Corn Drydown and Stalk Quality

Sep 17, 2021

By Mark Licht

As corn has quickly reached maturity, the next hurdle of the 2021 growing season is harvest. Stalk quality will be a concern for fields across that state that experienced the stress of too much or not enough moisture. Alison Robertson recently wrote an article about stalk rots that is very good. I too suspect because of the stresses this year; stalk integrity will be compromised whether it be from stalk rots or simply because the plant cannibalized itself to fill out the ear as best it could.

Next steps are to get out into the field to conduct a pinch/push test. Observe how well the ears are hanging on the stalk. And get an idea for what the grain moisture and drydown potential are.

Corn grain drydown from physiological maturity to about 23% is nearly constant and is only minimally affected by air temperature and relative humidity. However, below 23% grain drydown can be influenced greatly by both air temperature and relative humidity. Sotirios Archontoulis and I developed a Corn Drydown Calculator that with minimal input of location and initial date and grain moisture can provide some estimation of how long it will take to reach your target harvest moisture.

This year may not be the year to wait until grain gets to 15% before harvesting. The longer corn stalks are left standing the greater the possibility for lodging and ear droppage to occur. Lodging, ear droppage, and header kernel loss are commonly greater the longer corn is left standing in the field and the drier corn is at harvest.

Use field scouting to assign a ‘harvest order’ to your corn fields to minimize the potential for mounting field losses.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Agriculture Secretary Rollins Speaks at American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Anaheim

One of the highlights at the 2026 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Anaheim, California, was an address by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. During her remarks, she thanked America’s farmers and ranchers and said the Trump Administration is fully aware that food security is national security.

She also acknowledged the challenging times in Farm Country with low commodity prices and high input costs and said that’s why the President stepped in to help with the recent Bridge Assistance Program.

Montana Farm Bureau Federation Executive Vice President Scott Kulbeck says that Farm Bureau members are appreciative of the help and looks forward to working with the American Farm Bureau Federation and its presence in Washington, DC to keep farmers and ranchers in business.

Secretary Rollins said the Trump Administration is also committed to helping ranchers build back America’s cattle herd while also providing more high-quality U.S. beef at the meat case for consumers.

And she also announced more assistance for specialty crop producers who only received a fraction of the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA).

It’s important to note that producers who qualify for Farmer Bridge Assistance can expect the Farm Service Agency to start issuing payments in late February. For more information, farmers and ranchers are encouraged to contact their local USDA Service Center.