Hello, I found this forum and am now a new member. I am planning for next year and doing some winter farming. We are considering raising some non GMO corn to have ground and mixed for chicken layer feed. We are currently having soy free layer mixed and our customers would like non GMO corn used also. They are willing to pay a premium for eggs and chickens raised on no soy, no GMO corn feed. I cannot find anyone growing it around here and am considering raising a few acres. I am wondering if a New Idea picker sheller would be a pretty good investment for a 5 or 6 acre corn crop. I have a gravity wagon and a feed bin to store the shell corn in, but would need to get a auger to load it into the bin and a way to shell it. How much should I expect to pay for a decent machine? I had a combine a few years ago, and it was like a giant lawnmower with belts, bearings, chains and things going wrong with it. Should I expect the same types of repair issues with a picker sheller? Does anyone in the Middle Tennessee area have a good machine they want to sell? Any and all advice will be appreciated. Thanks Glenn
I am also in Middle Tn. The worst issue I see with your plan is getting the corn dry enough to prevent mold in the bin or wagon. I have seen a picker/sheller in one of the surrounding craigslist. One thing you might consider is picking it in the ear and shell it as you use it or after it dries down. If you are going to raise non gmo corn plan ahead. It is what I grow and I have to special order the seed. No one in my area stocks it and the local Tn Farmers Co-op orders it for me. Good luck !
Find a Channel seed dealer near you, I know they have Channel seed in Tenn. They have at least a few numbers of Non GMO that go from about 107 days to 115 days. They have good seed.
Thanks for the responses. Non GMO corn is corn that has not been genetically modified. Seed companies are now messing with the genetic makeup of plants artificially by inserting genes for a specific trait. The most common is corn that can be sprayed with Roundup after it is up. The Roundup kills the grass and weeds but not the corn. A lot of different crops are now genetically modified to increase yield, disease resistance, and physical traits. Some people think that artificially modifying the plant is not healthy.
Can't I leave the corn in the field until the moisture is low enough not to mold?
You can let it dry in the field but that works better some years than others.This year most corn has been really slow to dry down at least in this part of Tn. I have had a hard time getting it dry enough to grind for cow feed this year.
One problem with leaving it in the field is like this year with all the rain we have had a lack of freezing weather it will be to muddy to pick it. I still have corn that I haven't pick because of all the rain it's impossible to get in the field with out get stuck. 6 acres of corn will be a lot of corn for chickens how many do you have to feed? I use Gmo seed and get around 175 bushels an acre Iam sure that the non Gmo corn might not produce yields like that but at 100 bushel an acre that would be around 600 lbs or so of shelled corn. I would go with ear corn like others has already said it will be hard to get shelled corn dried enough to store in a bin without a dryer. Then if you had a grinder mixer you could grind the while ear. I grind a lot like that for a few friends with chickens a they seem to like it.
