Picking ear corn

Stan IL&TN wrote: I wonder if growing pop-corn is an option assuming the old pickers would be able to grab the smaller ears? I still have dad's one row John Deere picker sitting up on the hill in the brush where it has been for the last 50 or so years. I'm sure it just needs a little grease and it would be right as rain.

thats something I've considered also but was told popcorn has to be handled more gently than the old pickers are capable of doing.

Edited by grinder220 - 02 Mar 2017 at 3:36pm

I wonder if growing pop-corn is an option assuming the old pickers would be able to grab the smaller ears? I still have dad's one row John Deere picker sitting up on the hill in the brush where it has been for the last 50 or so years. I'm sure it just needs a little grease and it would be right as rain.

Jim, read my tutorial on doing this.....


[TUBE]c-7Gm_WjYco[/TUBE]

dpower wrote: We still pick most of our  corn and shell it out with a 1210 Minnie. Dad made a lot of money doing custom corn shelling for guys in the 80s. Our last customer quit 8 years ago, his 90 year old land lord would only let him rent the land if he would pick all the ear corn, so that kept us a job for awhile. The cobs we use to sell to a guy that would make ammo brass cleaner out of it. Always wanted to get a Cook Sheller heard they did an amazing job and did it fast.

I have an old MM sheller, 1200 I think,--- could be repaired, been outside for a long time.----Also have a JD #18 picker and one for parts, a bit stuck, but I bought them that way and then got out of the chicken business so now these machines sit until a buyer comes along.---Also have a nice electric hammer mill (sitting inside) and a Case hammer mill, belt drive with several different screens. thanks; ac fleet

We still pick most of our corn and shell it out with a 1210 Minnie. Dad made a lot of money doing custom corn shelling for guys in the 80s. Our last customer quit 8 years ago, his 90 year old land lord would only let him rent the land if he would pick all the ear corn, so that kept us a job for awhile. The cobs we use to sell to a guy that would make ammo brass cleaner out of it. Always wanted to get a Cook Sheller heard they did an amazing job and did it fast.

dawntreader74 wrote: jim' you can't beat it ground up with a little good old hay ground up with it' makes the best feed. right.

Does anyone have a pull type picker for sale?

jim' you can't beat it ground up with a little good old hay ground up with it' makes the best feed. right.

We got the same deer infestation around here,---and the great white hunters can't seeeem to kill any of them!!!----cars do a better job than the hunters do!!  Most hunters only want that certain buck so they can brag about it to all their drinkin buddies!  Dnr WONT help us in any way to lessen the problem that they created to begin with!
We are only 3 miles from a state habitat where they plant acres, and acres of feed/weed fields for that crap to get fat on AFTER they come destroy our gardens/orchards FIRST, then go run for safety and relaxation !

If you do pick some corn in the ear, you could put up an ad in your area and if it don't sell run it thru the combine!--lotta work to shovel it into the header, but more fun and doing the old way ,(kinda, sorta).  We don't have any market around here for ear corn to actually sell for money, but you may find a market in your area! --- good luck!!  thanks; ac fleet

HD6GTOM wrote: Ryan wife has been doing farmers markets for over 20 years. I now get drug along on Monday afternoons. In all that time I have never seen ear corn at a market here in the corn belt. I would buy a few hogs and put it thru them. If you guys are planting deer plots there will be a day when you are sorry. We cant even plant a garden within 50 feet of the house because the darn things destroy it. DNR gave me 30 dear tags to share with everyone in the neighborhood. I could not give them away because the DNR gave all the neighbors at least 30 each.

I don't know where you would even sell a hog around here anymore.  Back in the day everyone around here raised a few hogs fed them corn they grew on the farm and sold them to the meat packing plants in Smithfield but they don't buy them anymore.  These days Smithfield and its Chinese owners only want their own hogs, fed their own rations, raised on their own factory farms.


Edited by VAfarmboy - 25 Feb 2017 at 3:11pm

Deer is just long legged rats around here. Real pain in the arse.

Ryan wife has been doing farmers markets for over 20 years. I now get drug along on Monday afternoons. In all that time I have never seen ear corn at a market here in the corn belt. I would buy a few hogs and put it thru them. If you guys are planting deer plots there will be a day when you are sorry. We cant even plant a garden within 50 feet of the house because the darn things destroy it. DNR gave me 30 dear tags to share with everyone in the neighborhood. I could not give them away because the DNR gave all the neighbors at least 30 each.

The feed mills buy it here

desertjoe wrote:    I too got them memories bout pickin corn by hand way back then,,,cause that was our only'ist source of ,,,,money,,,, not hankerin to go back to them "good old days",,,tho,,,   But you put some sweet corn in front of me and,,,,I'M  IN,,!!!!

I did that last year Joe......Me and my machete.  Sold it by the dozen in the taverns and up at the golf course.  I'm gonna have to get the kids involved........I'm getting too old to be doing that........I don't even eat sweet corn anymore......