I have told you about my corn picking habit in my previous posts. In a post on this board, there was a discussion about cribs. So I have shot some pictures of cribs in my neck of wood. All these cribs are near home and home is 35 miles east of Montreal, Quebec. As you will see, we built rectangular crib, usually 4 to 4˝ feet wide by 16 to 18 feet high and as long as convenient. The width is the key to dry the ears and to shell a good quality corn. At home I grow 90 to 96 days corn, expect a minimum yield of 160 bushels and we begin to pick corn for crib at the beginning of October or when corn is testing 25% to minimize shelling loss in the field and at unloading.
Even if you see in my pics some impressive cribs, ear corn picking accounts for probably less of 1% of 1% of the corn crop in Quebec. Still there are some corn crib contrarians that store over 40 000 bu. in cribs every year. There is an economic justification here for that. But this is not the subject of my topic.
Pic # 1 : cribs of my good neighbor and my co-owner of the Uni-system picker
Pics # 2 to 6 : cribs in my neighborhood
Pics # 7 to 9 : the ''do I dream'' crib. A galvanized steel crib. The crib is modular and can be named ''easy'' : easy to install or move, easy to maintain, easy to fill up with the higher back, easy to empty with the very inclined floor, easy to open doors. Good things come with a price. To my knowledge, 4 times the price per linear foot of the cribs shown in the previous pics.
After seeing those cribs, you will understand that sp pickers are kings and the NI Unisystem are on the throne. Many of those pickers came from seed corn area (Ontario and U.S.A.) where they have been replaced by Oxbo pickers. I really like the stories told on this board and the pics of mounted pickers. I have only seen one mounted picker in my short life (born in 1951), a NI mounted on MF 180 tractor. The picker was shedded in a barn near home for many years and became a parts donor for our NI 325 picker before it was sent to a scraper. The end of too many pickers I guess. I keep looking for a mounted picker and if ever I find one, you will be the first to know.
WOW...Wow...wow...I have never seen so many cribs in one place and let alone the shear size/length of them. Thank you for sharing and taking pictures!! Can you still buy a new crib as your dream crib in the photos? Who makes that one and where are they located?
On another note, you talk about some guys storing up to 40,000 bushel per year on cribs as an economic reason. Can you go in futher detail about this? How can running a sp picker, wagons, corn cribs, shelling, hauling, and the man hours is still cheaper than a combine, wagons/grain carts/semi, grain bins, and hauling to the local elevator?
We have a pretty wide selection of crib styles in SW Iowa, but I have never seen any like that. Those are impressive dimensions. I'll bet that narrow width really dries the corn quickly. It looks like you could roll the corn into a corn drag on the ground alongside the crib, provided the foundation was the right height, and run it into the hopper of a grinder/mixer or a sheller. Looking forward to your shelling pics. We don't shell anymore, just grind our ear corn for fattening our home-grown calves to finish. We picked about 7000 bushels this year before finishing up field with the combine.
We have a pretty wide selection of crib styles in SW Iowa, but I have never seen any like that. Those are impressive dimensions. I'll bet that narrow width really dries the corn quickly. It looks like you could roll the corn into a corn drag on the ground alongside the crib, provided the foundation was the right height, and run it into the hopper of a grinder/mixer or a sheller. Looking forward to your shelling pics. We don't shell anymore, just grind our ear corn for fattening our home-grown calves to finish. We picked about 7000 bushels this year before finishing up field with the combine.
Although not that long, I seem to remember some long, narrow, cribs, with a roof, just east of Turin on Highway 37. Quite a bit more permanent than the round cribs made out of snowfence, or hogwire.
The economic justification is a legitimate question after seeing the astonishing size of the cribs in my previous posts. I will not go through an elaborate study of costs and the benefits of different ways of harvesting, drying and storing corn. I have an old corn production book debating on that subject and far from me to tackle their findings. My answer will be more the famous ''here'' thing.
