Need help with Deere 3940 in snaplage

We put a 244 cornhead on our 3940 harvester late last fall and it worked great.We went to start today and we are having trouble with the corn piling up between the screen and the auger and filling up the cuterhead housing.Most of the field is in the low 30% moisture but the low spots are very very wet and that seams to be the problem.The operaters manual says it works best with the knives moved out(and we did last fall) but we can not move them again.I do not want to replace knives untill spring because we chop lots of bedding(corn stalks and bean stubbles) wich picks up alot of dirt and stones.If it takes new knives I will but wonder if anyone has other ideas first.The knives are sharp and the screen it is set up good and we are getting a nice cut,maybe a little to fine(we changed the feed roll sprocket to the large side of the fine cut sprocket.We finished corn silage yesterday so the inside of the machine is not rusty,my cross auger is wore but not junk yet.It is working our 4620 harder in second than our corn silage did in forth.We even tried first with little improvement.Our feed man said to aim for upper 30"s on grain moisture so the final produt is 38-42% moisture.The stalks are dead and dry but some of the grain is wet. Thanks for any help.

I've never used the screens in a chopper... but I suspect the stuff is just too wet. I have tried forcing high moisture barley and oats through a hammer mill and if it's too wet it just doesn't work. The screens plug and the tractor goes to it's knees...
I would make sure that the knives are adjusted out to the correct spec... but I doubt new knives will cure your present problem entirely. Twiddle your thumbs for a while and let it dry. 25% will still ensile fine. Use some propionic acid if you're worried about it.

Rod

As you are doing snaplage, and not HMEC, you DO need to keep the moisture up, or you will have spoilage.

If it is building up behind the screen, and not between it and the cutter head, it is too wet.

If the problem is a few low spots, have you condidered cutting around them, and doing them later? That can get all the feed harvested at the right moisture, instead of some too dry, some too wet.

I've done that harvesting silage.

The problem has nothing to do with the knife height. If you set them up last year and have not done that much chopping they should be fine. If the knives still are in the holders completely then they would be the same as new knives in height. You just would have more knife sticking out the bottom of the holders with new ones.

You are plugging behind the screen. That is caused by the corn being too wet. I bet that if you check some of the corn in the green spots it is still almost in the milk stage. That will ball up and plug the chopper up. The fact it is pulling hard should tell you something. IT IS TOO WET!!! LOL

Also I make earledge every year. I never have made it at 35-40% moisture. Your feed guy is book smart but common sense dumb. Wait until your corn is a little drier. If you do not your going to break something on your chopper.