Any Row Crop farmers....

-
S

Small Block

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
5,213
Reaction score
70
Location
West Plains, Mo.
....on here? I need some advice from people that have the answers. I'll tell ya what i'm doing and you give me your ideas. I like feeding the wildlife and have feeders out for that very purpose but now i'd like to go even deeper into it. I bought a two row corn planter and have about 3 plots picked out which will be about 2 or 3 acres each. I plan on planting corn, soybeans, and some milo. In talking with the main row crop guy here by me i've been told to spray the area with roundup or Hi Yield Kilzall and kill all the grass. Wait a couple of weeks until dead then turn it over and lime it. Let set till spring then finish tilling to work up the ground. I plan on dropping fertilizer with the seed and spraying again after the corn comes up. With what is the question? What type of field corn? How deep do i need to set the planter? How close can i plant the rows? What should i spray the corn with to prevent bugs? The deer, coon, and quail are eating at my feeders now so i know they'll eat the stuff i plant plus will give em some good cover. The sharing of your knowledge will be greatly appriciated. This is just a fun hobby for me so dont tell me i cant make any money. I'm not trying to. I'm sure i'll have some more questions but answer these for now if ya can help. Thanks
Small Block
 
Small Block, {trying to get that right this time} any way IMO if your not planting for money i wouldn't spend time or $$ on round up. if it a native grass pasture i would just disc it a couple of times maybe a month apart and plant your crop. no fertilizer for the first month. anyway weeds or grass {what ever is there} is going to grow back plus as you say it provides cover. If yur going for a show place then thats different by critters do care what it looks like so i try to keep it easy and natural. In other news, that is the best looking duster i have seen {your 72}. If i wasn't a recovering duster addict i would be trying to raise 10 grand. good luck farming.
 
I farm and am familiar with wildlife. If you want racoons, plant some corn, otherwise stick with the milo and soybeans. Do an early spray with glyphos, generic round-up, it's very cheap. Work the ground and apply your N/P/K. What is the spacing on a 2 row planter? Most 6+ row planters are 30". Have the soil tested first to see if you need lime and how much fertilizer, the local fert. plant can do that. Plant your corn/milo seperate from your soybeans so they can be sprayed with the appropriate herbicide. Let me stress this point, make sure and spray for weeds. In SEKs, no herbicide means no crop.

Any commercial brand corn/milo/soybeans should work, does around here.

I've seen some people put in a late summer planting of turnips so the deer have greens to eat through the winter months plus you get fresh turnips to eat.

Hope this helps


Spray the corn with pre-emergance herbicide, the soybeans(if round-up ready) post emergance.
 
I will do some checking Small Block but I think there is a special grass they love that is not native to Missouri , And the weather will let me go get a picture today :cheers:
 
Hey guys, i already have the wheat and turnips planted and have been pulling em and giving them to the less fortunate by advertising on the tradio shows. I eat em myself. The deer are working them over big time. That plot is proably 1/2 acre. Flatlander, good info but let's get more specific if you have time. The Glyphos, whos the manufacturer? I like the sound of cheap but still needs to be effective. The planter i have purchased for $150 is in great shape but old. It was a horse drawn unit but has been converted to 3 point hook up. That being said the horse drawn rigs were as wide as a mules *** for that very reason. 40" between the rows but i thought i could double run and do em 20" apart if that isn't too close. Next, what is N/P/K ? So the corn, milo, and soybeeans take different spray? What for each? I plan to put in several rows of corn(40) 20" apart, the step over and do the same on the milo, then step over and do several rows of beans. The critters may eat em off to the ground before they ever get a chance to grow. I am planning about 3 of these patches 100' wide x 400-600 feet long. How does one determine how much seed to be needed. We guaged my planter and it will drop a seed every 10". Maybe i can post a pic of the planter. One of the patches will be sweet corn and crowder peas for guys like me that like good food. I'll be feeding the less fortunate also if some folks are hungry. Give me a name of the pre emerge for the corn. On the soybeans, what do you mean "If round up ready"? It looks as though i'll need to buy or rent a boom sprayer to do it right. I called on one yesterday and this guy has a 100 gal unit with 3 sections of booms and it's a bout 4 years old for $600. That's really more than i'd like to part with but i may if i cant find a good buddy with one. Please let me know on the other issues . Hey 30, the grass on the location now is fescue and i really think it needs to be killed out. Very stuborn and it clumps up. Not as bad as bermuda but the quail dont like dealing with it. I'm gona try and kill it out. Good for cattle but fescue has got the blame for the decline in our quail population around here as the cattle took preference. Thanks a bunch
Small Block
 
N/P/K stands for Nitrogen/Potassium/Phosphorous, the three main ingredients in soil fertility. Ph levels indicate acid-to-alkaline conditions and be adjusted by the amounts of lime needed to make the soil close to neutral depending on the type of crop to be grown. I wouldn't use too many chemicals unless absolutely needed, these are food plots and you don't want to put any more chemicals into nature unless you absolutely have to.

Soil samples can be tested thru your local county extension service. If you're intending to just be growing food plots for wildlife, you might want to consider a "no-till" method. That would mean less trips over the field to maintain, less chemicals used, and less ground prep before planting.

When I was a kid on the farm in Iowa growing up, my grandfather used to have food plots and he didn't pour a whole lot into them. He kept it simple and cheap and the wildlife loved it. I would suggest that you visit your local county extension office. They have free information on how to do just what you're looking to do.

