Maize and Rotational Crops

[farmerjo]

Hi KS,

 

Where we sell our maize to also sells sunflower seeds and buys your harvest,prices i haven't checked into.

 

From what i read they say to grow the crop to its potential,600-1000mm of rainfall but natrually there's plenty of moisture in the soil towards the end of the rainy season.

 

Did a small trial a few years back and they can grow here.Planted with a tyne seeder,thats why their patchy. 

 

As far as the kubota dc-70 for harvest,pretty sure it will handle sunflowers with the excisting corn kit setup on it,only thing is the rotor speed which runs at about 520rpm

needs to be slowed to about 330rpm,a pulley change should enable that.

 

As you say maybe up against the birds as thats whats happened with my maize as mine was more inviting for the rodents with a poor start for the sugar this year.

 

 

[farmerjo]

Went passed local maize buyers place today.

Has gone up to 10baht/kilo.

[wayned]

Pictrure 1 is the header we use for the sunflowers.  I can't find the ID plate but I think that it is a 635 rigid header.  I've also seen grain headers used with PVC pipe on the rollers to keep from cutting the stalks.  I've never seen anyone harvest sunflowers with a corn header.

 

 

Sunflowers are a popular crop here and especially in Lopburi Province where they are a tourist attraction when they are in bloom.

 

The other two are of the weigh station still awaiting parts.  It looks like someone has moved into one of the rooms as there are curtains even though there are no windows.

 

 

I thought about moving there, but with the bathroom having a Thai toilet we would have to install a high pressure pump so that I could wash the wall.  Mt hip replacement doesn't allow me to get into a position to use the "squat" toilet.

 

Still haven't got any info on corn prices, mainly because there's no corn.  The corn that was planted a few days ago is about 2cm high and we did get a good soaking the night before last, 16mm.

[farmerjo]

 

Thanks for that Wayned,

 

My front is the same,a poor mans version of a corn head.

 

Co-op is coming along nicely

[slapout]

The sickle guards that are shown as being required for sunflower harvest may or may not be required. standard small grain sickle guards can be used if sunflower are spaced between rows similar to small grains, standing upright and depending on height of same the reel and machine adjustment can mean a lot in what is recovered in the way of seed to send to market. I have never seen a corn header used to harvest sunflowers , but I guess a lot depends on seed spacing between rows when planting crop.

Same with what we refer to as sorgum/ maize (what some call maize we called corn) we used same sickle guards on the same combine header as for wheat, barley, and oats

[kickstart]

wayned.

Sunflower are popular round here ,we have one guy who has 2-3 small plots ,4-5 rie ,just for for tourist's,he trys and times them to flower for the new year ,people from bkk ,only 2-3 hours from here,vist them ,even by the bus load ,then they go no to the Passak dam ,one of HM King's projects ,except at this time the dam is only 10% full,never seen it so low,just a 10,000 rie grass field "where the buffolows roam" .

The pvc pipe on the headers,must be a common thing,as most combines round here have them fitted.

slapout.

Row spacing for sun flowers in Thailand are the same as for maize ,basically becouse the same drills that drill maize are used ,row spacings can not be changed.just looked at a uk website that said 34 cm is optimal for sunflowers ,maize being 75 cm,when sunflowers are sown with a 7 disc plough spacings are hit and miss,normaly less than a seed drill.

FJ

I f you grow some sunflowers ,have an open day when they are in flower,locals would like it ,make you a bit of beer money,round here they charge 10 bart for adults and 5 bart for kids,entrance fee.

[wayned]

Never looked at a Kubota head before. Looks like row spacing is not a concern and there are definitely less moving parts,

no gatherer chains to stretch and break. It looks very similar to the header we use for sunflowers.

