Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road

[jblnut]

What a mud hole after it rains. We've decided to make the cattle handling area a little nicer today.


Some fresh gravel under it all will be nice


Time to dig some holes !!!!


Good grief these railroad ties are heavy


The crooked beginnings of the exit chute


All they need now are some boards to keep the cattle in there on their way back to the pens. We had been using big square straw bales up until this point and I will not miss that one bit. They stay outside sometimes a little too long and get all crappy and turn to mush so this will save us money by not having to use bales.


The beer fridge has been installed. The 2049 Shop project has been finished ahead of schedule

 

[Jayman17]

The beer fridge has been installed. The 2049 Shop project has been finished ahead of schedule

[/QUOTE]

Priorities, priorities...

Jay

 

[iced98lx]

Well, so much for the rest of it, beer fridge and grill already operational!

 

[jblnut]

Priorities, priorities...

Jay

The beer fridge was in the bus and was longing for new home. It's plumb full of fermented snacks in cans

Well, so much for the rest of it, beer fridge and grill already operational!

Food and beer. Not much else is needed

 

[jblnut]

I purchased a test weight scale so we can have an idea of the test weight of the crops as they go in the bin. Lily and Leo volunteered to fill it so they picked one kernel off at a time until it was full. It kept them busy for a while !!!



Corn is average around 56lb/bushel so I'm quite happy to see it around 58lb/bu. Last year most was in the low low 50's with some not getting out of the high 40's. Not great as it's sold by weight, not volume !!!

 

[woodfor1]

Thank you for all your posts.I enjoy reading them.When you check the corn you said it's by weight I thought you put it through the drier doesn't the make it weigh less? I love the new shop it's looking great.

 

[Farmall450]

This deserves a repost. Beautiful!

Yes, it does

 

[Sifan]

Little man is growing fast, slipping him some of that 45 day chicken feed? LOL

 

[red]

Little man is growing fast, slipping him some of that 45 day chicken feed? LOL

With home fries and with some Porterhouse steak on the side

 

[Jagmandave]

Is the weight difference due to water content or the size of the kernels or something else?

 

[Finallygotit]

Everyone should like freshly poured concrete

You betcha!!!

 

[jblnut]

Thank you for all your posts.I enjoy reading them.When you check the corn you said it's by weight I thought you put it through the drier doesn't the make it weigh less? I love the new shop it's looking great.

Thank you so much for following along !!!

The drier takes moisture out of the kernels so yes, each individual kernel does end up a tad lighter ....

Is the weight difference due to water content or the size of the kernels or something else?

Oh boy lets talk about test weight !!!!

Corn (all grain actually) is sold by weight but talked about in bushels, not confusing at all. When farmers talk about things like "Oh yeah that field of corn averaged 205bu/acre last year, not too bad!!" they are talking about the corn being 15.5% moisture and 56lb/bu. If the test weight is 60lb/bu the volume at 15.5% is similar but the actual grain that will be sold will be higher. EX:Farmer A brings 1,000bu of corn at 15.5% moisture with a 56lb/bu test weight to the elevator to sell he will get paid for 1,000bu.
Farmer B brings the same 1,000bu of corn at 15.5% moisture with a 60lb/bu test weight and he will get paid for 71 more bushels. 4,000lb more corn at 56lb/bu is a little over 71 bushels.
The same volume has been sold but Farmer B had more weight.

More fun stuff -> When corn dries down it loses water weight and the kernels shrink. If you toss a handful of 15.5% corn into a pail of water it'll all sink. Corn is heavier than water. When the water dries out it loses water weight but since the kernels are smaller more of them can pack themselves into a volume based bushel and that bushel becomes heavier and increases test weight.

A bushel is figured to be 8 Imperial Gallons of volume (9.3 Gallons for those of us not on the metric system). Each commodity has it's own test weight and moisture "set point" used for marketing and they were established in Europe in the mid 1800's to give a more consistent way to market grain across borders and across different measurement systems (imperial vs metric).

