Grain Quality Issues in Corn

As I'm sure you're aware, 2012 is shaping up as another year where we may encounter grain quality issues with corn. This is always a risk with severe drought stress, particularly if that stress took place during pollination. While Clinton County isn't in as bad shape as many other places, with the recent wetter weather just as harvest is starting up, I'm sure we'll run into it. Every grain buyer in the area, so far as I know, is testing for Aflatoxin, an indication that they've found it in some loads.

Purdue has a web page on this topic with a great deal of information: Managing Moldy Corn

Here are a few of the key concepts as you go into harvest. Keep in mind most of these these (there are a couple of exceptions) won't help with Aflatoxin already present; they help get rid of the Aspergillus fungus which produces Aflatoxin.

One key is minimizing damaged kernels. This corn crop is drying down fast as it's maturing at such an early date. If you think you're at risk for Aflatoxin, make sure you get in the field early enough to keep from having too many damaged kernels and keep fines down to a minimum.

Dry corn a bit more than usual if you plan to store it. If you usually store at 15.5%, think about storing at 14 or 14.5. Also, cool your grain as quickly as possible (an obvious problem in mid-September) without creating moisture issues from condensation. Aspergillus growth is greatly reduced at temperatures below 55 degrees.

Broken kernels and fines generally contain promote fungal activity. If possible, screen your grain before putting it in the bin (or, if you think there's an issue, before taking grain to the elevator). If you can't do this, "core" your bin once it's in storage.

Aflatoxin can cause Human health issues so be careful about breathing in dust. Consider wearing a mask or respirator and change your clothes after handling grain.

USDA's Risk Management Agency has put together a list of Eastern Corn Belt labs which will test for Aflatoxin. You can find that in this publication. Purdue's Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab will also test for it. I don't know why, but they aren't on the list of certified labs in the USDA publication so check with your insurance agent if you're testing for insurance purposes.

If you think you have Aflatoxin, contact your crop insurance agent before you harvest.

Ag Drought Program July 13

I've set up an Ag Drought program for Friday, July 13 from 2-4 p.m. This program will be held at the Clinton County Fair in the entertainment tent at the fairgrounds. The entertainment tent is located between Clinton Hall and the 4-H Building.

The program is titled, "Making Decisions in a Difficult Crop Year." The focus is not on what's going on in your fields (most farmers have a pretty good handle on that) but how to make decisions going forward in what's looking to be a short crop. I don't have precise titles for each of the speakers (quotes means I do), however here's the planned schedule.

• 2:00-2:45 p.m. - Purdue Ag Economist Chris Hurt will discuss marketing and economics
• 2:45-3:00 p.m. - Brittany Shepherd, Clinton County FSA Director, "Drought Assistance Through USDA”
• 3:00-3:15 p.m. - Gary Gray from Crop Insurance Specialists discussing Crop Insurance
• 3:15-3:30 p.m. - Rod Miller, CCA from Crop Fertility Specialists, “Crop Input Decisions in Historical Hot and Dry Conditions”
• 3:30-3:45 p.m. - Curt Emanuel, Final Thoughts - I intend to talk to some Purdue Specialists a day or two ahead and I'll share anything they think is important
• 3:45-4:00 p.m. - Questions

The program could last a bit longer if necessary though the chairs we'll be sitting in will be used at the 4-H Auction which begins at 6 that evening so we can't stay there forever.

The fair doesn't begin charging for parking until 3 p.m. so there should be no problem with anyone getting onto the grounds. The carnival doesn't usually start until around 5 so we shouldn't have a lot of casual fairgoers trying to see what's going on. It will likely be warm in the tent but we'll have some fans. I'm at a conference the week after the fair so I didn't want to hold off any longer to have a program.

If you have any questions your best bet is to e-mail me for additional information. With the fair coming up it's doubtful anyone will be here to answer the phone much of the time. Don't expect quick answers by e-mail but I will be checking it as I have time.

I also want to share the Purdue Drought Page with everyone. This has links to information about field crops, livestock and horticulture issues.

