High moisture corn - a 70-year challenge
Sept. 29, 1949 Corn Drying Test Drops Moisture Over 16 Per Cent
250 Farmers Witness Experiment;
Hear of Advantages of Plan An estimated 250 interested farmers of this area visited the Bernard Whitney farm north of Broken Bow Friday to view the corn drying demonstrations sponsored by the county agent’s office and the Custer Public Power District.
The farmers were told of the advantages of early picking of their corn, the savings resulting from artificially drying the corn for storage, and the multiple uses to which the corn drying equipment could be used.
CUSTER COUNTY, 2019 - It is hard to believe how technology has changed
farming over the years. When the corn drying article from 1949 was found, it made you take a minute to think just how the growing season can affect the needs and actions of farming operations yet today.
First, 250 Custer County farmers all gathered at a demonstration in 2019 would be unheard of. Some of the younger farmers of today could not imagine letting the corn dry in the field.
The Experiment
The experiment, which started at 7 p.m. Thursday when about 200 bushels of shelled corn were dumped into one of the bins fitted with air ducts and a fan for blowing unheated air through the corn, progressed in what was termed a satisfactory manner by the agriculture experts helping with the experiment. The corn was dumped in the bin with 32.68 per cent moisture content. By the end of 25 hours of blowing air through the corn, the moisture content had dropped to 18.21 per cent.
Harvest of 2019 will see Merna farmer Don Cantrell drying down 2,650 bushels five points of moisture in an hour, not taking from Thursday evening to Sunday as it did 70 years ago!
The system the Cantrell farm uses is high
ly effective. Wet corn goes into the top of the dryer. As the corn dries, it travels down to the lower part of the dryer where the fans cool the corn and the warm air from the corn that has just been dried rises also drying the corn.
Explains Advantages
A.E. Olson, agricultural engineer with the Extension Service, College of Agriculture, University of Nebraska, explained many advantages of artificial drying to farmers in a short talk at 3 p.m. Friday. He told of the saving resulting from the early picking, saving brought about by the lessening of loss of corn in the field and the assurance of being able to pick the corn before it became frozen or covered with snow.
Saying that he believed that one year’s crop net increase, as a result of the installation of such equipment would easily pay for the outfit.
Cantrell said records showed that in 2014 the Average moisture of the corn at harvest was 23.5 percent. Using pro
pane to power the heat, it takes six cents per bushel for propane costs. The corn will dry faster when you pick it on a 60-degree day over a 40-degree day. Humidity also plays an important role when drying corn in the field or through the dryer.
Cuts Field Loss
Whitney told the farmers of the advantage of early picking by using a specific example. He stated that last year, when he picked his corn when its moisture content was lower, he lost about four to five bushels per acre in the field in picking the nine quarter-mile rows of corn used in this experiment with his two-row mechanical picker, he said that he saw only three ears of corn drop in the field. As a result of the installation of this equipment, which he estimated cost him only $35 for the two bins for the ductwork and the paper with which he made the bins airtight. Whitney expects to be able to have his 140 acres of corn picked by Oct. 15.
Remember the above article was printed in the Chief on Sept.29, 1949. It took 16 days to harvest the 140 acres. In 2019 using two 12 row combines the Cantrell farm will pick approximately, 50,000 bushels a day cover
ing 230 acres a day.
Today, the crew needed to support one or two combines is two to three large grain carts. Also, four to six trucks to keep the constant stream of grain moving off the field. So, most days up to 10-15 people are needed to accomplish each day’s harvest. The overall size, complexity and management needed daily in each of these operations is amazing to watch as the harvest moves along. It truly is amazing to see how equipment has changed the volume of farming operations today.
Our Custer County area is blessed with ample ground water, highly productive soils and progressive farming operations. But with fewer acres of high moisture corn being harvested more attention will need to be put back on grain drying systems to allow for timely harvest in years when corn does not dry down before harvest losses start.
“I remember watching corn going through a sheller in the late 50s,” stated Cantrell. “My Grandpa passed in 1969 and my Dad in 1977, I would love to bring them back and show them the yields and equipment.”
The Custer County readers have been harvesting their crops for several years. Do you wonder what the next 70 years will bring with farming and harvest?