harvesting corn

the situation:
about 16 acres of field corn. 1/2 is grown for duck hunters who want it harvested a little at a time during the hunting season. top yield isn't a major concern. we use all the corn on farm- mostly fed to pigs.

the equipment:
-plenty of tractors
-can borrow a neighbor's new idea pull type picker
-we have a white 7300 combine, grain head only, needs a little work to get it going again.
-2000 bu grain bin, good shape

my idea: handling ear corn is a pain in the back, literally. shelled corn is easy. why not remove the grain head from the combine, adjust the machine for corn, and use it as a stationary sheller? the op manual gives the corn specs for cylinder speed, concave clearance, seive and chaffer settings, fan speed. does anything else need to be changed for corn? (in the past it was just used for rye and oats).

as for drying: i don't want to spend $$$$ on propane. if i pick a wagon load and park it in the barn or greenhouse for a week or 2, how much is it likely to dry? or if i put it in the bin at say 20% and blow cold air through the pile, is it possible to get it dry before spring?

another question- dad says when he bought the combine, (we're talking 25 years ago) the seller said it "didn't do well with corn". what could that mean?

anyone have a 2rw corn head for white or oliver in the northeast for sale?

another possibility- anyone have any good ideas for a crib that is rat- proof and unloads mechanically?

thanks in advance

Used to have a neighbor that harvested his corn with a A6 ac combine. Just raised the cutter bar up cut the stalks off just below the ears. Dont remember how he adjusted it but I think he took the rubber concaves plumb out of it. Just a thought Bernie Steffen

Ahhh, good old ear corn I remember it well in the old days all it took was some round wire cribs setting on maybe one foot high round round slabs with some air channels formed in the concrete with a wire screen floor to keep out varmits allowing good air flow and a door with a slanted false opening to allow a small opening for ear corn to flow. Some folks on here probably have some pics of theirs or still have them sitting out back just for old times sake and oh ya you need a slanted tin roof. As far as rats keep it all up high off the ground and weed free and clean but no rats are virtually impossible maybe a good rat terrier or lots of rat killer. Years ago I"ve seen some elaborate drag chain elevators in the bottoms of some cribs but I"m guessing they"re all a pile of rust now.

Picked corn for years and left it on wagons until I was ready to sell it. It usually only dried one or two points over an entire winter. Old rule of thumb was not to have a corn crib more than 6' wide to get good air flow for drying. You may be able to keep corn OK on flat bed wagons if you don't pick it much over 20%. Here in Michigan we used to get a premium for ear corn because of the cobs. Now there isn't anyone that will even buy it.
Paul

I combined about 10 acres of excess standing Corn one fall with my JD 55 and the 10" Grain Head. Worked ok. Why not try using your Combine and Grain Head? Set the Combine for Shelling Corn and Cut the Corn just below the Ear. Worked alright for me.

The guys below have it right; just use your grain head, preferably with the reel raised enough to kick the stalks into the conveyor.

Plenty of ear corn still harvested in Maryland and Pa. More than one outfit that will shell your corn for you and take the cobs as payment. Cobs chipped and sold for chickenhouse bedding.

'Here' it istough to get corn below 20& moisture. I've put 30% moisture ear corn in the crib (cold here in MN) but should be 24-26%.

Ear corn sitting in a wagon will mold if it is over 20%. I've done it many times to prove that. It does not get any airflow. You need breezes going through the ear corn, not shut in in a wagon inside a shed. Would need to be low moisture. It will not really dry much at all in a few weeks, as there is no airflow to speak of.

You can get away with 17% moisture shell corn in bin & run air on it. Takes a while to get it down to below 15%.

Think you are going to have to get better with the moisture contents to keep the corn safely.

NI picker shells a _lot_ of corn if it gets below 18%. I've proven that too.

Shelling a little out of the crib right now. Hope to fill it again next week.

--->Paul