EDIT: I reread this and realized I didn't address the "something else" you asked about ..... The test weight can vary for many reasons. The simple answer is that during the stages of growth corn needs lots off water, heat and nutrients and things can go well or poorly if any of those things are not supplied in sufficient quantities. If those things are not supplied properly the corn will not pack as much starch into each kernel and the kernels will be less dense creating a lighter test weight.

If that all seems to be a rambling and disjointed mess I apologize and will gladly try to explain it better .....

Yes, it does

Thank you !!!

Little man is growing fast, slipping him some of that 45 day chicken feed? LOL

The kiddos are all getting so big so fast. He'll be "fully grown" when he can reach all the light switches in the house. They are mounted at about 93 different heights with the highest one being a few inches out of his reach still. The girls can easily reach them all with Lily being almost as tall as Mama Bear !!!

With home fries and with some Porterhouse steak on the side

I can't think of a better diet to grow a little person

You betcha!!!

I sense some ya you betcha Minne-snow-ta casserole dish making fun poking in that LARGE reply

 

[jblnut]

The electricians came back and finished everything up a few days back. One of those things was to hang the outside flood light.

Good grief it's bright !!! They asked "How bright a light do you want?" I said I wanted to be able to play tic-tac-toe on the side of the chicken barn with a pencil and they said "OKAY !!" I think that may actually be possible

I should have asked what it is and how bright it is but I can tell you for sure that when you look at it and then look away you can see it everywhere you look for quite a while

Dad said "Great, now we have to work later because we can see in the dark now. Stupid floodlight"

 

[jeepxj]

wait until you teach them how you dry corn down impacts its test weight.

 

[XJSuperman]

Im laughing at what your dad said. Funny stuff. Same goes for the lights on new equipment today.

....you betcha Minne-snow-ta casserole dish making fun....

I have been told in the past that its a hotdish, not a casserole. But I prefer "casserole" as well. Second quickest way to start a fight in a Minnesota bar. The first quickest is to say Grainbelt ***** and Busch is best. This is of course dependent on what region of the state you're in.

 

[red]

Im laughing at what your dad said. Funny stuff. Same goes for the lights on new equipment today.



I have been told in the past that its a hotdish, not a casserole. But I prefer "casserole" as well. Second quickest way to start a fight in a Minnesota bar. The first quickest is to say Grainbelt ***** and Busch is best. This is of course dependent on what region of the state you're in.

Be careful, pretty sure I spotted a case of Busch by the new frig

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50334711868_82ece971ff_c.jpg

 

[Andy8430]

The rain finally stopped in Iowa and we were able to fill a ball of silage. Chopper broke the housing on the rear axle on day 1, but was able to get it fixed and finished chopping by noon on day 2.

Filling the chopper box:


Hauling to the bagger:


Waiting in line:


Unloading into bagger:


Day 2 was 20 loads bagged in less than 2 hours to finish the 200’ bag (about 30 loads total).




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jblnut]

Wait until you teach them how you dry corn down impacts its test weight.

Gotta have the heat "just right" or it gets all goofy

I'm laughing at what your dad said. Funny stuff. Same goes for the lights on new equipment today.

I have been told in the past that its a hotdish, not a casserole. But I prefer "casserole" as well. Second quickest way to start a fight in a Minnesota bar. The first quickest is to say Grainbelt ***** and Busch is best. This is of course dependent on what region of the state you're in.

We've put LED's on a couple things and the difference is amazing. The lights on the new JD stuff are pretty sweet looking !!!

Hotdish and casserole are interchangeable for us I guess

WTF is Grainbelt ??

Be careful, pretty sure I spotted a case of Busch by the new frig...

This about sums it up ->

The rain finally stopped in Iowa and we were able to fill a ball of silage. Chopper broke the housing on the rear axle on day 1, but was able to get it fixed and finished chopping by noon on day 2.

Filling the chopper box:


Hauling to the bagger:


Waiting in line:


Unloading into bagger:


Day 2 was 20 loads bagged in less than 2 hours to finish the 200’ bag (about 30 loads total).

