[AT] Corn Binding/Hay

[bukowski at uiuc.edu]

Hello,

Hay here in east central Illinois is a little tight this year.  I have about half of what I normally would put up in the barn, and probably won't get another cutting this year.  To make up the short fall, I thought I might cut a couple of acres of corn to feed.  I don't have a binder (which would be nice) but plan on bundling and tying by hand.  Does anyone know how many stalk typically went into a bundle tied by a binder.  I'll probably haul some of the bundles to the barn, and try my hand at shocking the rest.  There is probably  a trick to keep the shocks from blowing over as previous attempts didn't work quite as nicely as I had hoped.  A corn knife instead of a tractor and binder limits how much I can do, but probably good exercise!!

Thanks

John Bukowski
Potomac, IL