How To Harvest Down Corn
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Minnesota farmer Harold Barton had 135 acres of down corn a couple years ago. After a lot of experimenting, he came up with a method of harvest that salvages much more corn than most people think is possible.
"The key is to make your first pass through the field traveling in the direction that the corn is laying down, and then taking a narrower strip when driving into the down corn," says the 91-year-old Barton, who still farms 1,000 plus acres.
He says your cornhead should be in good running condition and that you should speed up your header, if possible, to avoid plugging.
First make a pass around the end rows of the field. Then make your first pass in the direction the corn is laying down. At the end of the first pass, drive around the end rows without harvesting, and make another pass, leaving an unharvested strip that's narrower than the header. At the end of that pass, turn back to combine the narrow strip.
The reason the idea works is that it's tougher harvesting into the down corn so having a narrower strip helps prevent plug-ups and tangles.
Keep up the same pattern all across the field.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harold Barton, 19052 Kale Ave., Silver Lake, Minn. 55381 (ph 320 327-2217).
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How To Harvest Down Corn COMBINES Down Corn 30-5-5 Minnesota farmer Harold Barton had 135 acres of down corn a couple years ago. After a lot of experimenting, he came up with a method of harvest that salvages much more corn than most people think is possible.
"The key is to make your first pass through the field traveling in the direction that the corn is laying down, and then taking a narrower strip when driving into the down corn," says the 91-year-old Barton, who still farms 1,000 plus acres.
He says your cornhead should be in good running condition and that you should speed up your header, if possible, to avoid plugging.
First make a pass around the end rows of the field. Then make your first pass in the direction the corn is laying down. At the end of the first pass, drive around the end rows without harvesting, and make another pass, leaving an unharvested strip that's narrower than the header. At the end of that pass, turn back to combine the narrow strip.
The reason the idea works is that it's tougher harvesting into the down corn so having a narrower strip helps prevent plug-ups and tangles.
Keep up the same pattern all across the field.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harold Barton, 19052 Kale Ave., Silver Lake, Minn. 55381 (ph 320 327-2217).
