Corn South, February 2014

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2014 Corn Production: From Planting to Storage

CornSouth CornSouth ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

The Southern Gold Rush

A Supplement to Cotton Farming and The Peanut Grower Magazines

February 2014

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Always read and follow label directions. Zidua is a registered trademark of BASF. ©2013 BASF Corporation. All Rights Reserved. APN 13-ZD-0001

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CornSouth Texas Extension Economist Comments On Corn Market Mark Welch is a well-respected Texas AgriLife Extension Economist who publishes the “Feed Grain Market Outlook.”* Following are highlights from Jan. 13, 2014: “On Jan. 10, 2014, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates reported a decrease in corn supply and an increase in use compared to the December report. Feed use increased 100 million bushels, and ending stocks decreased 161 million compared to last month. The stocks-to-use ratio stands at 12.4 percent, down from 13.7 percent in December. World corn supplies tightened primarily on lower beginning stocks (-2 mmt).

Increased use estimates were only slightly higher than increased production (+0.3 mmt). Days of use on hand at the end of the marketing year declined from a 63-day supply to 62.

“A bullish surprise came from the Grain Stocks report as well.

Traders expected corn stocks of 10.790 billion bushels in all positions; the report showed stocks of 10.426 billion, 360 million less than expected. Dec. 1 stocks are up 30 percent from last year and just above the five-year average. The last time corn stocks were this high on Dec. 1 was 2009 (10.902 billion bushels).

“In the biofuel era (since 2007), the January Crop Report has created significant market volatility. In four of the past eight years, December corn has traded either limit up or limit down on the day of the Crop Report and has averaged a price change of 14 cents in the other years. On average, the December contract at expiration has been within two cents of the closing price on the day of the January Crop Report; but that average includes two years of contract expiration $1.50 over the price in January and two years going off the board $1.50 below. I will take advantage of this uptick in the market to price the first 20 percent of 2014 production, using technical tools to time this sale.

“There is still a long way to go in this marketing year with plenty of uncertainty ahead. I hope the price I lock in this early is the worst of the year; I have plenty more corn to sell. If prices do move lower, I will be glad to have gotten some priced at this time.”

See Welch’s “Feed Grain Market Outlook” in its entirety at agecoext.tamu.edu/resources/market-outlook/feedgrain-outlook.

EDITOR *The opinions and recommendations expressed are solely those of Welch and are intended for educational purposes only. Welch and Texas AgriLife

Contents 4 Storage Tips Consider advice of MSU Extension personnel when initiating on-farm grain storage.

6 Weed Control In Corn Research your options for the upcoming growing season.

7 Prep And Planting Soil preparation and precise planting are key factors in optimizing corn yield potential.

Cover photo by Carroll Smith.

If you have comments, send them to Corn South, 1010 June Road, Suite 102, Memphis, Tenn., 38119.

You may also call (800) 888-9784 or contact Lia Guthrie at lguthrie@onegrower.com or Carroll Smith at csmith@onegrower.com.

assume no liability for the use of this newsletter.

CORNSOUTH FEBRUARY 2014

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Special Report

Storage Tips L

ast year, in some cases, corn that was harvested in Mississippi was what could generally be considered highmoisture corn. Some farmers received a premium by harvesting high-moisture corn and taking it straight to the elevator. However, managing high-moisture corn is not easy since corn that goes directly into on-farm storage needs to be quickly dried to less than 15 percent moisture (24 hours or less). Drying corn reduces the likelihood of fungal growth on the corn in storage.

Corn placed into grain storage at moistures above 15 percent can begin to grow fungus if heat and air flow are not constant. In some instances, electricity that was being used to run driers stopped after grain was placed into storage. In as little as 24-36 hours, the corn on top developed a green fungal growth.

Remember, once drying and heating are continued after that period, the fungus doesn’t disappear. The fungal spores that produced the green fungus are still present and can begin to grow again if a conducive environment reoccurs.

Consider the following when initiating grain storage: • Monitor moisture, and corn with moisture above 15 percent should be dried to a moisture below 15 percent within 24 hours.

• Fungal growth on harvested grain can develop in extremely short periods of time if the environment within grain storage is conducive.

Mycotoxins can be produced in the field or in grain storage, especially in grain storage if the harvested grain isn’t handled correctly.

• Several fungi can grow on corn and are green in color, but not all of them produce toxins.

• If the presence of aflatoxin is suspected, there are some places that will conduct an analysis to determine the presence and concentration in the harvested grain: Bunge North America (http://www.bungenorthamerica.com/locations/index.shtml); Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory (http://www.mscl.msstate.edu/); or Midsouth Grain Inspection Service at (901) 775-1871.

• Don’t store harvested grain in trucks or combines for any period of time following harvest since fungi can grow quickly.

• Once aflatoxin is present in harvested grain, the toxin won’t go away; however, cooler temperatures and reducing moisture in the grain can reduce the likelihood of increasing aflatoxin production.

Tom Allen, Extension Plant Pathologist, and Erick Larson, State Extension Specialist-Grain Crops, with Mississippi State University, co-authored this article.

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Production

Corn Weed Control

By Bruce Schultz Daniel Stephenson, LSU AgCenter weed scientist, tells farmers at a field day about weeds that are resistant to herbicides found in Louisiana fields.

