Maize harvesting.

[Mr Mackay]

Someone not far away was out with the chopper and maize header and took a couple of loads of maize from a formally very wet field .
5 months late really - would it be a bad idea to feed that with mould spores on leaves and cobs?
Is there anything you could do with it - would it go in a bio digester ? Feed to pigs ??

 

[ollie989898]

Biogas plant would be fine.

Mouldy maize into cattle you would be asking for grief.

 

[Mr Mackay]

Biogas plant would be fine.

Mouldy maize into cattle you would be asking for grief.

Hhhmmm , thats what we thought . I was told by a rep about one farm that took it off after Christmas - it looked ok ,testedfine , kept fine but he had no end of problems

 

[clod hopper]

Hhhmmm , thats what we thought . I was told by a rep about one farm that took it off after Christmas - it looked ok ,testedfine , kept fine but he had no end of problems

Maybe they are only taking the corn. The cob can keep for a descent amount of time

 

[Mr Mackay]

Maybe they are only taking the corn. The cob can keep for a descent amount of time

How do you ensure the old dead leaves and stuff dont get in it (if you use a standard maize header and a cracker I suppose? )
The corn has mould spores on it too I expect

 

[Longlowdog]

How susceptible to spores are cattle? I worked for a summer feeding cattle with silage bales and religiously took out all the horrible grey fousty muck and at the end of the week the owner would take my heating, horrible pile and chuck it right back in front of the cattle. So far as I know over 6 months nothing happened to make me say he was doing wrong. Maybe he was lucky, I don't know enough about cattle to have a real opinion hence I ask.

 

[clod hopper]

How do you ensure the old dead leaves and stuff dont get in it (if you use a standard maize header and a cracker I suppose? )
The corn has mould spores on it too I expect

Maize which is kept for grain here (and I have no experience with it, just a rubber necker) is harvested long after it has dried out standing . Even greenfeed maize in wet areas that was not harvested is harvested months later as grain when it has dried out again. I have idea what they change mechanically

 

[Mr Mackay]

How susceptible to spores are cattle? I worked for a summer feeding cattle with silage bales and religiously took out all the horrible grey fousty muck and at the end of the week the owner would take my heating, horrible pile and chuck it right back in front of the cattle. So far as I know over 6 months nothing happened to make me say he was doing wrong. Maybe he was lucky, I don't know enough about cattle to have a real opinion hence I ask.

Listeria - abortion ,who knows ?
We were feeding some 8,or 9 yrd old silage to our in calf heifers a few yrs back , ( they had gone to a former dairy farm for wintering and this silage needed trowing or doing summat with )and the best of the group was lying like she was striken one day and depite all the drugs and putting her on her own in a bedded pen , she died . Didnt have a pm , but suspected Listeria myself !
I see the chap just go out for another load ,so it must be feeding ok ,and I keep my fingers crossed for him (and I mean that )

 

[sticky]

My neighbors are combining maize today for the grain, I asked them, and they are putting additive on the grain to help it keep to feed it to their cattle.
This is their third time trying to get this field.