A while back I wrote that we were chopping corn. It was piled into a huge pile and packed firmly with a tractor.
This is what the corn plants look like after chopping.
This week Brett got a few days to combine some corn.
Mark got to ride in the combine for a while too.
This is a photo of unloading corn from the combine into the truck. There is chaff from the grain flying in the air so the picture looks "speckled"! Also, you might notice that one snout on the combine header is angled up. There are chains that run under each of the snouts and one had broken. The guys lifted the snout to get at the chain so they could repair it.
The corn grain is a quite wet at about 24% moisture so we had to come up with a plan to store it until it is time to feed it to the cattle. To safely store the corn grain in a bin we would like it to be at about 14%. So, they piled it on the ground. Today they started to run it through a roller mill. This machine flattens each kernal of corn making it easier for the animals to digest the food value. After it has run through the roller mill, they pile it again. Then, because it is wet, they will pack that into a pile (much like the chopped corn). They tell me that helps to preserve it better.
This is the pile of wet corn. It does not slide real well so Mark (and later, Brett) had to shovel it toward the auger. The grain auger on the right is the one they used to make the pile. There is a small auger going from the pile into the roller mill. Then the auger on the left takes the rolled corn from the roller mill to another pile.
This is a shot of the roller mill. On the top you can see the corn coming in. It then runs through the roller mill and comes out at the bottom. There is an auger there to move the rolled corn to the next pile.
Basically the same photo as above, but it shows the pile of the rolled corn.
Corn before rolling
Corn after going through roller mill
Christopher came with the payloader (yes, it finally got fixed) and moved large scoops of grain toward the auger so Brett didn't have to do so much with his grain shovel.
Christopher moving some of the rolled corn. He will eventually drive on the pile of rolled corn to pack it just like they did with the chopped corn. He will pack it after they get all of the corn rolled.
Wow, what a job! Will there be a chance of mold because it's wet?
ReplyDeleteCandy, As I understand when I listen to the men discussing this, it will be like a silage pile. So, the outside edges could/will mold but the rest should be preserved. I will know a lot more in a few months!!
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