Farm Equipment - Corn stalk baling

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Corn stalk baling

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Topic: Corn stalk baling

Posted By: Sandknob
Subject: Corn stalk baling
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2012 at 3:30pm

Looking at my two corn fields (5.5 acres each) this year I am guessing at a yield of around 20-30 bu/ac on one and maybe not even that much on the other. Both fields have started tasseling, but most stalks do not have silks. Both are curled tight as well. We are expecting temperatures in around 102 later this week. Anyway I am looking at ways to recoup losses. I did not get crop insurance this year BIG MISTAKE, WONT HAPPEN AGAIN!!!! Anyway does anybody have any ideas on baling corn stalks. I don't have any livestock, but is there any value to any of those who do? I thought if I could find a small cheap older square baler I might try baling the stalks/fodder and selling it. Or would I be better to just sell the fields outright to somebody for silage? Anybody heard anything about the nitrates left in the stalk if I were to do that?

Thanks for any info

Adam

Replies:

Posted By: Amos
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2012 at 5:17pm

First off, I am sorry about your lack of corn crop, I have had bad years as well but always harvested something...I have baled many acres of corn stalks over the years. They make excellent bedding for cattle. The last couple years we baled them we used our New Holland self propelled mower conditioner to cut and swath them and baled them with a round baler. We have baled them with a small square baler and also used a stalk chopper to cut them and then raked into windrows with a bar rake. The mower conditioner way works fastest and leaves the stalks in near full length. This method works best if you have a bale shredder to spread them out with as it breaks up the long stalks, one note to doing this-don't get in a hurry and open the door on the shredder wide open, makes for a very hard thing to unplug when the 200 stalls out in a cloud of black smoke in the feedlot!

As for making silage of it, if there is no ear on it with kernels than there is not much feed value, if any to it.

Posted By: JarrodACFan
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2012 at 7:20am

I am by no means an expert, but I'd imagine that the cattle people will be needing stuff to feed their cattle. I also imagine that hay will be EXPENSIVE because no grass is growing and corn may be an ok alternative. CBOT is $6.35 right now for fall corn. With 11 acres at 25 bushels per acre, that is 275 bushels. With $8 corn (it may get there), that is $2200 dollars. Can you get that much out of baled corn? I have no clue. If you find out, I'd like to know too.

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1956 WD45 Narrow Front Factory Power Steering, 1953 WD Wide Front
Allis Express in Muncie, IN

Posted By: wi50
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2012 at 10:47am

Either sell them for silage or leave it and take what you get from the grain. I bet the nitrate levels will be to high to be much good for food if it's been that dry, maybe fermentation would help but even then I don't know. A few fella's here had that problem a couple years back. I had more flat tires that fall because of the small woody stalks, I would have been further ahead to take a disc out and try and track between the rows.

We're lucky, had lots of rain, early spring and lots more rain. Things look great here, though it can all change.

Best of luck.

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"see what happens when you have no practical experience doing something...... you end up playing with calculators and looking stupid on the internet"

Posted By: Matt MN
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2012 at 11:54am

around here they bale the corn stalks after they combine, they use it for bedding, it normally has been selling for about $20 per round bale, which barely covers the fuel cost to make the bales. I have been told that about 30% of this years fertilizer is left in the stalk. so also take that into consideration if you plan on selling it off your field,

Personally if it were me and only 11 acres I would just combine it and then plow it under and take the loss and just enjoy the time spent in the field. Also with only 11 acres I would not waste the money on crop insurance.

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Unless your are the lead horse the scenery never changes!!

Posted By: Sandknob
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2012 at 12:37pm

Matt,

Thats what I am wondering if the time spent would be worthwhile spent elsewere. I actually have about 40 acres, and looking at adding another 70 acres. The inputs are too much to eat and I will not go another year without insurance. I wish I would have had it this year.

Adam

Posted By: ILGLEANER
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2012 at 3:06pm

I have about 1500 acres of corn that is TOAST !!!!!! Bad as I have ever seen it. Suppose to be 105 tomorrow with 30 mph wind gusts.! Alot of corn around here needs mowed down dont even have an ear

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Education doesn't make you smart, it makes you educated.

Posted By: Sandknob
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2012 at 5:55pm

IG,

Mine is not even a drop in the bucket compared to that! I do have about 1/2 of one of my fields is putting on an ear. Not much of one, but an ear none the less. At the moment I am just going to wait it out.

Adam

Posted By: Gregor
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2012 at 9:57pm

A couple years ago, I round baled some corn stalks and sold the bales. I harvested the field first and then raked and baled. I got 25 a bale. With the high price of hay, they should be worth more this year. The guy that bought them I believe used them for a filler and added Gluten with it for his cattle. But the next year, I felt my soybeans were not as good on the part of the field that was baled off. It was also hard on the rake and baler. Hopefully your crop can hang in there. Amazing how it can go from flooding one year to a drought next year.

Posted By: rtwfarm
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2012 at 11:22pm

we harvest, shread with a loftness windrower and bale with vermeer cornstalk edition baler with netwrap. we have put up 10000-12000 bales a year for the last 6 years. the ground where we remove the stalks we follow up with 20-24 ton of cattle manure. then contious corn again and wait 3 years before we bale again. yes i trade my baler every year..

Posted By: ky wonder
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2012 at 3:44am

i have seen some ugly corn this year due to the dry hot month of june,

most of my early corn is in tossel stage and is filling a ear pretty good, but it is all in sod (heavy clover/fescue) bottoms that was turned late , so the rotting sod, and some heavy morning due's have helped, but it needs rain bad

that which i planted in stalk ground is bad and rolled up tight, my early food plots where hit hard by the deer and turkeys so i disked it up late last month and replanted, its is about 15' high right now and suffering from our +100 heat as well but i am hoping that it will catch some rain later and make a decent crop

the ground i leased out is in no till beans that where planted late last month, and they are looking spotty, the guy waited way to late in my opinion to spray the grass, there was actually a good hay crop on it at the time and the planter had a lot of trash to get thru, but i am thinking that he is probably banking on the insurance more so than the crop

i bet there are a lot of folks who wished they had not planted early this year, that which was planted around the normal planting times have a chance if we get rain, but the early corn is going to be very dissapointing

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i like old tractors of all colors

Posted By: michaelwis
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2012 at 6:42am

Just remember .. when you pull off cornstalks .. you remove organic matter , U will have to come back with higher amounts of potash next spring to replace what you harvested .. unless you manure heavily ..like rtwfarm .. then you are ok .. oh ya fertilizer isnt cheap ...

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