This weed that Stephenson is holding is johnsongrass.

B

ecause corn weed control starts with clean fields, LSU AgCenter weed scientist Daniel Stephenson is advising Louisiana corn farmers to take a proactive approach to controlling weeds.

First, a burndown of weeds should be done four to six weeks before planting. The end result removes weeds that will compete with corn for moisture and nutrition and eliminate habitat for damaging insects such as cutworms, Stephenson said.

“It’s just imperative that a corn grower starts clean.”

A pre-emerge herbicide is essential to prevent new weed growth, and it should be mixed with atrazine to give a full spectrum of grass and

broadleaf control, he said. “It is still the bedrock we need to plant our corn weed control program on.”

Stephenson said choosing a corn hybrid with Roundup Ready and LibertyLink traits will allow the producer to use glyphosate and Liberty for managing glyphosateresistant johnsongrass.

But, he said, it is imperative that farmers avoid using an organophosphate insecticide, such as Counter, during planting because those chemicals interfere with a plant’s ability to metabolize herbicides, such as Corvus, Capreno, Realm Q, Accent Q and other ALS-inhibiting herbicides.

Many farmers assume that a herbicide will have three months of residual activity, but such long-lasting chemicals were taken off the market long ago, Stephenson said.

“Don’t expect any herbicide to give you three months of weed control.”

Most farmers only spray their crop when it gets about 12 inches tall, with no follow-up, but he said a second application is becoming more commonplace.

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Eliminate Vegetation After Harvest Because corn is harvested in Louisiana in July and August, weeds in harvested fields have several months to thrive, Stephenson said. Farmers who don’t control these weeds are recharging the weed seed bank. This means the fight against weeds will be even more difficult in the next growing season.

Using a residual herbicide, such as Valor, mixed with a non-selective herbicide, like paraquat, or making multiple tillage passes to destroy weed vegetation, is a good way to suppress seed production until cold weather arrives, Stephenson said.

Bruce Schultz is Assistant Communications Specialist with the LSU AgCenter.

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Production PHOTO BY GUS WILSON, U OF A SYSTEM DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE

Prep And Planting S

oil preparation and precise planting are keys to optimizing corn yield potential. The University of Georgia (UGA) and University of Arkansas (U of A) Cooperative Extension Services offer the following insight into helping Southern farmers achieve this goal.

Soil Management And Tillage In addressing its state’s specific needs, UGA Extension says, “Water erosion is a significant problem on many Georgia soils during the high rainfall, winter months. Wind erosion can be a problem on sandy Coastal Plain soils in early spring when blowing sand can severely injure young corn plants. Crop residue left on the soil surface or a seeded cover crop effectively reduces water erosion problems. Using minimum-till planting practices such as strip-till or slittill helps reduce soil losses and “sand blasting” from wind erosion.

“Compaction layers or traffic pans (dense areas) are present in many, if not most, of the sandy, Coastal Plain soils in Georgia. These traffic pans restrict root growth and thus affect water and nutrient uptake by the plant. Traffic pans or dense soils should be disrupted by deep turning, V-ripping, paraplowing, chisel plowing or by in-row subsoiling during planting. In-row subsoiling has increased corn yields more than 50 percent on soils where traffic pans were present.

It enables corn plants to develop deeper root systems, which make better use of subsoil moisture and improve chances of recovering nutrients as they move through the soil.”

Planting corn in Chicot County kicked off the 2012 spring crop growing season in Arkansas.

may cause multiple seed drops or skips.

Additional Planting Considerations “Vacuum seed selection planters typically achieve the most uniform plant densities followed by plateless or finger pickup seed selection,” U of A Cooperative Extension Service adds. “With all other factors equal, maximum yields occur when corn is placed uniformly deep into the soil with uniform spacing between seeds. Producers should follow the manufacturer’s recommended planting speeds.”

Four Steps For Precise Planting The University of Arkansas Extension Service says that precision planting is of utmost importance in achieving high yields in Southern corn production. U of A recommendations note, “Uneven plant spacing and emergence may reduce corn yield potential. Seed should be spaced as uniformly as possible within the row to ensure maximum yields, regardless of plant population and planting date.”

U of A Extension also suggests that corn producers try to follow these four steps for precision planting: 1. Calibrate the planter at the speed intended for planting. Don’t risk obtaining a misleading seeding rate from slow speeds.

2. Calibrate on a hard turnrow to be able to locate all the seed and assure that the rate is approximately correct before taking the planter to the field. (If a seed monitor displays population per acre, verify that the monitor is displaying values that coincide with actual seed counts behind the planter. Multiple seeds don’t trigger a response if they pass the sensor together. Seed monitors are helpful to warn you about skips, malfunctioning rows or undesirable seeding rates.

However, they will not detect erratic spacing between seeds).

3. Check behind the planter in the field to verify that seed placement, depth and spacing are exactly what you intend. Once seed is planted, it is hard to be sure that you’ve found all the seed. Roughly prepared ground bounces the planter units and may shift seeding rates either up or down.

4. Check the planting rate every time you change seed size or hybrid. These changes, as well as seed treatments or field roughness,

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