The first thing to be aware, ''here'' in the Montreal plain, the growing season is short. We plant 85 to 98 days corn. We always are on the edge if the planting is late, if the summer is colder than usual or if a killing frost happens before the corn black layer stage. These facts are well known by every cash croppers anywhere. Here you can count on these climate hiccups to happen at least twice every ten years. Even when we have nice growing weather, we usually end up with corn testing 20% H2O at harvest and in the though years, nothing is harvested under 25% with the dreaded low test weight. That's when the corn cribs shine. This year to dry corn testing 25%, it costs 0.63$/bu. at the elevator or roughly half less if you have our own dryer including an ownership cost. With the price of corn at 7.50/bu., it is bearable, but with corn at 2 or 3$, that's meaningful. The eighties have shortened the career of many farmers, victims of small or inexistent profit margins. With a corn crib, you let the sun and the wind do the job for free. For some farmers the answer was to build a corn crib.
Secondly, 20-25 years ago, the drying capacity was not up to par with the volume of corn harvested. Cash short farmers were unable to buy performing dryers and elevators were buried with wet corn taking forever to dry. That was a recipe for a very slow pace harvest and for horrendous line-up at the elevators. I have seen significant changes during the last 10 years. The farms are getting bigger and now most have high volume drying setups. But before that, the options were to build a crib or to babysit a small batch dryer. For some farmers the answer was to build a corn crib.
Thirdly, filling up a corn crib is just half of the job (1/3 will be more true). Shelling out cribs is a dirty job with dust and a lot of shoveling under hot sun. I have done it by myself for 24 years. No gym workout necessary after a day of shelling. But ''here'', we always had custom corn shellers. This alleviates the task. Right now we have young farmer that custom shells over 400 000 bu. per year (no mistake with the zeroes there). You should see his setup. Nothing less than a big pull-type Case combine, like the ones seen in the Canada prairies, modified to eat corn ears at a rate of 1 600 bu. per hour. Pics will come next summer. If that guy stops his business, half of the cribs will sit empty. The price for custom shelling was 0.25$/bu. last summer. To further sweeten the deal, there is another farmer that buys the shelled cobs for price 0.25$/bu. of shelled corn and his business is to supply the cobs to mushrooms producers in Ontario. Without the hassle of doing the shelling by themselves, for some farmers the answer was to build a corn crib.
A last incentive, the money needed. In 1986, the sugar beet factory closed and it was a major turmoil for many farms ''here''. My farm was one of them and I began to grow corn, which was not planted on our farm since the closure (another closure) of a seed corn plant in the sixties. So I was in known territories. For 10 000 $, I was able to buy (all used) a nice NI 325 picker, an elevator, a MM corn sheller and a crib to be dismantled and rebuilt at home from the same seller. I already owned good gravity boxes. I spend many nights to pencil out my choice. The decisive factor was the small amount of cash involved to harvest, to dry and to store corn that way. The only cash expenses to filling up the crib were for a hire hand (20 hours per year), fuel and repairs which were next to none. When the harvest is done, it is just a matter to apply to government advance loan lent without interest and repayable when the crop is sold, a good way to avoid the depressed prices at the harvest and to have money to pay the bills before shelling out the cribs. The farmers were pleased with this cash flow plan and for some farmers the answer was to build a corn crib.
To end that too long answer and to add credibility to my statement, I also have a job besides farming. I am an account and in my practice, I only deal with farmers (my choice). I have witnessed the financial success and the failure of many farms. What I have learned and like to share with you, it is that ''here'' once you master the challenges for growing a corn crop, the utmost decision it is to spend money on a good drying and handling setup that can be easily upgraded in the future. My feeling is that if you have to handle more than 20 000 bu., start to shop around for a drying system and grain silos.
From a guy thinking to be of the last generation ''here'' to filling up those beautiful yellow walls.
Thank you for taking the time to explain how life is like in the corn picking world in your area. I think it is amazing to see and hear your story. I can only assume that someday the combine will take over everything but applaud your economic reasons to pick ear corn. I can't wait to see the customized super shellers at work this spring!
Those pictures are great! It's really helpful to see different crib designs, and I appreciate the informative description of how you decided to go that route!
I posted about this ear corn equipment on another forum some time ago. I believed it was in france but guess it could be CanadiaN . LOL Ingenious equipment.Especially the unloading equipment.
