The Farming Thread

[JohnnySavage]

funny colonials

do they make silage too? that stuff has to be smelled to be believed.

In my googling, I saw pictures of hay wrapped in big plastic bags, so that they look like giant marshmallows... those are very common in my home area. And the google said that's silage, but I don't know the technicalities of it.

I was just trying to think of a reason for what Trysail saw regarding corn.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Sir: we subject hypotheses to scrutiny around heah.

And youre a piece of bloviating dog crap. Youre speculating about how many angels can moonwalk on Obamas pecker.

 

[trysail]

And youre a piece of bloviating dog crap. Youre speculating about how many angels can moonwalk on Obamas pecker.

Got milk?

 

[JohnnySavage]

Eh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize

Perhaps I've overlooked something.

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?

 

[koalabear]

...my understanding was that the wet & green was specially stored to prevent rotting. not enough air to rot. I have seen it. it oozes.

I shall try my google fu!

http://www.biotechlearn.org.nz/themes/future_farming/what_is_silage

fermented, because it's stored with low oxygen levels.

^^This, it is the fermented plant material.

 

[dolf]

In my googling, I saw pictures of hay wrapped in big plastic bags, so that they look like giant marshmallows... those are very common in my home area. And the google said that's silage, but I don't know the technicalities of it.

I was just trying to think of a reason for what Trysail saw regarding corn.

that's the stuff! they squish the air out so that it sort of ferments instead of rotting. they used to pile it into a roofless container, then cover & weigh it down. it keeps all the goodness in.

 

[JohnnySavage]

that's the stuff! they squish the air out so that it sort of ferments instead of rotting. they used to pile it into a roofless container, then cover & weigh it down. it keeps all the goodness in.

When I was a wee lad, my summer time job was bailing hay. It was a lot of work and convinced me to get educated so I would never have to work again.

 

[dolf]

When I was a wee lad, my summer time job was bailing hay. It was a lot of work and convinced me to get educated so I would never have to work again.

ha! yes, I wouldn't fancy the life of a farmer much either. it doesn't even seem to pay off financially for many of them here, with supermarkets cornering the markets and paying barely what it costs to produce.

 

[JohnnySavage]

ha! yes, I wouldn't fancy the life of a farmer much either. it doesn't even seem to pay off financially for many of them here, with supermarkets cornering the markets and paying barely what it costs to produce.

Back at the homestead, coal and corn are king. Both are a lot of work; which is why I left when I turned 17.

 

[CandiCame]

Aside from animal feed you can use the died up corn to make corn meal and whatnot. I mean, you have to hang them to dry and heat them and whatnot before you can grind it up anyway.

 

[CandiCame]

When I was a wee lad, my summer time job was bailing hay. It was a lot of work and convinced me to get educated so I would never have to work again.

Right!? Like stripping tobacco. I remember a few years about they passed a law saying that if you work your kids to death you have to pay them and a bunch of old timers got mad as hell.

 

[3fingers]

Knowing what state you saw this corn in would help immensely...

Silage is usually harvested very green and wet. Otherwise it does not ferment properly. Generally farmers harvest silage before they harvest any corn for grain.

September is early for corn harvest. A lot of this is dependent on weather...when the crop was planted, how much heat and rain there was during the growing season, and thus when it matures. Typically corn harvest in the "I" states runs from late September through Thanksgiving.

Corn harvested for grain has to be dry to "keep". Markets do not accept corn above 15% moisture, at least not without a reduced price. If the farmer intends to store the corn on-farm, it must either dry in the field naturally, or dried artificially. The drier it is, the longer it can be stored without spoilage.

The longer it stays in the field, the less the farmer has to spend on fuel to dry it. On the other hand, the longer it stays in the field, the more risk there is that it will be lost to wind/rain.

Disregard 7/8 of what you read in previous posts about silage and sweet corn. WTF???

 

[CandiCame]

Knowing what state you saw this corn in would help immensely...

Silage is usually harvested very green and wet. Otherwise it does not ferment properly. Generally farmers harvest silage before they harvest any corn for grain.

