new is it worth growing corn?

I bought a house last fall and it has about 36 acres of land with it, about 30 is nice field that must have been farmed at one time. Now it just looks like a big weed over grown hay field. I am thinking about trying to grow corn I have access to a farm tractor and plow. I still work full time but would like to try it in my spare time, am I crazy? or could it work to bring in some extra income. I was also considering as a heat source a outside corn burning boiler to heat the house and garage. I read you might be able to heat all year on about 2-3 acres of corn, then sell the rest? If it was to work out there is also a abandoned field cross the road from me for sale about another 30 acres. Seems like a lot of old farms around here went under. I figure no matter how bad the economy gets people will still need food.

how far N are you in WI?
Does corn make ripe there?
You may be better off having it custom no-tilled in than messing around with stuff yourself.
You'd need a soil test to determine your fertilizer needs then stop by the co-op with that and talk to the agronomist about your options.

I am going to have a soil test done. There are some other big farms growing corn within 10 miles of me. I was going to check with them on paying them to harvest it for me. I suppose my best bet would be to try a few acres and see how it turns out. I would really like to quit my job in a few years and try some farming. I also have a few other sources of income, not looking to get rich.

Besides access to a tractor and plow you also need to work the plowed field, plant the corn, deal with the weeds and harvest.Often shelled corn from the field isn't dry enough to store so additional drying is needed which means trucking. It would be simpler to rent the ground and make a deal with the farmer to get some corn for your stove.

Roughly $550/acre to grow corn. Obviously unware of the ground fertility and yield prospect, but assuming 130/bu acre at $6.50/bu grosses $845/acre. Anticipate around $30/acre more to custom harvest. Looks viable if you can avoid excessive machinery.

Growing commodity corn in an area "a lot of old
farms around here went under" doesn't sound like
much of a business plan...never mind looking to
get rich, I'm not sure you'd cover expense +
depreciation on a scale of 30 to 60 acres.

I don't know where you live (other then in
Wisconsin) or what markets are around there.

My neck of the woods, I'd be looking at items that
can be sold direct to the consumer.

Hay, grass fed beef & pork, pasture poultry, you
pick orchard and berries would all work in my
area. Depends on how much time you want to devout
to it as an on-going operation and possibly how
much time/cash you want to invest up front.

But that's my area, and whether or not you have
the same consumers in your section of Wisconsin is
another question.

Ha! ^))3

"I have acsess". In other words you want to start farming something and you don't own 1 piece of equipment. Do you know how to operate anything? Do you know how to repair anything? Are you a good mechanic? Are you familiar with pesticides. Do you have applicator license?
Do you realize that to "farm" you need more than land?

I am a diesel truck and heavy equipment mechanic for 30 years, lived on a cranberry marsh and helped out, and yes I have an applicators lic. I know corn is at a damn good price right now. Why let the field sit and grow weeds?
And there was a reason a lot of small farms went under people grew old and the kids wanted to get off the farms, plus the prices were not good back 15-20 years ago. I remember not too many years ago buying a dozen sweet corn for $1.00 a dozen and corn was @2.00 - $2.50 per bushel.

No need to tear his head off, he's just asking a question. Its better he comes here and asks rather than going guns a-blazing into planting and ending out losing thousands. You may be right, and your point may be valid, but everything you stated is made null because no one takes a post like that into consideration.
On topic though, work with you local farmers. You seem to have done your research, and know your stuff about mechanics too. New(er) equipment can increase yields substantially. Instead of beating your ground to a fine dust and then planting with a 2 row planter, a no-till planter can do a one pass planting operation. Newer combines don't throw as much grain out the back, so they put more money in your pocket too.While older equipment is neat, and fun to operate, newer equipment (even if you rented it from someone else and did the work yourself) will save you tons in the end. Ans, at the end of the day, pulling a big cob of corn off a stalk and counting its kernels is one of the most satisfying things you'll ever do.

Sweet corn is selling for 6 bucks a doz in stores and farmers markets here.We sell some road side but sales are slow.We sell fresh corn picked every day.Last year we lost 5 150 foot rows to frost.At today wages and costs you couldnt pick a doz sweet corn and sell it for a dollar a doz.Fellow doing some painting on the old school house next to our garden get 15 bucks an hour.I did not want to sell any vegetables this year because of the hard work and small return.I have a nice potato crop this year,most will go into storage for us and son and daughters familys.We sell nice potatoes at half the store prices but it is hard going.Corn seed that used to sell for a dollar a pound can cost 30 bucks now.If corn dosent sell at the end of the day we have it for supper or make corn fritters for breakfast.If we dont use it the cow gets it.Fellow asked me at the store why we dont have a steady supply of corn.I told him that we can sell limited amounts during a day.Planting has to be planned carefully and corn is not always ready when it should be.The market is weak in rural areas.Better be be sure of your market before you plant a crop.I see Camel cigaretts selling for 9.51 a pack but you will have a hard time getting 40 cents for an ear of sweet corn now.

I say go for it! If the other farmers are willing to help you then you have ALOT to gain. I was told 15 years ago that I could never raise sheep commercially. I now have a flock of 250 ewes. Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (I know that sounds cheap,but I've always liked it :roll: )

Ok- I'll crawl back to my cave now,

Hope that helped some.