So this year we planted our first ever open pollinated field of corn. We are really excited to reap the benefits of nutrition for our pigs and chickens. Most farmers will never put out open pollinated corn because of the lower yields, Corn is sold by the volume and not by quality and most farmers do not own livestock anymore so the need for quality doesn't exist as much.
We have chosen to try this corn out for several reasons; open pollinated corn has far more protein content, mineral content, more easily digested by the animals, and it also has very low toxin levels found in all grain crops organic or conventional alike.
The farmer we are renting off of is certified organic and he has been raising open pollinated corn for over a decade. He gave offered the seed for next to nothing, if we chose to plant it... heck yeah was what i was thinking in my head. We have no idea how this years corn will do or turn out but we know several things already, we only have $100 in fertilizer cost, we have about $200 in fuel, and our time and wear and tear on equipment. Thats roughly $500 less per acre than what i have heard from area farmers. So if i do some rough math, based on last years prices, the profit per acre would be 2.5 times higher than conventional crops.
What would we have when its all said and done? We would have better nutrition for our animals, the animals would eat less feed and we wouldn't have to buy the big bag of minerals to put in the feed mixer becasue most of the trace minerals are in the corn already. We should have better soil with better microbiological activity for next years crop, and we would be keeping local genetic diversity alive and well. Seems like a no brainer to me. We'll post again in the fall with the results of our "experiment"
Brent
http://groweat.blogspot.com/search/label/Open%20Pollinated%20Corn%20Series#axzz2VvdL1ATO
This link explains open pollinated vs hybrid and its history (you have to read in sections starting from the bottom o the page)
We have chosen to try this corn out for several reasons; open pollinated corn has far more protein content, mineral content, more easily digested by the animals, and it also has very low toxin levels found in all grain crops organic or conventional alike.
The farmer we are renting off of is certified organic and he has been raising open pollinated corn for over a decade. He gave offered the seed for next to nothing, if we chose to plant it... heck yeah was what i was thinking in my head. We have no idea how this years corn will do or turn out but we know several things already, we only have $100 in fertilizer cost, we have about $200 in fuel, and our time and wear and tear on equipment. Thats roughly $500 less per acre than what i have heard from area farmers. So if i do some rough math, based on last years prices, the profit per acre would be 2.5 times higher than conventional crops.
What would we have when its all said and done? We would have better nutrition for our animals, the animals would eat less feed and we wouldn't have to buy the big bag of minerals to put in the feed mixer becasue most of the trace minerals are in the corn already. We should have better soil with better microbiological activity for next years crop, and we would be keeping local genetic diversity alive and well. Seems like a no brainer to me. We'll post again in the fall with the results of our "experiment"
Brent
http://groweat.blogspot.com/search/label/Open%20Pollinated%20Corn%20Series#axzz2VvdL1ATO
This link explains open pollinated vs hybrid and its history (you have to read in sections starting from the bottom o the page)
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