straw/grain ???'s and monkey math....

About harvest time and I need grain and straw. Easier to understand the answers here than asking a local with dollar signs in his eyes...

Folks I really like to deal with have winter barley,so I'll start the ???'s there..

1) on the grain itself, is there a difference in feed value between summer and winter crops?
2) Is there a big difference in the straw from the two? Need either barley or oat straw for feed additive for the geldings and bedding at foal time. Wheat straw is a PITA because they eat it and get close to colic.
3) Can I buy/feed directly from the farmer/combine or does it have to go thru a drier first.
4) Here's where the monkey math comes in.... need a ton of grain (preferably 1/2 barley and 1/2 oats) and need to build a set of silos above my press/roller.
How can I figure how big they have to be and will 1/2 inch plywood handle the stress?

Thanks, Dave

The fed value between summer and winter crops is similar if the grain is in the same condition.

I find the comment about wheat straw kind of funny. I sold a lot of straw to horse people. They would not buy anything but wheat straw. They claimed the horses would eat oat and spelt straw. They would not buy it. Then here you don't want wheat straw.

I am really beginning to think the problem with horses feed is the wing nut that rides the horse not the horse. IF you ask ten horse "experts" you will get ten different reasons for ten different rations. If horses always where as poor of eaters/surviving then they would never have evolved. They would have joined the dinosaurs.

As for making a bin for you grain. You need a bin that has about 75 cubic feet of volume. 1/2 plywood would work IF you use plenty of framing so that the plywood is supported every 12-16 inches.

We have free standing plywood bins that are common for feed. They are four feet square and eight feet tall, with a flat bottom. The one side slopes in at a 45 degree angle. Starting at about three feet high and quits about one foot above the bottom. So you can shovel the grain out the bottom. They kind of look like a self feeder just taller in height. These bins just free stand on a solid surface. They have 2x4 in the corners and across them for the frame.

In your area are there any large type confinement feed setups??? Small hopper type steel feed bins that would hold a ton of feed can be boughten used here for $100-150.

1 - totally not at all familiar with barley, wheat the winter crops tend to have a slightly lower protien content than spring crops, but pretty close.

2 - I've always heard it the other way around as mentioned. Anyhow, the straw should be close on winter to spring crop.

3 - Here in the USA typically small grains are harvested at low enough moisture that they keep 12 months. _Typically_, be careful in an unusual year.... Corn is the crop that typically needs to be dried down to 15% or less, other crops typically get dry enough in the field or with swathing.

4. Grains can varry a bit in weight, so your pile of grain might be bigger or smaller by 10% from one year to the next - be sure to over-build a tad. Depends on actual test weight. Look up the approved weight per bu of your crop, look up the volume of a bu, and you can do the math to get cubic feet per ton. (Or metric versions.)

--->Paul

Up to 2010, we were planting oats, harvesting grain, and baling straw, both small squares, and 5'-0" round bales, over 150 acres worth.

Grain went to a feed supplier south of here, small squares I am not sure, rounds to a large dairy operation north of here, for mixing in the feed as roughage.

Its ironic, horse owners don't seem interested in clean oat straw bedding, say they eat it, not sure about colic issues, so where the small squares went,I believe they guy buying was doubling his money selling at a feed store, it all went off the field, clean weed free straw sells and it gets better money than hay.

I have no idea, but I have fed oat hay sparingly, when there is half a wagon and he switches over to hay, no trouble with it, just like better quality hay.

Remembering years back,none of the grains harvested here, wheat, oats, were in need of drying, it was dry on the stalk, harvest and put it up as is.

Aside from oat straw, and possibly other types with miscellaneous grain left on it, I've never really seen horses interested in straw, we feed the best hay we can find, or whatever is available, I can put more weight on a horse in a short time with a good 2nd cut than anything else, I won't do it with grain, gets em way too hard to handle or deal with, but that 2nd cut, I always kept aside for times when it was needed, like winter, have to remind the help that is what its there for, ration it as needed, then use it up once new hay is available.