Doesn't look like the mud was too bad considering all the rain you've had lately. Is that a Versa 891 Bagger ?? Sure do not see many Versa baggers up here. There are a couple really good Ag Bagger dealers up here that have pretty much grabbed onto the bagging market when it was first coming about and haven't let go since.

 

[Andy8430]

Considering the 6+ inches of rain it is amazing how fast we were able to chop after the rain, but it hadn’t rained for a month.

It is a versa bagger, but not sure on model number. It makes a 10’ bag and seems to do a good job with silage, but does use a lot of power to run it. This bagger follows the chopper around so it’s easiest to use.
Won’t be too long and we’ll fill a bag of wet corn, but may try combining beans first.

Hope your harvest goes well, and thanks again for all your effort with this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jeepxj]

Im laughing at what your dad said. Funny stuff. Same goes for the lights on new equipment today.



I have been told in the past that its a hotdish, not a casserole. But I prefer "casserole" as well. Second quickest way to start a fight in a Minnesota bar. The first quickest is to say Grainbelt ***** and Busch is best. This is of course dependent on what region of the state you're in.

why dont you just keep your loose meat sandwiches south of 90.

 

[XJSuperman]

WTF is Grainbelt ??

I can't tell if you're joking or serious. You must be joking right?

The beer originally from northeast Minneapolis, now brewed in New Ulm, MN. A MN dietary staple. I could go on, but I would chase everyone out of this thread if I haven't already.

Be careful, pretty sure I spotted a case of Busch by the new frig

Hahaha. I spotted it too. I'd like to believe its for guests and neighbors, but the reality is that its sometimes cheaper. As an Iowan who loves Grainbelt, I can't hold it against him.

why dont you just keep your loose meat sandwiches south of 90.

I wouldn't mind if they kept them south of i80 actually!

 

[jblnut]

Considering the 6+ inches of rain it is amazing how fast we were able to chop after the rain, but it hadn’t rained for a month.

It is a versa bagger, but not sure on model number. It makes a 10’ bag and seems to do a good job with silage, but does use a lot of power to run it. This bagger follows the chopper around so it’s easiest to use.
Won’t be too long and we’ll fill a bag of wet corn, but may try combining beans first.

Hope your harvest goes well, and thanks again for all your effort with this thread.

6+ inches of rain will disappear down the cracks pretty quick after a dry month !!!

I am excited for harvest to begin but we have a few things left to get ready first. The combine needs the clean grain elevator put back together and everything else needs to be gone though .... wagons, augers, dryer, bin unload/fans and lots more to keep us busy !!!

why dont you just keep your loose meat sandwiches south of 90.

I can't tell if you're joking or serious. You must be joking right?

The beer originally from northeast Minneapolis, now brewed in New Ulm, MN. A MN dietary staple. I could go on, but I would chase everyone out of this thread if I haven't already.

Yes, I was joking. The beer in the fridge's I have usually lasts quite a while. I'm more of a Rum and Whiskey drinker than a beer drinker. I don't mind an ice cold beer after doing hot sweaty stuff but I can not drink more than a couple at a time

Hahaha. I spotted it too. I'd like to believe its for guests and neighbors, but the reality is that its sometimes cheaper. As an Iowan who loves Grainbelt, I can't hold it against him.

I wouldn't mind if they kept them south of i80 actually!

The Buschhhhhhhhhh is already at it's new home .... probably all gone as well by now as it's after 8:15pm and Buschhhhhhhhhh doesn't last long in that house. I gave it away to a co-worker the other day when he came to look at possibly purchasing the blue camper bus. I can't for the life of me come to enjoy Busch Light ..... I don't know why I just can't drink the stuff .....

 

[jblnut]

It sure is nice having all the sand and clay a person could ever use. It makes doing stuff a lot easier and saves a fair bit of money as well !!!


