Yikes! With Halloween just around the corner, trick-or-treat activities and frightening costumes are abundant. Unfortunately for farmers, the scariest things this Halloween are corn harvest and grain storage.

Periodically throughout the summer, we have heard commentary about the huge corn crop. Grain prices declined, reflecting the anticipated high yields. We have seen significant market recovery, but are now staring at a bunch of wet corn, the vast majority of it still in the field.

We have been spoiled by excellent harvest conditions for several years. After last week’s harvest interruption, a number of farmers remarked that handling this year’s crop more than makes up for the ease of previous harvests.

As reviewed previously in this column, the presence of mold on harvested grain poses harvest and storage challenges above and beyond standard grain handling management. However, adhering to certain procedures will improve the storability of the 2009 corn crop.

Establish a goal to minimize kernel damage when combining. Uneven crop maturity within a field can make that difficult, particularly at higher moistures. Protecting the integrity of the kernel reduces fines and lessens the spread of mold that comes in with the harvested grain.

Eliminate as much crop residue as possible from the combine bin; once again, a function complicated by damp conditions and, or lodged corn. This is likely to slow the harvest but the paybacks will be significant from the field on.

When looking at the purchase of drying fuel, everyone’s goal should be to deliver the cleanest, highest quality grain possible to the drying and storage facilities. The use of grain cleaners as needed to remove fines, crop residue, bees wings, etc. will enhance air flow, saving both heat and electrical energy.

As grain fills a bin, the use of a grain distributor can be a blessing or a curse. Some distributors, particularly if not adjusted properly, just redistribute grain contaminants (fines, cobs, etc.) in airflow, impeding layers. Stirrators can break up those layers, but not all bins have stirring mechanisms. 

If a bin is directly filled without the use of a distributor, farmers are advised to core the bin to remove the center where any fines would concentrate.

At least in our area, most of the soybean harvest is complete and wheat planting is done, albeit later than we had hoped for.
As always, be safe!

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Roger Bender may write to him in care of this publication.