corn south, february 2014

CornS outhCornSouthONE GROWERPUBLISHING, LLC

February 2014

A Supplement to Cotton Farming and The Peanut Grower Magazines

The Southern Gold Rush

2014 Corn Production: From Planting to Storage

CS Feb 14 Cover _CF 11/13 template 1/13/14 1:03 PM

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Gaining an extra two weeks to reach canopy can help

keep weeds from escaping without having to spray

another round of herbicides. That’s why corn and

soybean growers are looking toward the alternative

site of action and longest-lasting residual control of

Zidua herbicide. This powerful tool controls small-

seeded broadleaf weeds and grasses, including

glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth and waterhemp, up to two

weeks longer than other preemergence herbicides.

CS0214 Layout_CF 11/13 template 1/16/14 8:27 AM

Mark Welch is a well-respected

Texas AgriLife Extension Econo-

mist who publishes the “Feed Grain

Market Outlook.”* Following are

highlights from Jan. 13, 2014:

“On Jan. 10, 2014, World Agri-

cultural Supply and Demand Esti-

mates reported a decrease in corn

supply and an increase in use com-

pared 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 mar-

keting 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 posi-

tions; 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 con-

tract 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.

CORNSOUTH FEBRUARY 2014 CS3

Texas Extension EconomistComments On Corn Market

EDITORIf 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 LiaGuthrie at [email protected] or Carroll Smithat [email protected].

Contents4 Storage Tips

Consider advice of MSUExtension personnel wheninitiating on-farm grain storage.

6 Weed Control In CornResearch your options for theupcoming growing season.

7 Prep And PlantingSoil preparation and preciseplanting are key factorsin optimizing corn yield potential.

Cover photo by Carroll Smith.

CornSouthCornSouth

*The opinions and recommendations expressed are solely those of Welchand are intended for educational purposes only. Welch and Texas AgriLifeassume no liability for the use of this newsletter.

Feb 14 CSv1.qxp_CF 11/13 template 1/16/14 9:57 AM Page 3

CS4 CORNSOUTH FEBRUARY 2014

Special Report

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Last year, in some cases, corn that was harvested in

Mississippi was what could generally be considered high-

moisture corn. Some farmers received a premium by har-

vesting high-moisture corn and taking it straight to the ele-

vator. 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 peri-

od, the fungus doesn’t disappear. The fungal spores that produced the

green fungus are still present and can begin to grow again if a con-

ducive 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, especial-

ly 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 concen-

tration in the harvested grain: Bunge North America

(http://www.bungenorthamerica.com/locations/index.shtml);

Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory (http://www.mscl.ms-

state.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, StateExtension Specialist-Grain Crops, with Mississippi State University,co-authored this article.

StorageTips

Feb 14 CS_CF 11/13 template 1/15/14 8:30 AM Page 4

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CS6 CORNSOUTH FEBRUARY 2014

Production

Because corn weed control

starts with clean fields,

LSU AgCenter weed scien-

tist 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 elimi-

nate habitat for damaging insects

such as cutworms, Stephenson said.

“It’s just imperative that a corn

grower starts clean.”

A pre-emerge herbicide is essen-

tial 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 glyphosate-

resistant johnsongrass.

But, he said, it is imperative that

farmers avoid using an organophos-

phate 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.

Eliminate Vegetation After HarvestBecause 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 CommunicationsSpecialist with the LSU AgCenter.

Corn Weed Control

Plant Twin Rows or Plant Single Rows

One Planter...One Row or Twin Row

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By Bruce Schultz

Daniel Stephenson, LSU AgCenterweed scientist, tells farmers at a fieldday about weeds that are resistant toherbicides found in Louisiana fields.This weed that Stephenson is holding isjohnsongrass.

v2 Feb 14 CS_CF 11/13 template 1/17/14 2:59 PM Page 6

CORNSOUTH FEBRUARY 2014 CS7

Production

Soil 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 TillageIn 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 sur-

face or a seeded cover crop effectively reduces water erosion prob-

lems. Using minimum-till planting practices such as strip-till or slit-

till 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.”

Four Steps For Precise PlantingThe 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 spac-

ing 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 approxi mately 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, malfunc tioning 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 place-

ment, 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,

may cause multiple seed drops or skips.

Additional Planting Considerations“Vacuum seed selection planters typically achieve the most uni-

form plant densities followed by plateless or finger pickup seed selec-

tion,” 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.”

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Prep AndPlanting

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

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corn south, february 2014

Documents

time corn stocks

grain stocks

corn production

lower beginning stocks

day of thejanuary crop

closing price

price change

marketing year