You should be able to set your planter to drop seeds closer together for soybeans and milo as opposed to corn. I'd be planting the corn about six inches apart and plant the soybeans about every 1 1/2" apart. Inside the seed bins on the planter at the bottom, you'll see a notched round plate where the seeds are grabbed and dropped thru the planting tube into the ground. You can change these plates to vary the amount of seed dropped in a given length of row, they are called "planter plates" and can be found in many many variations for various planting rates. And you might be able to convert your two row planter into a no-till unit by adding a disc opener in front of the planter shoe and a couple of press wheels behind it to close the furrow as it passes...simple and cheap.
 
Rick, I'm with ya on the plates. The only two sets of plates i have do a 9" spacing. I will look at the adjustments on the drivers and see if they can be refigured by other methods than changing the plates. Not sure where i would even find a set for a JD 999. The guy at MFA said one of the worst things you can do is over populate the field. It's a horse drawn antique. The women would love this thing to set out in the yard and plant flowers in, but it still works so that's what i will use until something better comes along. Mike and i are working on another rig. Talked to a gal working for Monsanto that makes the round up to treat the seed and she recommended, naturally, round up ready seed. High dollar. $257 for 80,000 units/seeds. There are cheaper seeds and that's what i'm looking for. Found some for $147 per that unit count. Milo is a lot cheaper at $47 for about 50 lb. Any of you guys buy your seed corn in bulk? What price are you paying? Working now on finding a sprayer so i can kill the fescue.
Small Block
 
here we go

corn 001.jpg


corn 002.jpg


corn 003.jpg
 
Thanks Chip. There she is boys and girls. Now tell me your wife wouldn't like to have that in the front yard this spring with flowers coming out of the tubs. Cant wait for spring. Now i need that boom sprayer.
Small Block
 
Hey smallblock, the conservation dept in willow springs might have a little help in what you are doing. I know they use to help in supplies but that was a few years ago. Just my 2 cents.
 
Hey sixpak, I know one of those guys personally by the name of Brad McKee and he's brought me seed before so your right. I'll give him a shout and i know they have a loaner no till drill for the milo. Thanks for kicking me off my brain fart.
Small Block
 
Maybe some of the kids from the local FFA or 4-H could help you out.
 
Glyphos is short for glyphosate, or what we call generic Round Up. Just as effective but more affordable. Round Up ready beans are the way to go and affordable, many discounts when it gets late in the planting season which is late June or July. I'd stay away from RR ready corn, very expensive. Dual and Bicep are two good corrn herbicides, spray once and your done. If you know any local farmers I'd bet they have some seed left over from planting season you could get on the cheap, it will keep for the winter just fine.

Go to your local elevator or fertilizer plant and talk to their chemical and seed guys, they're well trained and have probably helped out on food plots before.
 
freelowder said:
Anyone have a good jackass!
Click to expand...

Shirley you have a few up there freelowder :toothy10:

Heck hook the donkeys up to it, That is one very fine old planter Small Block.
I am still waiting for my call back :angry7:

Hook the big one up Bill, freelowder will jump in and help :-D

66 A CUDA REAR END 021.jpg
 
Mike, I sold those donkeys when they started gettin out and taking too much of my time and troubling the neighbors. I talked to my buddy at the feed mill and last year he got his corn from the Quail Forever folks for $5 a bag. That's what i'm looking at. I priced the RR corn and they wanted $257 for 80,000 seeds/units. I'm having a better understanding of these chemical Flatlander as i went to the MFA folks and got a book they gave me on the sprays and other stuff. Going to an auction ina few minutes to check on a boom sprayer. Let me know what you find on the other planter Mike.
Small Block
 
stay away from the round up ready all together ... in 5 years all the weeds will be immune to roundup and then you will have nothing to kill the weeds off with.

just my .02

also stay away from bt corn, deer will not eat it. It is modified so organisms will not eat it ... deer are organisms. We just ran into this problem with our cattle. after 5 years of using it. It has been traced as one of the possibilities of why we are having troubles with calving all year.
At the moment we have a silo full bt corn silage and now are regretting it. Also our ground corn is also bt corn ...

rows 32 inches apart for both corn and beans ... the seed dealer can tell you best rate to plant at.

add lots and lots of organic materials ... such as straw stubble and cow tirds ... best natural way to go. the yields will love it :)
 
Interesting reading there Dodge. You say your cattle wont eat it? Wow, Might be something to steer away from. Thanks
Small Block
 
no they will eat it, but the vet is starting to think its the cause of all the problems in our cows as of late.

losing more cows after birth from unknown causes. I think we have had maybe 5 out of 20 survive all of 2009 and the ones that survived had a really slow start for milk production.

Nothing major has changed in the last 4 years ... except the corn.
 
I was at an auction yesterday and there was a brand new 2.5 gal jug of Kilz All so i bought it for $50. The one i bought at the feed store was on sale for $70. Now i have 5 gal of the stuff and the directions say to put it on at a rate of .5 gal to the acre. Now comes the tough part. There's a lot to know when it comes to putting this on the ground. Of course you mix it with water, i think it's .5 gal to 20 gal water, and put it in the sprayer but now you need to know a couple of other issues. The rate of flow on the nozzels will probably dictate the speed in which you travel down the field with the tractor. Any formulas for this equasion?
Small Block
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top