Some of you have asked if the corn is tested at the elevator…for it looks like unscrupulous souls could just truck in wet corn and drive away laughing, if the workers at the elevator didn’t check.

You are so right!

The new combines all have computers in them—monitoring everything from the time the seed is put into the planter to when the corn is harvested.  The operator knows what the moisture is when he puts it in the truck.  BUT it doesn’t matter what the farmer says the moisture is…it matters what the workers at the elevator say the moisture is.  They are the last word…it is their product once it goes out of the truck into the silos.  Depending on the size of the truck probes are inserted into the load and samples of the each and every load is taken before the corn is approved for purchase.

YES! there are always those that try to slip in a wet load….but they always get caught and the word is out on them.  Who wants that type of reputation?

Our combines are not computerized (at all); we use a moisture meter at the house. Sometimes Terry drives samples on down to the elevator, but mostly it’s done here.

The best time of the day to take the test is in the afternoon, before the sun starts to set and the air starts to chill down.  We –Terry, Boomer, and I drive to all the different fields and get two or three cobs to test from each one in different locations of the field.

The cob is shelled and then dumped into the tester, if we get a consistent count (14%) we are good to go.  (Dry corn will take on the moisture of wet corn raising the moisture content  within the truck bed–so we aim for the 14%).

Still too high…now what?

We went shopping! (and lunch out)

Surprisingly just what he has been looking for was right there waiting for us to write a check.

Not bad for a Saturday trip to Grand Junction, Colorado!

Your friend on a Western Colorado Farm,

Linda 🙂