Our corn heads are set for 30' row spacing. We have two but they have been modified. The JD643 which was a 6 row header with 30" spacing is now a

4 row header with the width that coincides with the width of the combine. We have a JD 644 which is a 6 row head with 36/38" spacing which has been

modified to a 5 row head with 30" spacing. The cutting angle on both heads has been reduced by about15 degrees which raises the tips of the gathers

to avoid obstructions. I don't think that either one would be suitable for sunflowers.

Every day is an "open day" here and the beer, Lao Khao and Hong Thong flow freely and there is no entrance fee.But we never get any tourists and if we did

they would really be lost!

[farmerjo]

Never looked at a Kubota head before. Looks like row spacing is not a concern and there are definitely less moving parts,

no gatherer chains to stretch and break. It looks very similar to the header we use for sunflowers.

Our corn heads are set for 30' row spacing. We have two but they have been modified. The JD643 which was a 6 row header with 30" spacing is now a

4 row header with the width that coincides with the width of the combine. We have a JD 644 which is a 6 row head with 36/38" spacing which has been

modified to a 5 row head with 30" spacing. The cutting angle on both heads has been reduced by about15 degrees which raises the tips of the gathers

to avoid obstructions. I don't think that either one would be suitable for sunflowers.

Every day is an "open day" here and the beer, Lao Khao and Hong Thong flow freely and there is no entrance fee.But we never get any tourists and if we did

they would really be lost!

Actually the more i look at your sunflower front,the more i think they somehow lost there translation in meaning its for sunflowers but can do corn as well.But expect loses as its for sunflowers,not corn.

I going to go back to the 5 segment finger tyne reel for rice to see if it minimises loses when feeding the front as opposed to the 2 segment they set it up with.

One main problem is when the front is fully raised and the reel is fully raised its only 2.5 metres high,i have some corn 3 metres high and it just gets tangled in the reel.

[farmerjo]

Never looked at a Kubota head before. Looks like row spacing is not a concern and there are definitely less moving parts,

no gatherer chains to stretch and break. It looks very similar to the header we use for sunflowers.

Our corn heads are set for 30' row spacing. We have two but they have been modified. The JD643 which was a 6 row header with 30" spacing is now a

4 row header with the width that coincides with the width of the combine. We have a JD 644 which is a 6 row head with 36/38" spacing which has been

modified to a 5 row head with 30" spacing. The cutting angle on both heads has been reduced by about15 degrees which raises the tips of the gathers

to avoid obstructions. I don't think that either one would be suitable for sunflowers.

Every day is an "open day" here and the beer, Lao Khao and Hong Thong flow freely and there is no entrance fee.But we never get any tourists and if we did

they would really be lost!

Actually the more i look at your sunflower front,the more i think they somehow lost there translation in meaning its for sunflowers but can do corn as well.But expect loses as its for sunflowers,not corn.

I going to go back to the 5 segment finger tyne reel for rice to see if it minimises loses when feeding the front as opposed to the 2 segment they set it up with.

One main problem is when the front is fully raised and the reel is fully raised its only 2.5 metres high,i have some corn 3 metres high and it just gets tangled in the reel.

Meaning Kubota(lost in translation) not your JD front.

Edited August 5, 2015 by farmerjo

[farmerjo]

Been away for a week and i think the maize is well and truly ready for harvest.

Will have a crack tomorrow and take a sample to some buyers.

[kickstart]

Been away for a week and i think the maize is well and truly ready for harvest.

Will have a crack tomorrow and take a sample to some buyers.

Have you got the results of the soil sample's yet?

[farmerjo]

 

Been away for a week and i think the maize is well and truly ready for harvest.

 

Will have a crack tomorrow and take a sample to some buyers.

Have you got the results of the soil  sample's  yet?

 

Hi KS,

 

Not yet,just paid for them today so should not be far away,they also checking into a liquid nitrogen amine form for me to trial on the next crop.

 

Well i wish we had an like this but with a merchant bending over a farmer and giving him one in the backside.

 

Took a sample this morning and ventured to 3 different buyers.

 

 

Before i left i measured moisture at 44 percent,this is after 115-120 days since planting.

