News Update
September 7, 2011
Harvest Tips for Lodged Corn
With larger-than-average areas dealing with lodged or downed cornstalks in Iowa due to recent storms, it’s a good time to review steps to take when faced with harvesting significant areas of lodged corn.
Scout fields to determine where problem areas are and the condition of stalks and ears. Harvest the problem areas first when field conditions are better and before kernels in close proximity to the ground have an opportunity for potential further deterioration. An exception might be made to harvest an area with particularly weak stalk strength that is still standing if the odds of lodging from weather seem high.
The only way to evaluate whether any harvesting aid or technique is helping is to measure harvest losses. Each ¾-pound ear on the ground per 436 square feet equals a loss of one bushel per acre. Detailed instructions for measuring losses are in Profitable Corn Harvesting, PM 573. Take a measuring tape to the field at harvest and spend a few minutes behind the combine checking losses.
Tips for machine operation to reduce losses
- Set gathering chains for more aggressive operation with points opposite each other and relatively closer together. Adjust deck plates over snapping rolls only slightly wider than cornstalks so that they hold stalks but not so narrow that stalks wedge between the plates.
- Operate the head as low as practical without picking up rocks or significant amounts of soil.
- Single-direction harvesting against the grain of leaning stalks may help. Evaluate losses though before spending large amounts of time dead-heading through the field.
- Limited field measurements suggest a corn reel may or may not help limit machine losses; however, a reel likely allows greater travel speed and improves productivity. Losses may be similar comparing harvest at 1 mile per hour without a reel and 3 miles per hour with a reel, but harvest goes much faster. Spiral cones mounted atop row dividers or the addition of higher dividers on each end of the cornhead are other potential aftermarket harvest aids.
- If harvest speeds are significantly reduced, the amount of material going through the combine is reduced. Fan speed may need to be reduced to avoid blowing kernels out of the combine. Rotor speed may need to be reduced to maintain grain quality. Check kernel losses behind the combine and grain quality to fine-tune cleaning and threshing adjustments.
- Grain platforms have been used to harvest corn in relatively severe cases. More cornstalks and material other than grain enters the combine. Expect capacity to be reduced somewhat. Concave clearance may need to be increased for increased throughput and fan speed may need to be increased to aid separation in the cleaning shoe.
It won’t be harvest as usual
Perhaps as important as anything, get into the correct frame of mind and keep the right mental attitude. Recognize that speeds will be slower. Communicate these expectations with others. Don’t allow an accident to compound harvest problems.
Seminar Assists New Producers with Livestock Management
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Oklahoma State Extension and the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network will host a Basic AG Fall Management Seminar to assist new producers in preparing their livestock for the upcoming season.
The event, which is offered at no cost and is open to the public, will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the OKC West Sale Barn (located at 7200 East Highway 66 in El Reno, Okla.).
“Good animal husbandry is the cornerstone of every livestock operation,” said Clay Wright, Noble Foundation livestock consultant. “The Basic AG Fall Management Seminar will provide fundamental information for those new or just getting started in the livestock industry.”
Seminar attendees will learn elements of the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program, focusing on proper injection sites and techniques. The workshop will feature a live chuteside presentation and a chance for hands-on participation. Following the chuteside presentation, Doug McKinney will present information about the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network, a value-added marketing program for commercial producers.
“The seminar will offer solid information for key issues of proper livestock care,” Wright said. “The information available can be applied to many agricultural production scenarios or situations, and the hands-on activities will help new producers gain experience and confidence when working with their livestock.”
The Noble Foundation’s Basic AG is an educational program to benefit those new to agriculture. The series provides practical, foundational knowledge that can be used in everyday operations. The events offer information and provide new tools to achieve specific agriculture-related goals, as well as the occasional hands-on experience. Basic AG events frequently incorporate speakers from state and federal agricultural organizations.
“The Basic AG program provides quality, timely information presented in a clear and concise format,” said Hugh Aljoe, Noble Foundation consultation program manager. “Each event holds the potential to immediately enhance a new producer’s operation.”
The Basic AG Fall Management Seminar is offered at no cost, but advance registration is required. To register, please contact Tracy Cumbie at 580-224-6411 or register online at www.noble.org/AgEvents.
Tropical Storm Lee Could Be Trouble for Arkansas Corn
Tropical Storm Lee (TS Lee), which forecasters expected to be slow-moving and rain-heavy, could spell trouble for Arkansas’ cotton, corn and sorghum crops, but relief for parched areas of the state.
