Since we just finished our corn harvest, I thought I had better do this blog post!
This year we had 100 acres of corn, which is more than what we usually plant. We only plant corn where cotton and peanuts won't grow very well.
When corn is ready, it looks very dry and crunchy.
Some of the ears of corn are pointing up, but you want most of them to be pointing downward.
When they are pointing upward, rain can collect inside and cause the corn to sprout.
Here's Lance and his "new" combine. This is his first year to own a combine.
His combine has a 4-row corn head that picks 4 rows of corn at a time.
This picture is looking down from the cab as the corn is entering the corn head.
The corn stalk is actually pulled down by a set of rollers underneath, this snaps the ear off the stalk, and the chains (black metal teeth in picture) move the corn to the top of the head so that the auger can move the corn to the gathering chains in the throat of the combine.
This is a video of some of that in action!
A cylinder that has 10 rasp bars (rasp bars look like a giant file) shells the corn. The corn is then augered into the grain bin on the machine.
The trash is chopped up and blown out the back.
This is what the combine leaves behind in the field.
When the combine is full, (180 bushels) the corn is augered onto a grain truck.
When the truck is full (this truck holds 600 bushels), it is taken to the granary.
Well, hope y'all have learned a little about what it takes to harvest corn! Now it's on to peanuts and cotton!
Steph, I had no idea about this machine and the important part it plays on a farm. However, I knew it had to be important because I've heard the name mentioned a lot. Thank you for sharing this. You learn something new every day! Huh? Great Post. Loretta
ReplyDeleteYou busy gal! That Lance looks like a guy looks when he get a new combine! :D I've been enjoying the corn harvest going on around here in central Illinois. Big ethanol projects. Hope that little farmhand is growing like a...stalk of corn! :D
ReplyDeleteDebbie/Ofhispasture
Great description of the process. Will you do the same for the peanuts and cotton harvest? Soybeans have been running about a week here and the corn harvest is just getting started. How's that little one doing?
ReplyDeleteReed is doing good! I have actually done cotton and peanut tutorials in the past couple of years, so this year when I talk about them, Ill just post a link to those past posts!
ReplyDeleteI found this very interesting and educational. Thank you. Glad Reed's doing good.
ReplyDelete