 

1st buyer my local place offered to take it off my hands for a 28 percent discount from the 8.9 baht they were offering without checking the sample

which would give me about 6.4 baht a kilo.There's the odd black seed in there but nothing to worry about but they particulary mentioned it over and over.

 

2nd buyer offered 8.5 baht but said the sample was not big enough and wanted a truck load before determening actual price with moisture deduction.(as if that sample is not big enough).

 

They are the 2 biggest buyers around and they just did a visual check (coming from working in the grain industry for 10 years i found this pretty unprofessional,no check for moisture,screenings etc)

 

Went to a 3rd one which i bought some soya beans off years ago for seed.

The lady and gentlemen were nice as usual,taking a sample and offering 10 baht if i could get the moisture down to 30 percent.

 

Working it out i dont really have the facilities yet to dry it down.So i guess i will have to take it up the backside as we normally get alot of rain coming soon and want to put a second crop in.

 

Looks like number 1 buyer will be extending their 6 storey house into 8 this year.for sreading a bit of maize on the ground and drying it down 14 percent. 28 percent cut plus not offering full price.

 

To top the day off,got 2 harvester boxfulls off and it peed with rain

 

 

The leo is starting to taste a little better after a couple.

[kickstart]

Hi FJ

I think I said before, an old farm fitter I worked with in the uk use to say ,if you think the crop is ready to harvest ,go away for a week ,when you come back it will fit to cut , 44% MC after 115-120 days ,that seems high( go away for another week) ,have you had a lot of rain.

Re moisture , when we sent a sample in ,to our local buyer , he did not have a moisture meter, that I saw, they use to just bite the grains and say ok ,did once take 20 satang a kg off the price ,I suppose if you have been doing the job a lot of years ,you can judge the MC ,with the amount of maize they sell in a year ,they must have a moisture meter somewhere.

If a crop comes in at ,at say 40% MC,it must take some doing to get it down to 14% ,by just turning it on a piece o f concrete ,it must cost him a bit , drying the grain. I have not checked for a few weeks , but Khow-Port- Bot ,ground maize for animal feed, is about 10-11 Bart/kg ,that seems a fair price ,on what you where saying.

Talking to a farmer to day ,he said maize on the cob is 6 Bart /kg ,he seemed happy with that ,he said ,not a lot of maize about ,so a good price, I said where are you sending it to he said a " Toll-Gair", which my Thai -English dictionary says, "A rich Chinese merchant ", which would be about right for a lot grain buyer's and middle men here in LOS.

[slapout]

Most small grain buyer want mositure content 14% or kess, if it is going to be stored for any length of time. Most people who cut grain crops with a combine nowdays haqve a mositure tester in their truck cab in a cushioned box. Never saw a elevator which did not have one at or near the unloading area. dockage was normal on wheat over 14% unless you could deliver a couple loads ai 13% , thus it was mixed and nositure bought down to a reasonable level for storage.

[farmerjo]

Most small grain buyer want mositure content 14% or kess, if it is going to be stored for any length of time. Most people who cut grain crops with a combine nowdays haqve a mositure tester in their truck cab in a cushioned box. Never saw a elevator which did not have one at or near the unloading area. dockage was normal on wheat over 14% unless you could deliver a couple loads ai 13% , thus it was mixed and nositure bought down to a reasonable level for storage.

Hi Slapout,

I totally agree about the 14-15 percent for storing.

But i've got a feeling there selling on to feed mills at 28-30 percent who then crush it at that moisture.

Will take the 6.4 baht/kilo which should cover costs and get it over with without further losses from wind damage,black grain and the birds and rats

eating it.