September is early for corn harvest. A lot of this is dependent on weather...when the crop was planted, how much heat and rain there was during the growing season, and thus when it matures. Typically corn harvest in the "I" states runs from late September through Thanksgiving.

Corn harvested for grain has to be dry to "keep". Markets do not accept corn above 15% moisture, at least not without a reduced price. If the farmer intends to store the corn on-farm, it must either dry in the field naturally, or dried artificially. The drier it is, the longer it can be stored without spoilage.

The longer it stays in the field, the less the farmer has to spend on fuel to dry it. On the other hand, the longer it stays in the field, the more risk there is that it will be lost to wind/rain.

Disregard 7/8 of what you read in previous posts about silage and sweet corn. WTF???

Well, to be fair, a lot of people use that flash-freeze method instead of drying now so you can do the continuous harvest thing and get more yield per field.

 

[koalabear]

No till farming, not much silage done these days.

 

[girlsmiley]

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv5hjkjA511qbqbndo1_500.jpg

 

[girlsmiley]

When I was a wee lad, my summer time job was bailing hay. It was a lot of work and convinced me to get educated so I would never have to work again.

'Baling', champ.

 

[trysail]

Knowing what state you saw this corn in would help immensely...

Silage is usually harvested very green and wet. Otherwise it does not ferment properly. Generally farmers harvest silage before they harvest any corn for grain.

September is early for corn harvest. A lot of this is dependent on weather...when the crop was planted, how much heat and rain there was during the growing season, and thus when it matures. Typically corn harvest in the "I" states runs from late September through Thanksgiving.

Corn harvested for grain has to be dry to "keep". Markets do not accept corn above 15% moisture, at least not without a reduced price. If the farmer intends to store the corn on-farm, it must either dry in the field naturally, or dried artificially. The drier it is, the longer it can be stored without spoilage.

The longer it stays in the field, the less the farmer has to spend on fuel to dry it. On the other hand, the longer it stays in the field, the more risk there is that it will be lost to wind/rain.

Disregard 7/8 of what you read in previous posts about silage and sweet corn. WTF???

Thanks.

I realize that local conditions will be the main factors in deciding when to harvest. Based on what you and others have said, it seems more and more likely that the corn/maize I saw is intended for use as animal feed.


It's probable that I'll pass those fields again this fall and I intend to keep an eye on them to see when they're harvested.


Judging from the ear I looked at yesterday, I have to believe that stuff couldn't possibly be consumed by anything without first being ground and moisturized.


I've passed these fields several times this summer and have made a point of watching their progress and occasionally pulling an ear in order to have a look.

 

[JohnnySavage]

'Baling', champ.

First The JAJ corrects my apostrophe usage, and now an Aussie corrects my spelling.

Oh the horror!

 

[unregistered]

 

[kbate]

For example— yesterday, I was traveling through some corn (maize) fields. By the end of September, I would expect those fields to have been harvested.


Much to my surprise (obviously), there were a fair number of fields where the corn was still standing. Mystified, I stopped to pull an ear to see what the corn looked like. When I shucked an ear, it was dessicated, shriveled and hard. It didn't look like it could be used for much of anything. It didn't look like it could be used as animal feed.

Why wasn't the corn harvested earlier?

Why would a farmer leave corn unharvested?​

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.

 

[girlsmiley]

<snip> and now a farm chick corrects my spelling.

Oh the horror!

FYP.

I just thought it was funny because.

You know. With you being "educated" and all...

Ah forget it.

 

[CountryGuy2]

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.

 

[neci]

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.

 

[kbate]

, and he had no clue how to farm without pesticides.

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.

 

[trysail]

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.

Jeeeeezzzzzzzzzzuuzzzzzzzzz,​

the fucking stink bugs have mounted a massive, full-fledged assault.

It's 81° (27°C) outside and 71° (21°C) inside and the goddamn vermin want in. I must have bumped off a score of the little fuckers today. The bastards can squeeze through anything.