For example: Using that sand Dad was loading as fill under the front shop apron. Dig it out, lay it down and tamp it in


Once the rebar was laid down we discovered we forgot to get wire ties !! Oh well, how about zip ties instead


Other than snipping all the tails off it worked very well. They went on faster than the wire ties (not the auto gun deal, we'd have used the hand tool twisty ones) and seemed as strong. They only have to hold a little while so I think they'll be fine


Pops backfilling around the forms while I snipped zip tie tails.


I don't know if I mentioned it but I sure do like that bright flood light !!!


7:30am this morning the first truck showed up to begin the pour


First truck done


Somehow I missed trucks 2 & 3 but this is truck #4 pouring the sidewalk on the North side of the shop. The company owner was driving it. When I saw him in it I asked him "Uh oh, are you short handed today or do I owe you a ton of money and you're here to collect in person !?!?" He laughed and said they were a couple guys short and are struggling to find enough people that want to work !!


Some of the wheat is already growing and the alfalfa is coming in nicely so it's time for another shot of rain for it all !!


Time to rake the meadow hay Dad cut over a week ago. It doesn't dry real well when it's only 50F outisde !! You can see him cutting more in the background.


Dad called and started to chit chat while I was still raking and finally I asked him if there was something he actually needed and he said ... guess what ?? I'm stuck !!


Didn't take much to pull him out. Seems like it's too squashy in this part of the meadow still so we'll wait a little longer before finishing it off.


Some of the stuff I raked was ready to bale so Dad baled it up but this patch was still a little too tough so he made one round and stopped. We'll try again tomorrow after it's had a little more time to dry.


I had a helper while picking up bales tonight. "Dad !!!!!!!!! Look !!!!!! IT'S GRANDPA !!!!"


The wagon wasn't full so I loaded some round bales on it to get them home for the winter. No need to leave them outside in the snow !! I was a little worried that they would start to fight being as they were on the same trailer but all was well. They got along just fine

 

[jblnut]

The concrete apron in front of the shop is complete !!!


We decided to pour the sidewalk and the area under the porch this fall. We were going to wait until next year to do this area but decided to just do it right away. It is going to be soooooo nice


Pops and I put some of the lumber from the old buildings on the new cattle exit lane. We save it for a reason and now we're getting to use it


They go in here .....


..... go around a corner and back into the pen area. This is going to be way nicer than using bales all the time. We're quite excited !!!


I've watered the grass waterway a few times and this traveling sprinkler needs way more babysitting than you'd expect. It gets stuck every 15-20 feet and needs some attention. Overall it's better than a regular sprinkler but not much .....


I flipped the hay that was too wet yesterday so it could dry out some more.


11 Bales of the nicest hay we've made this summer !!! Someone's horses will be happy with this stuff. It's way too nice to feed to the steers


We will be combining corn soon !!


It is drying down nicely and the size of the ears looks amazing. I think it's going to be a decent harvest from a yield perspective as well as having decent harvest conditions this year. The crop isn't in the bin yet so hopefully all goes well !!


When I got back into the house I saw something fun had been dropped off today

 

[red]

The concrete apron in front of the shop is complete !!!

We decided to pour the sidewalk and the area under the porch this fall. We were going to wait until next year to do this area but decided to just do it right away. It is going to be soooooo nice

Might want to move that sprinkler over to the fresh concrete.
A week of water would do it a lot of good.

The cattle lane looks great . . . and it will save you an amazing amount of work.
Where will you install the traffic lights?

 

[bugnut]

Was reading about moisture in corn. So I have a question you probably know very well. Does corn or grain moisture decline if the MATURE ears are left hanging in the field during a dry spell. I ask because it seems like the farmers around here combine beans and corn ASAP even though the forecast for 2 weeks hence is dry without rain. TIA bugnut.

 

[loganb]

Was reading about moisture in corn. So I have a question you probably know very well. Does corn or grain moisture decline if the MATURE ears are left hanging in the field during a dry spell. I ask because it seems like the farmers around here combine beans and corn ASAP even though the forecast for 2 weeks hence is dry without rain. TIA bugnut.

