Growing Corn

[HerefordSire]

you could feed 100 steers for 200 days.based on feeding each steer an ave of 20lbs of corn a day.

TY BB! This may be an error, correct?

100 steers * 200 days * 20 pounds per day = 400,000 pounds
2,000 bushels * 56 (?) pounds per bushel = 112,000 pounds

 

[HerefordSire]

Plant yourself if you must... hire out the combine to harvest. Not some thing you want to get in to.

I like to play mechanic also in a shop, with clean tools and equipment. Its no fun in the field when its 98 degrees out and every thing is covered in dust that makes you break out in a rash.

Have an idea of what a combine rate is per acre if I manage the transport of corn (I would be the helper) to a USDA low interest rate financed silo on the same property?

 

[HerefordSire]

you could feed 100 steers for 200 days.based on feeding each steer an ave of 20lbs of corn a day.

YOU COULD FEED 100 STEERS FOR 200 DAYS. BASED ON FEEDING EACH STEER AN AVE OF 20LBS OF CORN A DAY.

TY. Should I consider any other homegrown supplements when providing homegrown corn to finish the steers?

 

[HerefordSire]

WHAT!

Corn. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[bigbull338]

wasnt you basing it on 100acs at 100bu of corn pre acre.if so thats what i based my figures on.an if im going on what you said you can do 100 steers for 280 days.id feed them all the free choice hay they can eat.as well as salt an minerals.an you may want to feed 3lbs of csm pre head.

 

[HerefordSire]

HS, to do it right, plan on dropping about $600/acre in it and pray you don't have to water. Of course there is another cheaper way to do it with less risk, less yield, less exposure. I thought about doing it myself last year.

TY Jogeephus! $600 * 20 acres = $12,000

Is it feasible I can run a water pump (maybe a $10K diesal engine, for future biodiesal compatibility) from my year around creek running through 1.5 miles of my property up about 20 feet in altitude max? What is the cheaper route you considered?

$12,000 + $10,000 = $22,000 irrigated for 20 acres
$60,000 + $10,000 = $72,000 irrigated for 100 acres

Makes that diesal engine allot cheaper to grow more acres of corn.

 

[HerefordSire]

As a rule of thumb figure each steer will require 50 bushels of corn to finish. That is if you are on a high concentrate diet however if you want more of a forage feeding ration you can finsh the steers on less corn but will take a longer period to reach market grade.

TY. Jalopy. I would like opinions on other homegrown crops I can grow to make the corn last longer.

50 bushels * 56 pounds per bushel = 2,800 pounds to finish one steer
2,000 bushels * 56 pounds per bushel = 112,000 pounds grown

112,000 pounds supply / 2,800 pounds to finish one steer = 40 steers finishable

 

[HerefordSire]

wasnt you basing it on 100acs at 100bu of corn pre acre.if so thats what i based my figures on.an if im going on what you said you can do 100 steers for 280 days.id feed them all the free choice hay they can eat.as well as salt an minerals.an you may want to feed 3lbs of csm pre head.

Originally I posted 100 acres. However, I received two replies mentioning 10-20 acres which implies I may run into trouble since I am green with a contrary green thumb.

 

[Brandonm22]

I don't know anything about your creek; but around here the creeks have plenty of water when we have plenty of soil moisture and when we really need some rain the water is pretty shallow.

 

[HerefordSire]

I don't know anything about your creek; but around here the creeks have plenty of water when we have plenty of soil moisture and when we really need some rain the water is pretty shallow.

TY Brandon. I have seen the 20 foot deep creek overflow in the wet season. In the dry season, Tyson Foods (chicken processing plant) down the road, keeps water in the creek as the result of washing maintenance, etc. The EPA tests this water so I am confident no hormones are seeping into this source. When Tyson is not in operation, the creek does stand still and pools can be drained but not on a regular basis. However, I could jump the creek to get to a pond on my property with enough water by traveling uphill about 100 yards. In other words, by laying more pipe, I could have plenty of water in an emergency, if I laid the engine somewhere strategically between the two water sources.

 

[jedstivers]

I'm in AR and I grow corn so pm or email if you want. You need 1.3 units of actual N per bu. 100 units of K, 50-60 units of P. (per acr on the P&K) However 2-4 tons of chicken litter would cover most of your needs the first year probably need more N but to be sure soil test and test the litter. Don't forget PH either. Use Roundup Ready BT seed and spray with roundup if needed, atazine and duel. Plant late March to mid April. And don't forget aiffatixon (sp).

