We're a little while yet from harvest but getting there, particularly with much of Clinton County corn suffering from a lack of rain. The good news is that many of the fields look better than they appear from roadside "windshield Surveys." Once you get into many (not all, unfortunately) fields, grain fill is better than along field borders.
One of the risks impacting drought-stressed corn is aflatoxin. We've had recent experience with that here so this is mainly a reminder. One tip is if you think this may be a problem, harvest at-risk fields early and make sure corn gets dried down quickly. Aflatoxin multiplies quite rapidly at higher moistures and temperatures but will not when corn is dried down to 13-14% and cooled. Avoid air-drying.
Another implication is insurance. Aflatoxin is a covered loss under many insurance policies, but not after corn is placed in storage. If you suspect you may have aflatoxin, you should contact your insurance agent as soon as possible.
Gary Schnitkey from the University of Illinois has additional information on crop insurance and aflatoxin.
For more information on grain storage issues, see Purdue's page on Managing Moldy Corn, developed in 2009.