As the corn matures and dries in the field it will reach an equilibrium point where it won't dry any further...roughly 12-13.5% moisture depending on current weather. If you leave the corn out in the field past the date it hits your targeted dryness you aren't risking an immediate decline in corn quality, but you are gambling with mother nature. As the corn stalk continues to dry down, it becomes more susceptible to breaking during wind storms, damage from hail and if its out long enough eventually having to deal with snow which doesn't necessarily degrade the corn quality but does cause headaches with harvest. If that windstorm comes along and breaks the stalk or worse the ear actually detaches and hits the ground...you're generally hosed. Its possible(and very slow) to pick up "downed" corn by going slower and often installing special "pickup reels" to help feed the corn stalks into the machine, but if the ears fall off the stalk its nearly impossible to harvest efficiently do you will be feeding the local wildlife and dealing with lots of "volunteer corn" in the field the following year which is just a fancy term for weed.

So in short, they work to get it out of the field ASAP as you're racing mother nature because you don't know what is coming but every day its out there is one day closer to winter and its no fun and can be expensive to be picking corn in November.

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[jeepxj]

put triples on the traveling sprinkler with some of your rebar ties

 

[jeepxj]

Was reading about moisture in corn. So I have a question you probably know very well. Does corn or grain moisture decline if the MATURE ears are left hanging in the field during a dry spell. I ask because it seems like the farmers around here combine beans and corn ASAP even though the forecast for 2 weeks hence is dry without rain. TIA bugnut.

harvest is like going to the casino. lotta things working against you to get the crop into the bins. you take all the luck you can get. go hard. go as long as everything lets you. cause who knows what tomorrow will bring.

 

[loganb]

harvest is like going to the casino. lotta things working against you to get the crop into the bins. you take all the luck you can get. go hard. go as long as everything lets you. cause who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Bingo. And same as in the casino, doesn't matter how big the chip stack is when you're still playing...what counts is what you cash out.

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[jeepxj]

could be weather. could be people. could be breakdowns with 5 hour each way trips for a part. etc. who knows.

 

[jblnut]

Might want to move that sprinkler over to the fresh concrete.
A week of water would do it a lot of good.

The cattle lane looks great . . . and it will save you an amazing amount of work.
Where will you install the traffic lights?

It's been getting watered. I have a little person for that

I plan to yell them into the right places like I've been doing for a while now. It's been working well so far

Was reading about moisture in corn. So I have a question you probably know very well. Does corn or grain moisture decline if the MATURE ears are left hanging in the field during a dry spell. I ask because it seems like the farmers around here combine beans and corn ASAP even though the forecast for 2 weeks hence is dry without rain. TIA bugnut.

See below. Tis' a fantastic answer !!!

As the corn matures and dries in the field it will reach an equilibrium point where it won't dry any further...roughly 12-13.5% moisture depending on current weather. If you leave the corn out in the field past the date it hits your targeted dryness you aren't risking an immediate decline in corn quality, but you are gambling with mother nature. As the corn stalk continues to dry down, it becomes more susceptible to breaking during wind storms, damage from hail and if its out long enough eventually having to deal with snow which doesn't necessarily degrade the corn quality but does cause headaches with harvest. If that windstorm comes along and breaks the stalk or worse the ear actually detaches and hits the ground...you're generally hosed. Its possible(and very slow) to pick up "downed" corn by going slower and often installing special "pickup reels" to help feed the corn stalks into the machine, but if the ears fall off the stalk its nearly impossible to harvest efficiently do you will be feeding the local wildlife and dealing with lots of "volunteer corn" in the field the following year which is just a fancy term for weed.

So in short, they work to get it out of the field ASAP as you're racing mother nature because you don't know what is coming but every day its out there is one day closer to winter and its no fun and can be expensive to be picking corn in November.

Put triples on the traveling sprinkler with some of your rebar ties

I was watching it thinking it needed duals or triples or some sort. I was eyeballing an old coffee can this morning thinking it would make a fantastic home made LSW setup

Harvest is like going to the casino. Lotta things working against you to get the crop into the bins. You take all the luck you can get. Go hard. Go as long as everything lets you. Cause who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Bingo. And same as in the casino, doesn't matter how big the chip stack is when you're still playing...what counts is what you cash out.