 

[Brandonm22]

You probably are better at math than I am so I am not going to actually run the numbers, but just how much water does it take to cover 100 acres to the depth of one inch. Figure you need to do that once a week for five dry weeks. Factor in 25%?? evaporation/pumping/ground seepage loss and how big a pond do you need?

 

[HerefordSire]

I'm in AR and I grow corn so pm or email if you want. You need 1.3 units of actual N per bu. 100 units of K, 50-60 units of P. (per acr on the P&K) However 2-4 tons of chicken litter would cover most of your needs the first year probably need more N but to be sure soil test and test the litter. Don't forget PH either. Use Roundup Ready BT seed and spray with roundup if needed, atazine and duel. Plant late March to mid April. And don't forget aiffatixon (sp).

TY Jed! Litter appears to be the way to go then top it off with nitrogen dressing about 6 weeks after. The lime would have to be piled on and I missed it this fall. There is a lime plant across the Oklahoma border selling by the truckload which includes delivery for around $20 per ton or so, if I remember correctly. Around here, growers spread in the dry fall to give time to work. This would be one of the only things holding me back until next year. You talking about the pink BT seed? How many b/a you produce there?

 

[jedstivers]

I'm in AR and I grow corn so pm or email if you want. You need 1.3 units of actual N per bu. 100 units of K, 50-60 units of P. (per acr on the P&K) However 2-4 tons of chicken litter would cover most of your needs the first year probably need more N but to be sure soil test and test the litter. Don't forget PH either. Use Roundup Ready BT seed and spray with roundup if needed, atazine and duel. Plant late March to mid April. And don't forget aiffatixon (sp).

TY Jed! Litter appears to be the way to go then top it off with nitrogen dressing about 6 weeks after. The lime would have to be piled on and I missed it this fall. There is a lime plant across the Oklahoma border selling by the truckload which includes delivery for around $20 per ton or so, if I remember correctly. Around here, growers spread in the dry fall to give time to work. This would be one of the only things holding me back until next year. You talking about the pink BT seed? How many b/a you produce there?

Avg. low was 140 Avg. high was 185. Have gone 210 on some fields. BT is insect resistant it helps on the worms.

 

[HerefordSire]

You probably are better at math than I am so I am not going to actually run the numbers, but just how much water does it take to cover 100 acres to the depth of one inch. Figure you need to do that once a week for five dry weeks. Factor in 25%?? evaporation/pumping/ground seepage loss and how big a pond do you need?

Let's see......

43,560 square feet in an acre * 144 square inches per foot * 5.00 inches of water = square inches per acre. Is this the correct formula (it is getting late for me)?

 

[KNERSIE]

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but around here you need:

Irrigation system
Large nitrogen input
Lime

I tend to agree that 100 acres or so is going to require an investment that probably doesn't make sense. Probably need to start small, with 10-20 acres and see how it works.

Oops..... I forgot. I know a fella that can plant 200 acres per hour and probably gets 400 bushels per acre yield. He would be a better source of advice than I. Sorry.

TY. A low 100 bushels per acre * 20 acres = 2,000 bushels. Generally, how many generic cross steers could I finish with 2,000 bushels?

Don't know about bushels, but typically you can work on 1 ton of corn per head to take them from weaning to finished.

 

[HerefordSire]

Don't know about bushels, but typically you can work on 1 ton of corn per head to take them from weaning to finished.

TY Knersie! That generally agrees with another poster here.


My question now becomes.....since you mentioned from weaning to finishing....what about backgrounding?

 

[perda04]

Let's see......

43,560 square feet in an acre * 144 square inches per foot * 5.00 inches of water = square inches per acre. Is this the correct formula (it is getting late for me)?

It takes 27154 gallons to cover 1 acre with 1" of water.

http://online.unitconverterpro.com/conv ... nit=1&val=

http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/un ... ot.en.html

 

[backhoeboogie]

Let's see......

43,560 square feet in an acre * 144 square inches per foot * 5.00 inches of water = square inches per acre. Is this the correct formula (it is getting late for me)?

It takes 27154 gallons to cover 1 acre with 1" of water.

http://online.unitconverterpro.com/conv ... nit=1&val=

http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/un ... ot.en.html

Perda that is what always amazes me. If you are pumping 500 gallons a minute you are pumping a lot of water. It is an amazing flow. Fill a barrel in about 7 seconds. But in an hour, you've irrigated one acre with one inch of water (thereabouts if you consider evaporation from the spray). A thunderstom can come over you and drop an inch in 15 minutes over your 100 acres and it doesn't seem like all that much. It is a whole lot of water in gallons.

 

[iowahawkeyes]

Do you really need to irrigate? What's your rainfall?