The National Hurricane Center’s five-day cone shows the potential for Lee to brush Arkansas’ easternmost counties early next week. The National Weather Service at Little Rock said a cold front from the north could limit the advance of Lee’s tropical moisture. However, the combination of the two could bring rain to Arkansas late in the weekend with the highest chances across the southeastern part of the state.
Alabama was expected to get the lion’s share of TS Lee’s rain — with some forecasts calling for up to 20 inches.
The Arkansas weekly crop report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) showed 24% of cotton bolls beginning to open, up from just 8% the previous week.
“Any rain we get from this will be bad for cotton,” Tom Barber, extension cotton specialist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said on Friday. “Especially continuous rain for three to four days. Twelve to 20 inches would ruin the crop.”
Rain can damage cotton in a variety of ways by lessening lint quality, staining lint, boll rot, hard lock, or helping spread cotton bacterial blight.
Sorghum and corn harvesting have already begun in Arkansas, with corn 33% harvested and sorghum 17% harvested.
“We sure don’t need the rain,” said Jason Kelley, wheat and feed grains specialist for the University Of Arkansas Division Of Agriculture. “With corn, the biggest concern with a tropical storm would be the wind, which could blow the crop down and lead to harvest difficulty and lower yields. Heavy rainfall could also impact grain quality.”
“For grain sorghum, the biggest concern is grain sprouting,” he said. “If it did rain for 24 hours and the temperatures were warm, we’d have problems like we did two years ago where the seed sprouted in the head, which leads to very poor-quality grain that was not marketable.”
Either way you look at it, it would not be good for either the corn or the grain sorghum, Kelley said.
Rice is also in the early stages of harvest, with 4% complete.
“This is exactly what we don’t need right now,” said Ralph Mazzanti, rice research verification coordinator for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “The rice harvest has just begun with a good early crop in the field. Heavy rain and even light wind causes rice to lodge, or fall over, and in many cases, depending on the variety, shattering of the grain will most likely occur.”
If Arkansas’ farmers have mixed feelings about Lee, it’s because of the drought-ridden soil under their feet. The Climate Prediction Centers estimates that the southern third of Arkansas needs 12 or more inches of rain to alleviate drought conditions. The northwest and northeastern corners of the state could use 6-9 inches. Central and North-Central Arkansas were in somewhat better shape, needing 3-9 inches. The CPC map is available at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/
analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/addpcp.gif.
MU Extension Workshop to Help Farmers Access
Government Programs, Oct. 3-4
There are a lot of programs designed to help farmers, but those programs often mean negotiating a maze of agencies and navigating an alphabet soup of initials and acronyms.
A two-day University of Missouri (MU) Extension workshop will take some of the mystery out of farm programs and the process of applying to them.
“Accessing Farm Programs” will take place Oct. 3-4 at the MU Bradford Research and Extension Center in Columbia.
“The workshop will help farmers tap into the resources that are out there,” said Debi Kelly of the Missouri Beginning Farmers Program, which is a joint project of MU Extension and the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute.
Participants will learn to make sense of the daunting array of initials designating government farm agencies and programs — FSA, NRCS, MDA, to name a few. The workshop will also explain the different kinds of help these programs offer, such as grants, loans and cost-sharing and technical assistance.
The first session, Oct. 3, 1 p.m.-7:30 p.m., will include a general overview of government agencies and their programs. Participants will have the opportunity for “curbside consulting” with representatives from state and federal agencies. After a local foods dinner, farmers will hold a panel discussion about their experience with accessing farm programs.
The second session, Oct. 4, 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m., begins with a farm tour at the Jefferson Agricultural Institute’s Farm and Gardens, which will give participants a firsthand look at practices and concepts that figure prominently in many programs, such as wetlands, grass waterways, no-till planting and field borders.
The tour will be followed by a working session on obtaining necessary materials for developing a farm plan for the USDA Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). Staff from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will be on hand to assist and answer questions.
Registration for the Oct. 3 session is $15; the Oct. 4 session is $10. Fees include educational materials and food. Registration will be limited to 75 participants. For a downloadable brochure and registration form, see http://beginningfarmers.missouri.edu/
workshops.aspx.
For more information, contact the Jefferson Institute at 573-449-3518 or email lchann@jeffersoninstitute.org.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.