Purdue Drought Page

Drought Update 2

This isn't so much an update as a suggestion that folks take a look at a recent article by Bob Nielsen regarding current crop conditions. With temperatures forecast for over a hundred degrees on Thursday, I think we all know that the impact on corn that's received almost no rain and has just started tasselling could be devastating. At least the markets are starting to respond.

There was a second drought conference call this morning I wasn't able to participate in. If I hear anything new from this I'll make another post.

Bob Nielsen article.

Purdue Agronomy Drought Information Page

Bob Nielsen has recently updated a page which has links to drought-related information. The initial page looks pretty plain but once, for example, you click on the "Drought & row crops" link you'll find a lot of information.

Purdue Drought Information Page

Drought Update 1

I just finished listening in on a Purdue conference call addressing the dry conditions we've been having over the last month. To offer a summary:

Corn: According to Bob Nielsen while corn has been hurt some, this isn't critical in most fields yet. He believes that with good rains beginning in the next few days and continuing through the growing season we could still achieve trend yields. As a general statement covering the whole state he thinks the critical period this year will be during pollination from late June through the third week in July, a week or so earlier than usual. In Clinton County I think we're looking at the first two weeks in July. The afternoon leaf rolling we're seeing right now, while a symptom of stress, doesn't indicate a critical yield loss at this time.

Soybeans: Soybean specialist Shaun Casteel says that beans are mostly in a holding pattern right now but should be able to compensate if rains come. We all know that beans can recover fairly well from drought stress, so long as it rains at some point. If plants are severely stressed they may even begin to flower very early but even with flowering beans, if rain comes they will drop those flowers and resumed vegetative growth. Obviously, if they get all the way to setting pods due to this things change. For double crop beans Shaun recommends holding off seeding after wheat in hopes of receiving some moisture but if for some reason you absolutely have to get in the field and it's still dry, you should look at raising your seeding rate to account for some emergence problems which are likely to occur.

Pests: Christian Krupke from the Purdue Entomology Department discussed spider mites in soybeans. Spider mites are a pest we usually don't worry much about as a healthy plant outgrows damage but they can devastate plants which are basically holding as they are now. So far there haven't been many reports of this (I haven't heard of any here) but if the dry weather continues it's hard to believe this won't be a problem before long. Look for bronzing of leaves, beginning at field borders and think about doing some scouting. He has posted a Youtube video which shows how to scout for mites.

Also, if you have Soybean Cyst Nematode issues, this sort of year really brings these out. There's nothing to be done about it for this growing season but if you identify areas where you may have a problem, you can make some decisions about addressing it for next year. Look for plants that aren't growing well (nothing's growing well right now but these would be even worse) and are turning yellow. Damaged areas in a field are typically oval or circular in shape.

Impact of Dry Weather on Early Corn

Since the rain last night missed us for the most part, I think it's worth taking a look at how early season dryness impacts corn development. Some years ago (unfortunately this now translates to a few decades ago) when I worked in Nebraska folks didn't worry much about the early season dryness and there was plenty of 7-ft corn which made pretty good yields (this being relative as 150 bu was pretty good). In any case, they generally didn't turn the irrigation on until June, whatever the weather.

Chad Lee and John Grove from the University of Kentucky posted an interesting article a couple of weeks ago on this. In essence, until V6, so long as the plants don't actually burn up, there's little impact from early season dryness. From that point on it starts to become a problem.

Aspects not covered in this article include things like outgrowing potential cutworm damage. Fortunately, while it seems like it would be an ideal year for cutworm damage, I haven't heard of any problems in Clinton County.

Corn Harvest Issue I: Aflatoxin

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.

Twisted Whorls in Corn

Bob Nielsen has provided an updated article on the appearance of twisted whorls in corn. While this can be a sign of plant injury, the growing conditions we've seen the past few weeks can also be a cause.

Note: I'll be gone the rest of this week and all next week and tied up with a GIS program I'm helping teach the following week (this gets us to June 24). I'm not certain how often I'll be able to update this blog during that period, though I'll try.