Edited August 20, 2015 by farmerjo

[slapout]

We planted field corn just for saliage to feed the weaned calves during the wintermonths as they were kept seperate from mother cows. Thus mositure content was not a concern we just waited until the ear was about 80% formed and chopped the entire stock/ plant which was still showing a lot of green. Our biggest theives were the deer they would come in during the night and what they did not eat would stomp into the ground I counted over 100 many a morning. We would have lost the entire crop if we had wanted to wait for complete maturity and ripeness of kernels.

good luck

[farmerjo]

Well i said i should cover costs but not so confident now.

 

There's a lot where the grass is taller than the corn so will probaly just spray it out once i've taken the best of it.

 

Sent 2 loads off today,nearly 9.5 ton,to buyer number 1 and number 2.

 

There discount worked out the same(25.2percent) only buyer 1's price was .3/of a baht better

 

buyer 1

 

buyer 2

 

Pretty glad to get it off as it rained again this afternoon.

[kickstart]

Most small grain buyer want mositure content 14% or kess, if it is going to be stored for any length of time. Most people who cut grain crops with a combine nowdays haqve a mositure tester in their truck cab in a cushioned box. Never saw a elevator which did not have one at or near the unloading area. dockage was normal on wheat over 14% unless you could deliver a couple loads ai 13% , thus it was mixed and nositure bought down to a reasonable level for storage.

Hi Slapout,

I totally agree about the 14-15 percent for storing.

But i've got a feeling there selling on to feed mills at 28-30 percent who then crush it at that moisture.

Will take the 6.4 baht/kilo which should cover costs and get it over with without further losses from wind damage,black grain and the birds and rats

eating it.

FJ

I can not see a feed mill buying maize at 28-30% MC,even when it is crushed it still has to be stored, at those figures ,even a small heap will heat up, or mixed in to pig poultry feed ,I regularly see pig/poultry blower fed lorries hauling 25 ton of feed ,even on a farm in feeding bins it would probably heat up .

How many rie did that corn come from ,did it do 1 ton/rie

@slapout

Normally when making maize silage ,the cobs are still in the milky stage when chopping for silage ,we have made maize silage here in Thailand ,we chopped the plant at the above stage ,also with our chipper ,if the cobs where any dryer ,they would not go through the feeder rollers ,and the grains would be too hard for cattle to digest they would just go out with the muck .

We used the white corn ,cattle liked it ,so did the rats ,lost a few bags with rat damage

[wayned]

 

The way station is complete (almost) and functional.  Still missing the outside scale display which was supposed to be a large analogue meter.  Due to problems getting it we have changed to a large digital display which has not arrived yet.  Also furniture for the operators room.There are also two short time rooms attached, boom boomees yet to be interviewed.

 

 

The above are pictures if the corn that I didn't replant!  And I didn't!  I had made the decision not to replant but when everyone was replanting I was helping servicing and repairing the beasts at the new facility down the road.  BIL convinced FIL to give him the boxes of PAC777 that I had stored in his house and without telling me he replanted for me.  He also planted the 50 Rai of lease land and charged additional seed to my account  at the supplier since he ran out.  I thanked him energetically and am still trying to bend my cane straight.  Actually it's doing pretty good since it's rained just about every evening.

 

The mill  currently will buy corn for 9.5 baht/kilo at 14% moisture.  We will buy it at 7.2 baht/kilo @ 30% and on a downward sliding scale if it is higher.  It works out to about 0.13 baht/% so we would buy it for 6.4baht/kilo at 36%.

 

 

[farmerjo]

Thanks for that info Wayned,i was barking up the wrong tree.(nice to hear input from how further up the chain works)

So your co-op is working on big volumes to make a profit.

One question,does your co-op have a contract to the mills or you just turn up with a truckload.

Your corn 's looking healthy.

@ KS,1/ton/rai,only in my dreams,think i'll be lucky to get another boxfull of the rest of it.

As i said the corns there but the grass is higher and have noticed the more i get into the grassy areas,the more black grains i'm getting.

Will service the harvester this morning the go and finish what think is worth getting.

There's no better feeling sitting on the harvester and hearing the grain pouring into the box,in contrast to driving around for hours to get a boxfull.

