- Location
- Bedfordshire
I assume it is actually cutting it with a normal header which is the problem?
Grain maize
- Thread starter Clive
- Start date
beefandsleep
Member
- Location
- Staffordshire
Does anyone know of a silage contractor in the West Midlands with a picker header? I would love to try a bit of ground ear maize or earlage in the finishing ration.
- Location
- Nr Malvern... SW Worcestershire
There is a farmer in western France who posted a video on Twitter cutting grain maize with his normal header. He was cutting just under the cobs and it appeared to be doing a reasonable job. I am not sure if its possible to put up a Twitter link
Attachments
- Location
- Nr Malvern... SW Worcestershire
We have a local contractor (Upton Upon Severn - Worcestershire) who has a grain maize header for his Lexion. He cuts most of his and then crimps it and then sells on the ensiled product during the winter. I think he dries some as well.
We grew it a few years ago and the main problem was selling it, all the mills buy in lots of 1000 tons plus and we only had 400..
beefandsleep
Member
- Location
- Staffordshire
I was thinking more of having it cut with a forage harvester so it is cut and processed in one operation. I think it is known as corn cob mix, anyone here tried it?
dontknowanything
Member
- Location
- Cambridge
Well actually you can, but it's a slow job. I haven't done it myself, but was told this by someone who I think was the biggest grain maize grower in the UK.
- Location
- Cornwall.
Yes Corn Cob Mix (CCM) is where the complete cob with wrapper & including surrounding leaves is plucked from the stalk and then chopped.
- Location
- Bedfordshire
That is my thinking a bit slower to harvest due to the knife needing time to cut it. I'm only looking at 10acres so not worth investing in any kit but hopefully enough to fill a lorry!
dontknowanything
Member
- Location
- Cambridge
Also a hell of a lot of material to put through the combine. We tried, twice, to grow 7.5ha of grain maize, and that was going to go through a normal header.
- Location
- Bedfordshire
Do you have a recommendation for an early Grain Maize variety?
dontknowanything
Member
- Location
- Cambridge
We tried lapriora and coryphee (from memory), and didn't get either to work. Probably not the variety's fault though
- Location
- Bedfordshire
Did they not maturity ? I am thinking establishment is the biggest issue for me, undersowing with spring barley is something i'm also considering to help with weed control and any furry or flying pest issues !
I suppose technically i have been growing some maize for a few year in pheasant cover mixes, but results have certainly been variable depending on weed and pest pressures.
dontknowanything
Member
- Location
- Cambridge
First year we sowed too late, and it never did anything - ended up being cut for silage in November. Second time we were very slightly too early, I mean maybe 3 days before ideal, and the seed just never came. We ended up getting a refund for it, although no one ever admitted responsibility, or came up with a good explanation for what happened.
- Location
- Cornwall.
I have one called "Sunshinos" I can PM details if you are interested?
- Location
- Bedfordshire
Yes please.
Captain Mainwaring
Member
- Location
- E. Sussex
You can harvest it fine with a standard header, the problem is at the other end when putting it through the chopper.
- Location
- Oxfordshire
I have an 8 row 'picker' header that will fit straight on to a Lexion, I ve been led to believe it will also fit a Jaguar. Not currently needed so would part with it.
TelesnaAg
Member
- Location
- Portland, Victoria - Australia
You can harvest it with draper front and fingers...you can see it on youtube...corn front is for capacity....draper maybe better to cut lower for residue management...
Ant...
warksfarmer
Member
Talk to J N Wright contractors at Melton Mowbray as they planted and cut the 40 acres we tried. Iirc we ploughed, subsoiled, power harrowed and then precision planted. From memory yielded 0t acre in places (headlands) up to 6t/acre in the centre of the field. Price off the field paid to us was £25/t over the price of wheat at the time so I think we sold at £155/t from memory. Even though chemical was applied off the drill under the plastic the weeds grew like the maize did due to the 'greenhouse effect' the plastic gave, but there was no point spraying again because the chemical wouldn't hit the target due to the plastic - chicken and egg scenario. I would not dare do this in BG fields as I can only imagine the mess. You can do grain maize without plastic but its a longer growth period so this would allow you to spray in the growing crop.
The plastic disappeared and there was very little left come harvest time which was in mid october. The following wheat crop had high DON levels so had to be kept separate but we were warned of this so it was not an issue.
Roughly we returned 6-14t/acre of stalk which varied with the grain yield. Good grain yield meant lots of stalk. Poor grain yield meant no stalk. No field mess from harvest equipment due to the chopped stalk carrying the machinery weight. Out the back of an STS combine the stalk wasn't chopped very well at all with pieces up to 2ft long - I've got pictures somewhere which I will post if I can find them. We had the claydon at the time and no way would that go through the trash so we ended up discing with your x-press and then ploughed it before pressing and combi drilling. Completely the wrong way of doing it in hindsight but it was about 8 years ago.
I can't remember the name of the guy we grew it for other than 'Rob'. His business was selling the seed and then selling the crop and ours went straight into a clamp on a dairy farm. He was based Nottingham. Nice guy really and the crop pretty much did what he said it would really.
We probably should try it again really as we could dry the grain now properly which opens another market up.
- Location
- Bedfordshire
Maybe someone can translate this one, but i guess some big forage maize growers will also cut areas like in the video for use as seed for their next forage crop ?