Tester Reads Corn Moisture On Cob

Tester reads corn moisture on cob MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 14-3-22 You can test the moisture of your corn crop in the field without harvesting even a single ear of corn with a new tester that lets you test corn while it's still on the stalk with husks on. Inventor Bob Spry developed the new tester to eliminate the need to harvest corn in order to test it and to make it possible for seed corn growers who harvest ear corn to test moisture without shelling. "Many farmers get on the combine and harvest 50 bu. of grain to test. If the moisture's too high, they're stuck with 50 bu. of high moisture grain in the bin," says Spry. His tester lets you sample a number of ears in the field, and take the average for moisture content. He notes that neighboring plants in a row may vary in moisture content by as much as 1 to 3% due to differing emergence, pollination, and other factors. "You can test the moisture of the same ears on subsequent days by identifying the plants with spot paint. That lets you deter-mine drydown rate of the crop," Spry notes. To take a reading, place the ear of corn firmly in the saddle of the hand-held tester. That compresses it onto two sharp points that penetrate into the kernels. The points are insulated so they won't read the moisture of the husks, if they're left on. Tester has a range of 12 to 35% moisture. Sells for $225. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Spry, Ear Corn H2O Tester, 21 Sunset Road, Bloomington, Ill. 61701 (ph 309 828-9685).

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