One row corn picker question

cjunrau

Well-known Member
I know a lot of the good folks on here have had experience with them.
Heres the question, how many acres could you pick in 8 hour day.
Can the cobs be augered with large auger or will it shell the kernels.
If stored in a crib will it dry down or stay wet.
I only have 40 acres and no combine and know way to dry it. Most people dry it out here as it cant be combined dry very often.
Might have more questions later.
Thanks
 
I do about 3 acres of ear corn every year. It will dry down in the crib over time. I shell it usually in the summer after a dry spell and the shelled corn is dry enough to keep in a bin. It would take a huge auger to get full ears of corn through it and I don't know of one that big. A hay elevator works better for moving the ears - that is how I unload wagons into the crib. I don't know how many acres you could pick in a day. Depends on how many wagons you have and is someone else unloading them for you and do you use a 1 row or 2 row picker. You will also need a picker for the row width you are planting. What are you planning to do with the corn. Most animals need it shelled to feed correctly. If you are storing ear corn be prepared for rats.
 
The most important thing to consider is corn is bred to be harvested for grain via a modern header having a deck plate. This minimizes premature shelling along the radial line of the ear. Many older pickers lack this design feature therefore putting the farmer at risk of a lot of field loss. It might be well worth seeing if somebody would be willing to combine it for a charge then store at an elevator via a basis contract. If you have to harvest your self then find a JD 300 corn picker that uses modern header technology. If you have to store in a crib then the crib should be of a narrow width to insure good air circulation. Around here this means no more than 5 feet wide and length running north to south so the prevailing dry winter wind from the west dries the corn down. Usually farmers started harvesting once the moisture level got down to 21 percent or below. Not much of a market for ear corn so a way to shell those 40 acres of ear corn needs to be found.
 
I grind the cobs from my operation and use them for bedding. You're right about 40 acres is a lot of cobs. They could be put into a manure spreader and put back on the field.
 
I have the man power or women power to keep the picker going all day.

Wagons will be plenty.
 
With 30 inch rows, six rows right close to one acre in half mile. At 3 mph you could theoretically do three rounds, equal six rows in one hour if my math is right.

Flight elevator needed to move the corn and close to 20 percent moisture will keep good if husked clean in a regular narrow corn crib of 5 or 6 feet wide, slotted board side or woven wire and cool weather.

Get a bunch of husks in there and you will want it drier.

Disclaimer though. Raised on farm, always ear corn but that was over 65 years ago.
 
Now for them cobs dad always had a corner in the barn where he kept cobs. If you wanted a a?? chewing just forget to fill the cob box beside the cook stove and let dad find a way to start the fire in the morning.
 
First of all, I know this is off subject so no need to remind me. But, some cob talk came up so I have a story also. We always used cobs in kitchen cook stove and when we ran out of cobs in the shed, we would go out in the hog pasture and pick up the nice cleaned dry ones.

When I was about 5 years old helping older sister pick cobs, my shoes came untied. She was getting a little tired of tying them for me so taught me how, out in the hog yard.
 
Dad always said they could pick 20 acres a day with a 2-row mounted, but that was a big day with no problems. They were no longer milking but had hog and cattle chores on multiple farms to do twice a day as well. I have a 2-MH. 2M-HD, and 234 pickers with no corn to pick. Have fun!
 
I could do about 12 acres a day between chores with a one row IH picker. We had a crib that was 8 feet wide. This was too wide. the center always molded unless the corn was very dry when yu pick it. I would suggest a crib no wider than 4 feet. The drier it is before you pick it, the better. Almost never picked corn here until Nov.
 
Most corn is planted in 30 rows, not so good for mounted pickers. Guys running mounted pickers at the Half Century of Progress often seem to push against the outer rows, I assume they're in 30 rows.
 

In a 8 hour day you should be able to pick 6-8 acres depending on the corn and keeping wagons to the picker
I auger ear corn into my grinder mixer but thats a 8 or 10 inch auger
A flite elevator works best for ear corn
I can pick 30 inch rows with my Ford one row side mount picker but its brushing the stalks in the next rows
I pick ear corn engine to grind for cow feed
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top