Corn and soybean producers across the Midwest face some difficult decisions as they do their best to push through an especially rainy harvest.
“There are a couple different issues going on. One is that moisture levels in both corn and soybeans are much higher than they typically are at this time of year,” said Matt Hanson, crops and soils agent of the Dodge County UW Extension Office.
Hanson recalls that the moisture levels in corn two years ago were around 16 percent. This year, somewhere in the mid 30 percent moisture range is more common. That leaves producers with limited options. They could leave corn standing and hope that sunny, breezy weather dries it out. They could also try to harvest the corn at a higher moisture level and pay substantially higher drying costs.
“There are going to be some substantial drying costs to get that grain down to a moisture level that’s suitable for storage. The other major issue that we’ve been scrambling with over the past couple days is that corn is starting to get moldy out in the field. From a feeding perspective for animals, there are some undesirable by-products, micotoxins, that will make livestock refuse to eat the grain and the feed,” Hanson said.
Hanson said mold is becoming more prevalent in cornfields across the county. He found a 75-percent contamination rate in one field he tested early this week.
“Drying is going to be expensive, but I think many producers are thinking that if they can get in the field and get that harvested before it gets even worse, that will protect the quality more than if they let it stand out in the field to dry. For one thing, we don’t have a lot of sun, so we don’t have a lot of heat to dry the crop that way,” Hanson said.
The real bad news is that there is a significant amount of crops that hasn’t been harvested. As of Oct. 27, only 9 percent of the corn in Wisconsin had been harvested. The five-year average for the end of October is a 37-percent harvest rate, according to the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service.
The same survey found that 25 percent of the state’s soybeans had been harvested as of Oct. 27, compared to 82 percent harvested at that time one year ago.
Hanson said he’s not as concerned with soybean mold issues, however,
“We’re concerned because the bean pod is that much lower to the ground. As the plants start falling over, or if it can’t be harvested until after a snowfall, you’ve essentially lost the entire crop. So we’re doing what we can to get that off first because corn has a better chance of withstanding some poorer weather, even some snow, and being able to get that harvested. Soybeans are more challenging.”
The good news for corn and soybean producers is that there are a few new resources for them to tap in deciding what the best harvesting approach will be. The first is a grain production and management Web site, http://fyi.uwex.edu/grain/, developed by the UW Extension. The site provides information to help producers with a variety of grain-related issues. Hanson said it is being updated almost daily.
Friday morning, from 8 to 10 a.m., UW Extension of Dodge County will host a Web-based teleconference and presentation with several UW Extensions specialists at its office at 127 E. Oak St., Juneau. They will discuss moisture issues and take questions from the public. There is no charge.
For additional information contact Matt Hanson at the Dodge County UW-Extension Office at 386-3790.