Giggling at your horse owner comments.

No offense to horse owners, but... you're dead on.

In fact, I wonder if horses aren't being evolved in a way that make them pickier and pickier - so eventually they'll actually REQUIRE a super strict diet -stray from it and they die.

One bin - 3.25'x3.25'x4'
Two bins (1,000 ea)- 2.3'x2.3'x4'

Bushel = .8cf
Bushel wheat 60lbs

2000/60(lbs) = 33.3 bushel
33.3/.8(cuft) = 41.6 cuft
41.6/4(height) = 10.4sqft
Square root of 10.4 = 3.23

The barley will need to be 13% moisture or lower, preferably lower, if you plan to store it long term without aeration. I don't know if you can get it that dry from the field in Germany easily. European harvesting conditions are wetter and tougher than here in the US. Don't know anything about horses and straw so I can't help you there. Jim

1- grain itself,no i dont think there would be much difference.
2- straw should be close to the same,i can think of no reason for it to be different because its grown at a certain time of year.OAT straw was years ago used as bedding mainly because it holds far more moisture than wheat straw,something on the nature of 6 times as much as i recall. lots of folks do use wheat straw simply because thats what they have.I personaly have not heard of a horse colicing because of wheat straw.but since as i say oats hold more moisture wheat could concievably could leave your horses laying in a wet, cold ,stall and that DOES lead to colic.Bottom line ,forget most of what you know of feeding horses,give them enough to eat,and they wont eat their bedding. you start feeding one so much per pound of weight like most folks say to keep them at their IDEAL weight, they simply dont get their bellies full. if your hungry do you eat?even if it may be bad for you?
3-can you buy feed from a farmer?you allways buy feed from a farmer! can you buy any feed from any farmer,no. some grains,are no good right out of the field.wet conditions ,family obligations,a dozen different things can delay a harvest,or make a farmer due to time constraints harvest a crop in less than ideal conditions,it can be pretty moldy right in the feild,which is not good for horses.barley especialy.If you know the farmer,and you trust him to give you quality products ,then yes buy all you can.if theres any doubt,buy your grain in a sack.THATS WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!they test it for you and decide its best use. and in most cases guarantee its good.the quality of the grain decides what and where it goes,and this is simply done for you.
4- its best if you dont use ply wood,and NEVER treated plywood! on any feed bin where you feed horses in my opinion.horses are not like cattle,this stuff can leach into their feed and kill them fast. use clean tongue and groove boards for the best bins.kept dry they will outlast you and i both.as for size look at comercial bins on the net they will be rated in bushels and will list the size most times.

We sold a lot of barley straw to a large horse stable down the road from us years ago.their only concern was the needles that came off of the barley getting in the horses eyes.We had an International axial flow combine so we didn't have alot of chaff in the straw.They used it for years and had no problems.

I have two friends that have now refused to sell to the farmettes. "Hay don't smell right" "Too dry" "Too moist" "Not green enough" and on and on.

One keeps it all for himself, and the other sells only to the Amish. Amish must have a unique breed of horse, because those horses will eat just about any hay that is put in front of them.

Rick

As far as drying or moisture in the grain,we have three airiation tubes with fans on. They are a six foot tube with a pointed bottom with small holes from the bottom to about a foot from the top.we screw these into the wagon of grain and they have a fan on top to pull air out of the grain.Small fan with electric motor in two or three days you can pull alot of moisture out of a 100-200 bushel wagon of oats or barley.Most farm supply stores in the USA sold them years ago and they can be bought at farm sales for $25-$50 usually.They would work great for the small amount you are talking about.

(quoted from post at 07:28:51 07/17/12) One bin - 3.25'x3.25'x4'
Two bins (1,000 ea)- 2.3'x2.3'x4'

Bushel = .8cf
Bushel wheat 60lbs

2000/60(lbs) = 33.3 bushel
33.3/.8(cuft) = 41.6 cuft
41.6/4(height) = 10.4sqft
Square root of 10.4 = 3.23

Click to expand...

Thank You!