|
|
|
Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/23/2010 4:13:39 PM
Posts: 2,222,
Visits: 2,136
|
|
Its been a long time since we harvested 24/7, but with a heavy storm brewing and due to hit on Saturday and Sunday, the last few days have been a fury of harvesting. The corn is just past dough and now into milk and its time to harvest..optimum time actually. That is pretty hard to do when the trucks are stuck in the mud.
So this year the boys went for the muddiest fields and hit them hard and fast. They were also running relentlessly, harvesting all day Thursday, into the night and then all day Friday and Friday Night. Today (Saturday) we harvested until noon but finally the rain came at noon and we stopped.
Its been a long time since we harvested corn 24/7 but its also pretty cool. The chopper can light up a few acres so light is not a problem, and there is a deep feeling on contentment as the towers blink on the distant mountaintops and the frost bitten leaves of corn rustle in the wind. Even in the trucks there is a odd feeling of an asleep world as lights pierce the darkness as they thread their way up gravel roads that were laid out when American's were still called colonists.
Crop wise we survived a summer with solid rain and are averaging 18 tons to the acre for those that are interested. Its down from our typical 22-24 ton to the acre, but its enough to get by and the ears are looking really good. We can't really complain I guess, and after the rain stops, and we finish up the harvest, we can take a deep breath and grin upon winters rest.
Another year, and all is well in the world.
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
|
|
|
|
|
Average Member
Group: Banned Members
Last Login: 11/1/2009 6:18:12 AM
Posts: 586,
Visits: 509
|
|
| I'd rather harvest 24/7 and get it done. The old timers here, my father included hate that...but I'd rather do it full tilt and get it over with, no matter the weather or size of the chopper.
|
|
|
|
|
Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/23/2010 4:13:39 PM
Posts: 2,222,
Visits: 2,136
|
|
We used to always run 24/7. Not hay of course, but during planting season and during harvest, but that was back when we had smaller equipment and it took that long to get it done. Now we go during daylight hours pretty much, while the darn milking hours are 24/7/365. Go figure huh? Technology can keep up with the crops, but it can't keep up with the milking.
But the one thing we cannot do is chop in the rain...the bloat that occurs from the cows or heifers eating it and then dying, is just too much for us. We tried that two years ago; we had just a few acres of grass laid down and a light rain came up. We figured what the heck, we would chop it and get the seasons haylage done and over with. We put it in a certain spot in the pile and reserved it for the heifers. It took most of the winter before we got into it, but when we hit it, 12 heifers died from the resulting bloat. We ended up shoveling up 100 tons of the haylage and dumping it up in the woods.
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
|
|
|
|
|
Average Member
Group: Banned Members
Last Login: 11/1/2009 6:18:12 AM
Posts: 586,
Visits: 509
|
|
we chopped in the rain next door, then ran it up the silo, but we'd mixed it with dry hay (I think) and feed it with the TMR.
Friends have invested in a milking robot and that takes the edge off.
we used to do dry hay all night. The wagons were come'n faster than we could stack... 2 few hands and 2 many bailers with rain on the way. first we ran as much as possible up the mow with out stacking....then put 12 or 15 wagons under cover and fixed our mess after the dark
|
|
|
|
|
Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/23/2010 4:13:39 PM
Posts: 2,222,
Visits: 2,136
|
|
I thought you were saying you hayed all night and I was thinking , "but what about the dew?" Now I understand. Chopping haylage is a bit more forgiving, and silage is even more forgiving.
Corn right now is optimal, but we have one farmer in the county that chopped his corn a month ago...way before the dough stage. I don't see the point, the cows will eat it, but the nutrients in the corn kernels are not there yet, its just mushy water. I just don't see the point of putting up 90% moisture laden corn. How the heck can it properly ferment in the pile? How can the cows give good milk yields when the corn is only half ripe? How can they justify trucking 9 pounds out of 10 being water?
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
|
|
|
|