It can only look good while it's in the field, it will be good once it's in the bin. Comparing farming to gambling is a perfect parallel. We order and pay for seed/fertilizer/most inputs in the fall with no idea of what winter and then spring will bring and even less of an idea what summer will bring. I guess it's like betting it all on red and spinning that wheel ... gotta be half nuts to even be able to do it in the first place but it's always worth the gamble. Mistakes are made along the way and solutions are found and we are all better people at the end of the day. It's a life I enjoy and embrace

Could be weather. Could be people. Could be breakdowns with 5 hour each way trips for a part. etc. Who knows.

It never rains enough and then when it does it's always too much, the hired guy never shows up on time then the one day he does we slept in and don't hear the end of it for years, it's been a while since we've ran that far for a part but sometimes that is the only way !! If it was all predictable it wouldn't be any fun !!!

 

[jblnut]

Today started as most Sundays do but I decided to add some Sage into the Sunday morning breakfast. It turned out to be a great idea !!!


Here is said little person helper that has been keeping the concrete aprons wet


Moist ......


Little man found my old pedal tractor at my parents place


Hey look !!! A 2,000+bu Lowry Hopper bin !!! This will get setup here by me and relieve the need to haul 2-3 grinder mixer loads each week. That will be very nice. At almost 16' tall and well over 12' wide it was a bit of a handful to get home but all went well with zero issues

 

[bugnut]

Loganb, jeepxj and jblnut, thanks for the answers on moisture. I know well farming is gambling as I live in farm country. Appreciate the details.
As for weather always a gamble as peaches, apples, fruits and flowers were ruined this year around here with Mothers Day frost.

 

[Farmall450]

I was hoping you were gonna drop the rake and pull him out with the (5510?) little guy!

 

[jblnut]

Loganb, jeepxj and jblnut, thanks for the answers on moisture. I know well farming is gambling as I live in farm country. Appreciate the details.
As for weather always a gamble as peaches, apples, fruits and flowers were ruined this year around here with Mothers Day frost.

Farming is always fun and quite the adventure

I was hoping you were gonna drop the rake and pull him out with the (5510?) little guy!

I just about buried the 5510 in the meadow last night while driving a neighbor around to see if the rest of it could be cut or not !!! I asked him if he wanted to bale some of the hay we had cut that we couldn't get with our large square baler. He said sure and asked if we were going to get the rest of the hay cut. Long story short he's going to make it on shares. He'll cut it, rake it, bale it and leave us some of it as payment. Perfect !!!

 

[jblnut]

One skid loader to unload the bin ???


Best to use both .... it looks heavy


Dad and I picked it up and Mom drove the truck and trailer ahead. It seemed like if it weighed another 4lbs my poor 763 was going to tip forward and make a mess


On the ground and off the trailer !! Whoo hoo


Hey look !!! A telehandler !!!


Yikes that was uneventful. That was the goal so I guess all went well !!!


The feet are on and it's standing. Not in the final place it'll reside but it's upright and that's what matters for today


As long a it's here we may as well move the other bin out of the way for the new house (hopefully) next year.


Let's see ... how to lift a grain bin ... How about a tire on a chain up in the very tippy top of the bin


Up it goes !!!


We decided to put it over behind the chicken barn for the time being. Mama Bear has big plans to turn it into a gazebo of sorts one day. We shall see.


Once it was in it's new resting place I put the tire on top ....


and ran a strap down into the bin .....


and wrapped it around a tote filled with water. This should hopefully keep it planted and prevent it from blowing away

 

[davo727]

Youre schmart

 

[lis2323]

That bin is exactly what I want to make into a blacksmith shop!!

Already got the telehandler. Lol.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeepxj]

Oh i can help expand your honey do list for sure. my brothers setup. not sure if i shared before.

flat pack bin

tree for a gin pole with tire for lifting lug.

grill and flat top are in. ill try and get photos of the inside this weekend.