/10248457053_0cb937e637_b.jpg​

Much of it will remain for a while - we just had 6 to 8 inches of rain and sadly it has two effects - it adds moisture to the grain and it makes the ground too soft for the harvester and the trucks.

 

[marshalt]

As of 16 October, there was still lots of corn(maize) standing in the fields.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/10248457053_0cb937e637_b.jpg​

Like kbate said, if you get a lot of moisture, it makes it impossible to harvest because the ground is too muddy. I've seen farmers wait until freeze up with corn, because then the ground is hard. I've also seen some wait until spring.

Most farmers have more than type of crop, and some are worth more than others. Back where I'm from, farmers will drop everything to harvest their sugar beets, even if it means their other crops suffer from being in the field to long.

 

[Phelia]

Drove past a few farms last weekend and saw rows and rows of wrapped silage bales. I felt so in the know. Thanks, The Farming Thread!