I just spoke with a guy that has a New Idea 309 or 310 that he wants to trade for a JD 127. I called and asked if he would be interested in selling and he said probably. He wasn't sure of the year model and said when it quit raining (we're under a tornado watch) that he would go and make sure if it's a 309 or 310 and get the serial #.
I plan to plant 1-2 acres of corn to feed to my goats, chickens, and maybe a hog or steer. I probably will hand pull the corn if I don't find a 1 row picker for the right price.
Questions are what are the advantages/disadvantages of a 309 vs 310 and do I need to wait and try to find a 323?
He said that if it's a 309 it doesn't have a husking bed and won't accept a sheller. Is this correct? He bought it to use, but has small fields and said that it was too hard to turn around pulling a wagon. I have larger fields and this wouldn't be a problem.
I have access to aprox. 50 acres that I could plant in corn if I wanted. I do have a full time (day) job, but grew up on the farm and really enjoy farming.
Question: Is there a market for ear corn??? If so, and I buy a picker I probably would end up planting a couple more acres each year until I filled my local market.
BTW: I plan on using on old blackhawk sheller to shell what corn I feed the goats and chickens and then feeding whole ears to the hog or steer.
I have a neighbor that has old chicken houses and I could buy a small bin from him that I could store shelled corn in if I get a model with a sheller.
Is there somewhere (mill) that I could take my ear corn to get it shelled???
I think he is right about the 309. It is a snapper model so no husking bed. I am not sure about the 310. I know it has a husking bed. I don't think you can replace it with a sheller unit but I don't know for sure. A snapper will remove less husk than a picker with a husking bed but for the most part they do a decent job. At least the old Allis-Chalmers snapper that my dad had did a decent job. I would think feeding whole ears to the goats, chickens or hogs wouldn't be a problem but I wouldn't reccommend feeding whole ears to cows. You could always get a small hand cranked corn sheller and put a small electric motor on it. They work fairly well for smaller amounts. The problem with shelled corn is that it has to be dried down to 15% moisture to store properly. Otherwise it will heat up and mold. For ear corn storage the moisture amount doesn't really matter as long as its not stored more than 6 feet thick or so. There has to be enough airflow going through it so it can dry. I think the biggest problem with ear corn storage is you always have rats for the most part. It's hard to keep them under control.
So what about shelling and storing in a small grain bin like the one's that they use for chicken feed at chicken houses. I have a neighbor that has 2 houses that haven't been used in 6-8 years. I'm sure I could buy one of those bins fairly cheap.
Are the 309 or 310 good pickers? I hope to find out on Monday which one it is and how much he wants for it.
If I let the corn dry on the stalk until late October or November what should the moisture level be??? I plan to plant in early April. Would the moisture level be low enough to shell and then store in a bin or would I need to do additional drying???
YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF TO PICK THE CORN AND CRIB IT UNTILL IT DRYS DOWN TO 16 TO 15% MOISTURE,AND THEN SHELL IT. THERE IS ALWAYS A MARKET FOR EAR CORN. CHECK AND SEE IF THERE IS ANY WEEKLY HAY AND GRAIN AUCTIONS IN YOUR AREA,OR PUT A ADD IN THE LOCAL PAPER FOR WILDLIFE CORN OR BY THE TON.
AS FAR AS FEEDING EAR CORN TO LIVESTOCK, TAKE IT TO THE MILL AND GRIND COB AND ALL. I RAISE BEEF CATTLE, DAIRY REPLACMENTS, AND A EX-HOG FARMER AND NO ONE EVER COMPLAINED AROUND HERE AT DINNER TIME.
GET A PICKER WITH A HUSKING BED AND IT WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF HASSLE OF NOT MESSING AROUND WITH HUSKS. A GOOD PLACE TO CHECK IS THE FASTLINE ON THE INTER-NET.
