Every winter I get questions from people who wonder why some farmers leave their corn out on the field all winter. It goes something like this: The farmer down the road from us cut a few rounds around his corn field last fall and then left the rest. There were lots of good days he could have been at it. We thought when the first snow fell he’d surely get going but nothing happened. The dead looking corn sat there all winter in the snow and then he finally cuts it when the snow is almost gone in April. Why wouldn’t he cut it last fall? I can’t figure him out.
I explain that the corn is grain corn and only the cobs are harvested. If it was silage corn for cattle feed, the farmer would have made it into silage during September when the moisture content was right for making silage. But grain corn can only be harvested when the moisture content of the grain is at a certain low level. The farmer will have had a moisture test done on the corn. If the corn was good to be combined, he’d be at it. He’d be working day and night.
Some years it can be difficult for farmers to harvest their corn crop. Excessive rainfall during the harvest period can result in fields that are too wet to be combined. There are years when cooler-than-normal weather during the growing season can result in high grain corn moisture levels and expensively high drying costs. So, farmers may choose to harvest the corn in spring, leaving it on the field to dry down naturally to reduce drying costs. It works well if the corn stalks hold up during heavy snows and freezing rain. Corn plants have improved over the years. The newer hybrids with the Bt trait and genetics for improved stalk strength have the potential to improve standability over the winter.
I now have proof that corn left out overwinter to dry does work. Last year our grain corn was planted two weeks later than we wanted due to rainy days. Then the killing frost came earlier than we hoped. By the end of November, the corn grain still tested high in moisture and too wet to dry down. So, we left it out overwinter. That’s all we could do and hope for an easy winter.
We harvested a part of the field on a frosty cold morning this past April and shipped out 40 tonnes. The moisture was just below the 15.5 percent so there was no drying charge and the corn graded number 2. The kernels were good but we were still pleasantly surprised it graded so well. The proof was in the uh, uh, corn. The rest of the field will have to be harvested when the ground dries. Then we’ll no-till soybeans into the corn stalks.
Any more questions?
