When is the corn finally harvested?

[PineRidge]

I have noticed here in the Ohio Valley many corn fields that are now dried and brown that have yet to be harvested. I am assuming that this is field corn but I am wondering what exactly triggers the harvesting cycle of these crops?

 

[Inspector507]

Maybe when they have time to bring it in. They have all winter to sell it.

 

[Bird]

I don't really know, but I've heard it's when the corn itself is of a certain moisture content; i.e., the stalks may look dead, but how dry is the corn?

 

[deere755]

We always start at about 22% moisture and dry it to 15%. 15% is what the elevators want anything above that and there is a charge for drying. We are pretty much done in this part of Illinois. We have about 120 acres to go, we would be done if we could find a place to hall it. All the elevators are full so we have been delayed. Most of the corn that goes down the Mississippi is coming to our local processors and has really filled everyone up quick this year. Tate & Lyle is closed in Decatur Illinois again Monday and ADM has not extended their hours all year for harvest. This could be why you are seeing a lot of corn unharvested in your area. Grain storage is a problem everywhere this year. Corn is being piled on the ground at a lot of the local elevators. I was told I haven't seen it that Cargill in Tuscola Illinois has a million bushels on the ground.

 

[PineRidge]

Thanks for a response to my question. I figured there had to be a good reason but never having farmed I felt the need to ask.

 

[BubbaJr]

We had a 35-40 acre corn field just to the east of us that didn't get harvested at all last year. Then early this spring I saw them out with the combine. I don't know what that was all about.

This year the spring was cold and kind of wet to get in the fields, so some of the planting was delayed around here, so the harvesting has been a little later too. But from what I've seen in this area, about 50-60% of the corn, and 80-90% of the beans have been harvested.

 

[WhyNot]

Also, with the price of fuel for the dryer's it is cheaper to let mother nature dry the corn as much as possible before sending it to the elevator down side to that is it may become to wet to even get in to the field's to harvest.

 

[cowboydoc]

Not only do you want to time it so that it's dry enough but you have to be careful it's not too dry. Too dry and you get docked as well plus your weight is going to be down which costs you $. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Birdhunter1]

Deere, what kind of yeild are you seeing on your corn so far.
A guy I work for quite often had a few fields that were 200-210 to the acre. Then the elvator quit taking corn, he has been negotiating storage space liek you wouldn't believe. So far he's been successful but it kind of sucks when at mid day they quit taking grain. He got all the corn in and either stored or sold it all, now he's on beans and running into worse problems with storage and the elvators than he was with corn.

He has shown some very good yields despite the dryer summer we had, but with his beans growing nearly chest high he is also spending alot of time going slow through the fields!

 

[WhyNot]

CowboyDoc,
Not to go off subject but I noticed in your profile that you have a 4020 and was wondering if they are as expensive as they are here in NJ. Here they sell for more now than they did when they were new but personally I think they are worth the price.