Corn Plot Preparation - old silage

[WImuzz]

I left a corn plot standing all year for food and cover. Its 1.5 acres and served well. In March, I brush hogged it down. In early April, I disc'd it all up. I disc'd again last week. The problem/question I have is with my John deere 2 row flex 71 planter....the remaining corn silage (after brush hog and 2 disc sessions over 2 months) was thick enough to prevent the planter disc's from penetrating properly. Over half of my seed was on top of the ground.
Last year was perfect. Grass field, killed vegetation, disc'd, planted perfectly.
Very new to this, so is there anything I can do differently to deal with or painlessly remove the old corn silage?

 

[Telemark]

Someone just found a cornstalk chopper. If you are near enough maybe you can borrow it?

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Plant non gmo corn.

 

[j-bird]

Old stalks suck....bush hog them and then work them into the soil (plow or tiller).....is the best way I have found. Some like to burn them and that will work if you can get the fire to bridge properly. Others have used landscape rakes and pulled the stalks off or put them into piles and burn them as well. The big issue is that your planter lacks the weight and possibly design to slice thru all of that like no-till planters do. When I grow corn....I'll mow and then use a rototiller (used to plow and disc prior to that). I have seen some guys use lawn mowers with baggers to collect the stuff and get it out of the way on smaller plots. Where there is a will there is a way!

 

[SWIFFY]

Everyone I know who plants with 2 or 3 row JD71's does it just like you described and it works fine....? That used to be all we did every year with a corn/bean rotation. There must be a simple explanation???

 

[sagittarius]

Sounds like you need a better functioning disk? Or need to make a few more passes? Perhaps a tow type disk with added weight, and smooth disks rather than notched?

 

[WImuzz]

Sounds like you need a better functioning disk? Or need to make a few more passes? Perhaps a tow type disk with added weight, and smooth disks rather than notched?

Discs aren't the issue. If I stick with my flex71 planter, I think j-bird's landscape rake idea is going to be my fix.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Discs aren't the issue. If I stick with my flex71 planter, I think j-bird's landscape rake idea is going to be my fix.

How are you going to return the organic matter that has been removed from the soil?

 

[WImuzz]

How are you going to return the organic matter that has been removed from the soil?

My plan is soybeans every 3rd year. Think that is enough? Other than Google and habitat-talk, I'm very new and fairly ignorant.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I would try to exercise other options before raking it all off. In the end sometimes you just need to do what you need to do when time and conditions allow.

Corn for 2 years then soybeans? Is that what your plan is? Not criticizing just asking.

 

[SD51555]

If there is that much material left, broadcast 3 bags of soybeans and 500 lbs of gypsum and walk away. Those stalks will vanish by Labor Day.


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[Tree Spud]

If there is that much material left, broadcast 3 bags of soybeans and 500 lbs of gypsum and walk away. Those stalks will vanish by Labor Day.


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No they won't, he will have corn husks & stalks there for 2-3 years if he does not mechanically break it down so there is soil contact with smaller pieces. his disk is clearly riding over the top of the corn debries.

 

[WImuzz]

I think my best bet is to get a better corn planter. The flex 71 being only 2 row planter really is not friendly with any debris. It's way to light.
Or I should try soybeans & sunflower mix to get my winter food with cover.
This year was my first attempt at a corn plot. It was a game changer for sure. I had deer in it all day during gun season and during late bow season.

 

[Mortenson]

Are your planter discs worn out? Seems to be a problem with your planter.

 

[Mortenson]

No-tillers, guys on rough ground, need a lot of down pressure. Different practices you've experienced are showing different mellowness of the ground.

 

[SD51555]

Heavy corn residue is a carbon surplus. It's corrected with a nitrogen surplus. You can biology your way out of it by growing nitrogen producers (beans, peas, clovers) until that stuff is eaten up. You can farm your way out of it with heavy tillage or by applying very high amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. One way is going to improve your soil. The other is going to have you acquiring more machinery, lime, fertilizer, and chemical.

Read this. It will change the way you manage every food plot you do from here. Or it won't.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=nrcs142p2_052823&ext=pdf

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Thanks for that SD51555, I had a fair grasp of it but now took a snip of the table and saved it to my desktop which will be beneficial when off season planning for food plots.

 

[H80Hunter]

If it were me, I’d do the LC Rye/Clover mix. Should come up minimal seedbed prep and gives the corn another year to break down.