Grainnet

U.S. farmers are in the process of harvesting one of the largest corn crops in history, according to USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

Ken Hobbie, U.S. Grains Council president and CEO, said this gives assurance to global end-users that U.S. farmers will meet all domestic and global demands.

At the same time, he said international end-users of U.S. corn are concerned about the impact the delayed harvest could have on corn quality.

“Reports of wet conditions throughout the Corn Belt have many customers on edge.

"We are getting a lot of questions about the potential ramifications this wet October could have on the quality of product our customers receive,” said Hobbie, who is currently in Asia meeting with some of the largest buyers of U.S. corn.

Tim Burrack, USGC Advisory Team (A-team) member, said harvest has been much slower than usual on his Arlington, Iowa, farm as a result of continuous rain showers.

“So far the quality is hurt by harvesting so wet, 28 percent moisture and higher, and running it through the dryer.

"Test weight drops and huge amounts of fine material is created,” said Burrack, who remains optimistic the weather will improve next month.

“If by some miracle November weather turns out to be as good as October was bad, which is what I’m hoping for now, then this issue could diminish.”

Similar reports from farmers throughout the Midwest are being heard by international customers of U.S. grains.

“We are not sugar coating anything.

"We are being very open and honest with our customers, but we do not want to create unnecessary anxiety.

"We are assuring our customers U.S. farmers will make it a priority to minimize any quality concerns this year,” said Hobbie.

According to Richard Stroshine, a Purdue University professor, there are several steps farmers can take to reduce mold and other quality issues.

“I had one elevator manager tell me he hasn’t seen anything like this since 1974,” Stroshine said.

“Farmers are going to have to take extra precaution in storing and drying down their grain this year.”

Farmers who have moldy corn should remove as much of the fine material or broken pieces as possible, dry the grain down to 14 percent to 14.5 percent moisture, and realize it’s not going to store as well as it has in previous years, Stroshine said.

“Mold can more easily grow on broken kernels because this is the food source for the fungi and it is more readily available,” he said.

“They also impede airflow during aeration of stored corn.

"So, getting rid of the fine material is a good strategy for improving grain storage, especially this year.”

Stroshine recommends using the combine’s full capabilities to help get rid of the fine material and incorporating high capacity screen cleaners into the grain-handling system.

Tommy Young, an Arkansas corn grower and a USGC A-team leader, said he is waiting for the ground to dry before he gets in the field, but is prepared to take the steps necessary to maintain the quality of his corn and protect the reputation U.S. farmers have for providing the highest-quality corn available in the global marketplace.

“It is a rough season, but no one ever said farming was easy,” Young said.

“We are running our grain elevator and dryer 24 hours per day in order to keep the corn from staying wet long.

"We have found drying corn immediately and cooling corn rapidly greatly reduces mold growth in the storage bins.

"We will be spending more time than usual drying corn and removing fine material but it is worth it to our customers, thus it’s worth it to me.”

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See Related Websites/Articles:

• U.S. Grains Council

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