Corn In the North.

[Silver]

Went to a Pioneer crop viewing last night just a few miles from home. I had no idea you could raise corn like this this close to the Arctic Circle. Lots of possibilities for grazing or silage. This was planted May 28.

 

[ez14.]

Looks good

 

[Allenw]

Impressive

 

[sim.-ang.king]

How many day's maturity was it?

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Some guys have tried short duration corn UP here for silage and its never really worked out. But we have a somewhat unique climate and shorter growing season than those much farther north that me.

 

[ez14.]

Some guys have tried short duration corn UP here for silage and its never really worked out. But we have a somewhat unique climate and shorter growing season than those much farther north that me.

That close to superior it ain't going to get warm enough

 

[littletom]

Looks cold every one got fall clothes on. They will start shelling here in two weeks. I was told today

 

[Silver]

How many day's maturity was it?

I think he said 100 days. Around 2150 heat units.This corn was about a week away from tuning yellow.
He claimed 15 acres of this would graze 100 cows for 30 days if managed correctly. I think I'll pass but it's interesting.

 

[Silver]

Looks cold every one got fall clothes on. They will start shelling here in two weeks. I was told today

It cools down here in the evening. This pic was taken a 8:00 PM, heavy smoke cover kept the sun covered all day.

 

[sstterry]

Looks cold every one got fall clothes on. They will start shelling here in two weeks. I was told today

That seems very early for shelling considering it is KY.

 

[Son of Butch]

Yes it does look very good, wonder what crops were grown the previous 4 years on the field and how much fertilizer
was used and the other input costs. Hard to graze without a fence.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Looks cold every one got fall clothes on. They will start shelling here in two weeks. I was told today

That seems very early for shelling considering it is KY.

Our corn would have been boardline next week if we hadn't gotten 2" of rain this week.

 

[Texasmark]

We have a few guys down here that do that breed or something like it for the silage they put on the ground and cover with white plastic. The rest of the corners (folks growing the crop) use the GMO or "selective selection seed corn" that gets rid of from where the guy in the green shirt's right hand is to the ground, 2 ears to the stalk, both in the same place, small stalks and leaves. You can get at the end of the field and look down the row and only see 2 ears....the first two.

Use to be in hard hay times they baled Maize stalks. Now it's corn and the non-silage plants make a pretty good hay, considering.

 

[TexasBred]

We have a few guys down here that do that breed or something like it for the silage they put on the ground and cover with white plastic. The rest of the corners (folks growing the crop) use the GMO or "selective selection seed corn" that gets rid of from where the guy in the green shirt's right hand is to the ground, 2 ears to the stalk, both in the same place, small stalks and leaves. You can get at the end of the field and look down the row and only see 2 ears....the first two.

Use to be in hard hay times they baled Maize stalks. Now it's corn and the non-silage plants make a pretty good hay, considering.

Probably 75% of the corn out here was cut for silage and those that didn't wished they had when it came harvest time....terrible crop. Never see over one ear to the stalk either. Folks still bale maize stalks and it's good hay but I'm told they are not planting as much milo due the problems caused by the sugar cane aphid and the cost to spray for them. This year is first year I've seen any corn stalks baled here since 2011 when we had the heat and the drought.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Went to a Pioneer crop viewing last night just a few miles from home. I had no idea you could raise corn like this this close to the Arctic Circle. Lots of possibilities for grazing or silage.

Looks like climate change is working for you. What did the Pioneer seed cost for that crop?

A decent barley crop here this year - - averaging about 75 bu/acre. One of the "experts" told me that folks are growing corn because it is more profitable than small grains. I challenged that - - and then he said corn was more profitable 5 years ago. So we keep planting it because ...

There is a place for grazing corn in a rotation. Corn is a really good fit when you have too much N, and small grains will go down because of it.

 

[JMJ Farms]

There is a place for grazing corn in a rotation. Corn is a really good fit when you have too much N, and small grains will go down because of it.

Funny how things change depending on where you live. This would NEVER be an issue here!

 

[Silver]

Went to a Pioneer crop viewing last night just a few miles from home. I had no idea you could raise corn like this this close to the Arctic Circle. Lots of possibilities for grazing or silage.

Looks like climate change is working for you. What did the Pioneer seed cost for that crop?

A decent barley crop here this year - - averaging about 75 bu/acre. One of the "experts" told me that folks are growing corn because it is more profitable than small grains. I challenged that - - and then he said corn was more profitable 5 years ago. So we keep planting it because ...

There is a place for grazing corn in a rotation. Corn is a really good fit when you have too much N, and small grains will go down because of it.

He claimed a 50 lb bag would cost about $250 Cdn, and plant 2.2 acres. So by the time you spray Roundup twice and apply N if you need it it seems to me to be pretty pricey. Plus I can't get too excited about setting up wires and all that goes with rationing it out and maintaining access to water from the corn patch.
I am interested in forage soybeans though, with the thought of baling and wrapping it. I wonder what would be the best fit to plant with it to make better silage, as I understand it doesn't ensile very well by itself. I've heard millet, not sure if I could grow that here.

 

[Nesikep]

summer days are MUCH longer in the north, which can make up for the shorter growing season.. Probably 16 hours of sunshine?
It makes sense to do if you have a feed lot or something where you have lots of manure, if you have to start applying a lot of nitrogen I don't know if it makes much sense anymore.... It also depends if you have to buy additional equipment to do it

 

[Silver]

summer days are MUCH longer in the north, which can make up for the shorter growing season.. Probably 16 hours of sunshine?
It makes sense to do if you have a feed lot or something where you have lots of manure, if you have to start applying a lot of nitrogen I don't know if it makes much sense anymore.... It also depends if you have to buy additional equipment to do it

They claim that if you are doing intensive grazing on it you don't need to fertilize corn after the first year.
My interest in soybeans is as an interim crop rather than planting oats when rejuvenating hay land. I like the fact that they set nitrogen, are very palatable, and produce good volume. Plus they appear to be very forgiving as far as the timing of harvest.
And yes, we get a lot of sunlight up here during the summer. 17 hrs 41 minutes is our longest day of the year, so things do grow fast. But frost is always a danger, and getting enough heat units in our short season is a challenge.

 

[Stocker Steve]

It also depends if you have to buy additional equipment to do it

Yes. There are two main issues with corn silage. High overhead is one. :cry2: Some get around this by hiring customer harvesters - - but they are not available everywhere. The other issue is feeding cost. Some get around this by strip grazing, but acidosis is an issue here, especially with continental breeding. The Canadan artic may be different and never grows any corn cobs.

The best fit for high er energy forage is with weanlings. You can justify a lot if the alternative is grain. I plan to grow some back grounding corn next year.