The one standout mistake i made was not using S-metolachor 96 percent at 160-200 cc/rai with the attrazine in post emergence spray.

Something as simple as that was the difference in making or losing money.

Whatever i end up with will at least recoup some of the initial seeding costs and provided more organic matter to the soil and the grass thats there

should act(help) as a cover crop for next planting.

Edited August 21, 2015 by farmerjo

[wayned]

The coop started out as a Lark and needs to be reclassified as an Albatross and I

should be classified as a Looney Bird for ever getting involved!!!

It started as a small group of farmers who collectively agreed on what equipment was needed

and instead of everybody having one a the needed number would be agreed upon, purchased and shared by all.

It has slowly evolved to what it is today. I'm sure that all are still maxed out on their loans from the AG Bank.

You're right, the only way to make a profit is big volumes and playing the waiting game until the price is up before you sell.

And therein is the problem. Although there is a large drying area we don't really have a large storage area.

So by the time the crops that are bought today at 7.2 baht/kilo is dried to 14% the price at the mill will be down from the current 9.5 but

we don't have one of those huge buildings to store it until the price is right and we have no contract with the mill.

[slapout]

I have seen a bone dry field planted to corn with treated seed with out mositure for a month. The irrigation canel finally got water released into it and

we had enough slope to let water follow the planting ridges between rows. Had one of the best stands we nhad ever had for silage. Birds seem to leave

treated grain alone for the most part. Corn does need plenty of mositure once the seed sprouts. 1 1/23 to 2 inches of rain every 10 to 14 days is good.

[wayned]

1 1/23?

[slapout]

1 1/23?

my fat finger hit the 3

My intent was 1 1/2 or one and a half inch of rain.

[wayned]

I have 10 of those, fat fingers, and that coupled with my brain farts and dyslexia while typing creates words that are only recognized by people from Poland!

[farmerjo]

Just chipping away at it now so keeping the missus busy as head of transport

Boxfull is 1.25 ton and ute holds 800kgs.

Will get one or two more boxfulls then have to spray the weeds to find the rest.

Price dropped 0.3 baht today.

[kickstart]

I have 10 of those, fat fingers, and that coupled with my brain farts and dyslexia while typing creates words that are only recognized by people from Poland!

At least you can spell dyslexia I can't.

[kickstart]

The missus says ,that black grains are a fungus,? I would say that ,grassy areas would have more moisture ,so a higher humidity and more problems with fungus.

wayned

Does your co-op buy maize, still on the cob? I ask because round here all the buyer , buy maize on the cob ,and a few with combines ,buy the grain as well , a lot of ,farmers still like to pick and send the cobs ,a lot say combines lose a lot of grain ,and cobs ,and at 600 Bart/ rie ,cutting costs/rie ,some say that is expensive , but compared to ,picking the cobs ,but picking costs at 40-50 Bart a sack ,and about another 10 Bart to lift and handle the bags ,plus transport ,I would say that they would not be a lot in it ,cost wise .We use to pick and send the cobs ,for 2 years it was wet ,and the combine ,would have make a mess of the field.

The only time we used a combine was to harvest some grain sorghum ,only because the hand pickers do not like sorghum ,itches on contact with skin.

I use to go with the trailer sending the cobs ,help unload ,had a look at one of those threshers, that the buyers use for threshing maize, powered by an old 6 cylinder lorry engine. not cheap to buy, or run.

[farmerjo]

Yes it is an alfatoxin of some sort,from what i've read its more common in damaged cobs from pest damage along with rain and humidity..

Will go and check the grassy areas on monday and see what i can find(sunday is day of rest)

Edited August 22, 2015 by farmerjo

[wayned]

I have 10 of those, fat fingers, and that coupled with my brain farts and dyslexia while typing creates words that are only recognized by people from Poland!

At least you can spell dyslexia I can't.

I actually got it close enough that spell check recognized it!