Cost of Feed and a way to get some for nearly FREE

[Mahonri]

If I weren't in the middle of a huge city, I'd be doing that.

 

[Namaste Mama]

You forget about the church farms in Queen Creek. ;0)

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
LOL, being in a middle of a if a big city's not a problem, just gotta drive an hr out of the city. Or in my case, if I wanted dried grain type crops, drive 5 hrs over the mountains.

As a "rule" to how much "extra" to feed, often people say 10%. If you can up the protein and vits in their regular feed, then you can probably supplement more with no ill effect.

 

[Apehuntress]

Quote:
It's true that pesticides, fertilizer, and herbicides are used on the corn. But it's the same corn that is grown, processed, and bagged as chicken feed. (unless you are buying organic) The only difference is that it stays fresher on the cob and it's FREE! If you want to know that what you're feeding is organic, then by "organic" feed or grow your own.

 

[miss_jayne]

ooooh! i live across from 75 acres of seed corn! aaaghh... it has snowed a ton, and they still haven't come to clear the field. i wonder if they'd let me collect!

 

[brandywine]

It's called "gleaning." It is mentioned in the Old Testament (Ruth, I think). Gleaning has been, at various times and places in history, a right accorded to the poor -- it was a sin to prevent a poor person, especially the proverbial widow or orphan -- from gleaning the already-harvested fields for food.

The farmer loses nothing, since the grain left in the field over winter is not going to grow for him next year.

Remember, if you glean soybeans, they must be roasted for a chicken to digest them. Cows and other ruminants can digest raw soybeans, but us monogastrics cannot.

 

[seedcorn]

Quote:
That seed corn sells for $300/80,000 kernels. You had better make sure they aren't going to harvest. A rough idea is 80,000 kernels weigh around 40#.

Herbicides are sprayed on the ground (except for glysophates with a very short half life) and none of them are sprayed on the ear. Even if it was, the ear is protected by the shucks.

Key phrase is "get permission from farmer first". Unless they run over the end rows, with the new combines, they get about all the corn.

Corn left around augers at mills (again unless given permission) will be there because a certain amount will get away until pile gets so large. So when you take pile away, the auger will start it again.

Best bet to clean up after a farmer is find one that has a real old combine as it is much less efficient.

 

[seedcorn]

Quote:
1) that is trespassing and stealing.
2) soybeans are 50% nitrogen. Do the math, 40# of beans is 20# of nitrogen lost for corn next year. Nitrogen is $1100/82% nitrogen. So you are taking around $10-20/acre that will have to be replaced.
3) At $10/acre; 1000 acre farmer just lost $10,000 in value.

If someone is poor enough that they need soybeans/corn to eat, most farmers I know will give them that w/out "gleaning".

I'm not trying to nit pic but how would you like it, if someone went to your garden after you picked (tomatoes, green beans, peppers, etc) and gleaned what you didn't harvest? or your extra roosters, hens, etc. You get the idea.

 

[brandywine]

Hey seedcorn, way to leap to wild conclusions.

No one here is advocating trespassing.

As for someone gleaning in the garden -- just google "gleaning foodbank"

This is a going movement all over the country, probably the world.

If this bothers you so much, maybe you should take a broom and dustpan out to the road leading to any feedmill in the midwest, and sweep up all the grain that spills coming and going. Run after the farmers trucks and insist on returning their waste to them. I'm sure they'll be grateful.

 

[seedcorn]

Hey seedcorn, way to leap to wild conclusions.

What wild conclusions? You stated they lose nothing, I tried to explain to you why "The farmer loses nothing" as you stated is wrong.

There is a difference between going around grain augers and "helping yourself" vs spilled grain on the road.

Run after the farmers trucks and insist on returning their waste to them. I'm sure they'll be grateful.

I missed this, did someone advocate this?

I just tried to educate some of you as to what you term "waste" is not at all. Not all farmers "just leave piles on corn in the fields" but come back later (or in some cases, they have their kids do it) and get the piles when their time is not as valuable as during harvest.

I've also known many farmers (after a real bad fall) to have the local FFA kids come out and glean the down corn. They then take the corn (usually trucked by the farmer) to the local mill w/the $$ going to local FFA chapter.

Some don't, ask permission, go get it.