Let the fun begin- silage chopping

[red]

Well, it is offically that time of year. The guys are starting on the first field of corn silage today. I will be a silage widow for a couple of weeks. Then a harvest widow for another 2 months. I packed the hubby 2 meals this morning. Imagine I'll be in bed when he gets home.
Think they are just using one chopper today. So far no out of state jobs on the books. That can always change. They did coment on the difference in the yields of hay after some rain. Really helped.

Everyone have a safe harvest.

Red

 

[red]

First full day of chopping went well. This place has gotten a little more rain during critical times so the silage is better than the average. We are chopping for a Dutch dairyman that milks about 700 cows. He's a very nice young man. Some are not as nice & don't pay very promtly. We have a dairy being bulit in the county that will milk over 5000 cows. Rumors are that we might chop there too later.
The silage is put into a large pile or bunker. They'll cover it w/ tarps & then tires to keep it covered.
The beans are starting to turn in areas. Corn doesn't look like it's drying down too fast.

keep safe,
Red

 

[knabe]

they should make choppers with a sleeper cabin, just like big rigs. ;D  man, that's a lot of chopping.  i'll bet hubby can feeeeel the teeth go through plants.

 

[Joe Boy]

Red,
I can remember 6 years of corn chopping.  We had a John Deere chopper and some real old trucks.  We put it in the bunkers.  When the snow came, so did the pheasant and turkey.  One cow like to get out and drink the juices.  I think she was a candidate for AA.  We had an old upright too.  We hired a preacher to set on top and keep the old equipment working.  He did not tell us he fainted easily at the sight of blood.  He did have a nose bleed but it did not bother him to see his own blood just others.....we changed his job the next day....

Best wishes....it is a hard row to hoe....but in the end very rewarding during a long hard winter.

 

[Up North]

Hey Red!  Welcome to the widows club, the only difference is I am taking care of the 1400 cows while the guys are in the fields.  We finished a great 4th crop on Saturday, and went straight into corn silage.  The manure tankers are hauling out also, 2 semis and 3 4x4s hauling wagons.  The "girls" and I get to eat all the dust !! haha Have a great one!

 

[red]

Carrie- we chopped hay the other day too & went right on to corn. It's never ending here.
Joe- we run 2 Claus choppers. Running just one at the moment. They are chopping about 1,200 tons a day.

Red

 

[CAB]

  Red, my uncle that built my calf hot box for me hauls in for an outfit that is running 4 of the Claus choppers. They are working for a 7000 hd dairy right now. The bunker covers 10 acres with concrete, & of coarse has to have a DNR plan for the run off. The buiding that houses the cows covers 22 acres. The dairy is in the process of tripling. Don't know how I feel about these large dairies. That's alot of family dairies being pushed out.

 

[knabe]

when our population is 500 milliion, that dairy will seem small.  as chambero has stated, water will be the number one concern.  of course we need a government on a global nature to deal with these problems.

the idea of countries has outlived it's utility.  couldn't be further from the truth.  people are being imported at 10 times the level pre 1965 (legally it's 1 million perannum).  america traditionally has been 85% native born.  by 2050, the demographics will be greater than 50% of the population will be comprised of foreign born and first decendants of foreign born.  of course lost in the comparison of the 85% is how many of those were born to immigrants, but i maintain that the percentage is VERY different than the year 2050.  and that means that 50% of the population will have experienced something other than capitalism as a solution to problems, and added to 50% of the current population viewing capitalism as evil, america, and even the world is in trouble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heegk07026I

pay very close attention to who your representatives are.

 

[red]

Here in our county there are hardly any small daries anymore except for the Amish. The large dairies aren't pushing them out, land values & housing is the one pushing them out. Only the dutch & Amish seem to be able to afford the land prices.

Red

 

[knabe]

land values are double edged sword (irony again)  on one hand, if it goes up, it's retirement for the farmer.  if they go dow, new farmers can afford to get started.  if there is no replacement or improvement in an industry, something is out of whack.  the government continually tries to intervene and cushion bad decisons, unneeded investments, overproduction, and actually encourages all of these.  with improvements in any industry, it is intuitively understood that less labor is required.  yet labor has historically sought to keep labor levels static while productivity goes up.  this can only mean harder readjustments later, usually in a state of panic and less time to readjust at a personal level, hence false "incentive" to cushion the blow in the form of bailouts, subsidies etc.  what is difficult to understand is what will be the new communities that human nature thrives on.  right now we are going through a societal change where we don't know anyone and feel a void in our lives.  we keep trying to maintain the status quo rather than embrace change and establish connections.  unconnected societies eventually fall prey to connected societies.  the change to more "efficient" cattle, harvesting methods etc, are actually a symptom of the balance being shifted too far by subsidies to allow for efficiencies to be beneficial by high production.  this cycle goes back and forth and is natural.  to resist it welcomes dependence and anarchy and populism.

 

[pigguy]

our cutters are gona be here sometime tomarrow and have a feild done in about a day with one one cutter. ;D ;D

 

[red]

For those interested. The yield average on this field was 172 bu/acre. They have gotten a lot more rain there than in other places. More timely rain I should say. Some areas will be lucky to get 72 bu/acre.

Maine12- what type of chopper do they use at your place?

Red

 

[pigguy]

well we changed cutters this year and we only have a circle of corn silage to cut, so they are going to be cutting us with their extra cutter wich is a john deere. last years cutters were using a CLAAS JAGUAR FORAGE. we will see they will be here in about 30 minutes and be done by about noon tomarrow

 

[red]

that's what we have, 2 of the Jaguars.

Red

 

[pigguy]

we are done with silage. 13 tons an acre. if it would have been cut when it needed to be it would have been about 16 tons to the acre. there where zero break downs.

 

[red]

we've got both choppers running starting today. They're at 2 different locations. One has a bunker so they're using a loader to pack it. The other is putting it into the Ag Bags.

Red

 

[red]

Maine12- the best yield so far is 20 ton/acre.

They're moving to the Mt Gilead area today. If anyone lives in that area watch for our big lime green machine.

Red

 

[pigguy]

W pack our silage in a pit. we havent had hardly any rain down here so we had to water a ton. and then the choppers were a little more then a week late. i am glad it over ;D

 

[Up North]

Our corn silage yeilded 30 ton per acre.  Best ever. Yesterday, our custom team was out and one of the wagons was rolled.  Thank goodness no one was hurt !  Please keep all these crews in your prayers!!

 

[red]

know what you mean Carrie. One of our trucks got run off the road by a car not getting over any. He ended up in a ditch & got out alright but took out some phones wires & a post.
I worry so much when they are chopping in these heavy populated areas. Same thing when they are running the combines down the road & tractors.
We should be ctting beans this week too. Corn is also drying down quickly.

Red