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rain

garn

Well-known member
It's been a year to forget in Iowa when it comes to the weather. Last winter was harsh (Des Moines area had nearly 60 inches of snow), a cold and wet spring, followed by the June floods and now a wet fall.

Heard a number the other day of something like the corn harvest roughly 60% complete and guess what? Yep, more rain today.

My gut tells me we could have another repeat of last winter :shock:
 

per

Well-known member
That leads to a question from a corn growing challenged region. Can you graze standing mature 150 bus/ac corn without bloat or other issues?
 

Sundancer

Well-known member
Yep....with the use of an electric wire. Just fence off a row or two or three at a time. When the cows have it cleaned up, move the wire. There is a farmer in central Iowa that does this all the time. However, I think he may harvest some of the rows conventionally, therefore making it easier to string a fence through the cornfield.
Garn, you are right. This has been one tough year. I still have 50% of my corn crop in the field yet. Had .4 inch of rain yesterday and it rained all afternoon today. I can barely get hay to the cows the fields are so soft. Of course, cornstalk grazing is out of the question. I usually have some stalk fields ready to graze by early October. My cows are still on grass pasture so it is not getting much rest either. We also have the issue of high moisture content in the corn. It is finally down to 16-17%. Now if it would just get cold and stay that way, the mud would freeze and the corn would keep in the bin for a while. It just seems like it is impossible to get sunshine around these parts. Depressing!
 
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