harvesting ear corn

Any help on moisture content on harvesting ear corn. Normally I harvest at 18-20% moisture to help with head shelling. I leave the ears in gravity wagons to grind off. My problem is my corn is starting to go down and my picker doesn’t like down corn. Due to our drought my corn is between 20 to 28% moisture. Our 10 dat temp is going to be in the mid 70’s. What would be the best way to handle my issue. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
Corn at 28% is not going to keep you might pick off outside rows but that is it unless you pick and grind into silage bagger.You will have wait for it to drydown that is the nature of things in drought years.Picking down corn at times can't be avoided.I picked corn for years with a mounted picker and all the dirt that went with it.Scott
 
There is no way around needing the moisture to be under 20% for the corn to keep. Yes it is going down and that makes picking hard or even impossible. Picking it at a higher moisture will just have it rot in your wagons. If you where putting it into open air cribs you might get by a little wetter but not 8 points.
 
Corn on the ear can keep over winter in a cold climate like Minnesota at 33% in a thin wooden 8? wide crib. I?ve had 2 years like that. Miserable,
and you don?t want a lot extra around or leave it undisturbed into summer. This isn?t a great idea, but when it?s novembr and the corn ain?t
drying, it does go......

In a fatter wire crib you want to be 28% or less, and mind the middle where the fines pack in and decrease airflow.

On a wagon you have very little airflow, I?d want 18%.

In warmer weather one has to be more careful.........

Paul
 
Here in Wisconsin ear corn needs to be at
25% or lower to keep in a crib and under
20% to keep in a wagon.Its a tougH call.If
you have animals then chopping and bagging
is a option.Logging corn is never easy to
harvest.
 
How many wagon loads we talking here? If just a couple I wonder if you could just spread it out on an open part of the feedlot.
 
about 50 years ago when i was a little boy my dad had extra ear corn some years. what he did was he took some old 10x12 shed doors and laid them on
the ground and put up a wooden snowfence ring on them and filled it with corn. i have seen some of these cribs with 2 or 3 rings high. you could do
this but since its early and still pretty warm i would build a ventalatior and put it in the middle to help with the air flow and maybe tarp the pile
but leave an opening for the ventalator
 
I leave ear corn in wagons to grind out of and I let it dry down to at least below 18 percent. I loose some to shelling but I would rather do that then make moldy feed. I thought about making a fan shroud
that would fit on the wagon and you could open the door and force air with a blower to dry it in the wagon. My dad told me years ago you could buy a dryer for wagons.
 

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