nebraska irigated corn fields

[jd56]

was driving across hwy 30 in nebraska last week and noticed the ditch irrigated fiejds of corn would come out to end of field borders with little room to turn on ends was wondering how you could turn a combine around when harvesting the corn

 

[SkipperII]

Was it possibly corn for green chop. These new choppers don't need headlands, or even to follow rows.

 

[showcrop]

When driving on a back road in Lancaster PA area one time, I couldn't help but notice that the corn was planted within three feet of the pavement. Then rounding a curve and up a hill suddenly the snouts of a combine came out of the corn and within two feet of the pavement before stopping.

 

[matthies]

Very carefully.

 

[Texasmark]

On the subject of irrigated fields........I was on the way to Lubbock, Tx. once and it was fall and everything was showing the effects...known for its cotton growing, all that was in huge bales ready to be hauled off....except one huge field. Getting closer to it, it was a field of sunflowers, 6 or so feet tall with huge flowers-seed heads....black seeds and yellow flowers. I also noticed ditches full of water and Ford Industrial V8 engines running water pumps to keep the irrigation ditches full.

 

[DeltaRed]

We just take 12 or 16 rows off the ends by driving across the rows. Problem solved......

 

[paul]

It’s interesting how things are done differently in different regions.

Irrigation - I see that 30 miles away on small scale, but locally we spend our money on tile to get excess water away, almost always too wet here. Except about 2 weeks every late summer just dry enough to burn up the small sand veins of course.

Road ditches - small gravel township roads have 33 foot to center easements at least, tar roads county roads and state roads can have 45 to 150 foot easements on each side to center, and those grass ditches are enforced most always. If there is an accident and crops are planted too close the farmer/ land owner gets involved in the lawsuit for inhibiting sight lines…. You don’t ever plant up to within feet of the road surface here! With the clay soil and hard frozen winters and snow and rains in summer, nearly all road beds are elevated many feet above the road ditch bottoms so you couldn’t if you wanted to. A whole lot of grass hay comes from road ditches, no crops.

Always have end rows, really can’t make it work without them, need room to turn the planter around.

Here and there, not saying one is right or wrong. Just depends on local situations.

Paul