Month: September 2018

Converting Wet Corn Weight to Dry Corn Weight

by: R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Purdue University

Corn is often harvested at grain moisture contents higher than the 15% moisture typically desired by grain buyers. Wetter grain obviously weighs more than drier grain and so grain buyers will “shrink” the weight of “wet” grain (greater than 15% moisture) to the equivalent weight of “dry” grain (15% moisture) and then divide that weight by 56 to calculate the market bushels of grain they will purchase from the grower. The two sources of weight loss due to mechanical drying are 1) that due to the loss of grain moisture itself and 2) the anticipated weight loss due to dry matter loss during the grain drying and handling processes (e.g., broken kernels, fines, foreign materials).

An exact value for the handling loss, sometimes called “invisible shrink”, is difficult to predict and can vary significantly from one grain buyer to another. For a lengthier discussion on grain weight shrinkage due to mechanical drying, see Hicks & Cloud, 1991.

The simple weight loss due to the removal of grain moisture represents the greatest percentage of the total grain weight shrinkage due to drying and is easily calculated using a handheld calculator or a smartphone calculator app. In general terms, you first convert the “wet” weight (greater than 15% moisture) to absolute dry weight (0% moisture). Then you convert the absolute dry weight back to market-standard “dry” weight at 15% grain moisture.

Concept:

  1. For example, if the initial grain moisture content is 20%, then the initial percent dry matter content is 80% (e.g., 100% – 20%). NOTE: The initial percent dry matter content varies depending on the initial grain moisture content.
  2. If the desired ending grain moisture content is 15% (the typical market standard), then the desired ending percent dry matter content is 85% (100% – 15%).
  3. Multiply the weight of the “wet” grain by the initial percent dry matter content, then divide the result by the desired ending percent dry matter content.

Example:

  1. 100000 lbs of grain at 20% moisture = 80000 lbs of absolute dry matter (i.e., 100000 x 0.80).
  2. 80000 lbs of absolute dry matter = 94118 lbs of grain at 15% moisture (i.e., 80000 / 0.85).
  3. 94118 lbs of grain at 15% moisture = 1681 bu of grain at 15% moisture (i.e., 94118 / 56).

One take-home reminder from this little exercise is the fact that the grain trade allows you to sell water in the form of grain moisture… up to a maximum market-standard 15% grain moisture content (or 14% for long term storage). In other words, if you deliver corn to the elevator at grain moisture contents less than 15%, you are “losing” bushels. Take advantage of this fact and maximize your “saleable” grain weight by delivering corn grain to the elevator at moisture levels no less than 15% moisture content.

World’s Largest Script Ohio Shows the Power of Precision Agriculture

Script Ohio demonstrates GPS-guided “smart planting” using multiple soybean hybrids.

LONDON, Ohio — On their way to the 56th annual Farm Science Review, Sept. 18-20, over 130,000 visitors will pass thousands of acres of soybean fields. But one field in particular is sporting more Buckeye pride than any other. From an aerial view, the world’s largest Script Ohio emerges from a 100-acre field just east of London’s Molly Caren Agricultural Center, site of the Review.

For four straight years, The Ohio State University’s Precision Agriculture program has demonstrated GPS-guided “smart planting” using multiple corn hybrids. The team brought Buckeye spirit to the field with a block “O” in 2015, Brutus Buckeye in 2016, and the university’s Primary Athletic Identity last year. Now, Precision Agriculture has brought the Ohio State Marching Band’s famous Script Ohio to the soybean field.

“We decided to start and continue this project to show the potential of new multi-hybrid/variety planting technology and demonstrate that it can complete tasks with accuracy and precision to the point of making logos in field scenes,” said Andrew Klopfenstein, senior research associate engineer in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), part of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

Continue reading World’s Largest Script Ohio Shows the Power of Precision Agriculture →

Harvest Considerations to Reduce Weed Seed Movement

Source: Iowa State University Extension

Weed seed spread by a combine

Harvest is just around the corner for many Iowa farmers and now is a good time to consider options to reduce movement of weed seed between fields with harvest equipment. While we may not think of it during harvest time, combines are extremely effective at transporting seed from field to field. A few precautions leading up to harvest and during harvest can help manage any escaped problem weeds.

Prior to harvest, scout fields for escaped weeds since weeds are easier to see after crops have matured. This is important to identify problem fields or areas for next year. Your notes about weed problems are critical to choosing effective management tactics for next year, so make this a priority prior to harvest. In some situations scattered weeds could be removed from the fields prior to harvest. It is much easier to manage weed issues before they drop mature seed or before that mature seed goes through a combine.

… Click here to see full article

Ohio Quarterly Climate Summary: Jun – Aug 2018

Source: Aaron Wilson
  • The 2018 summer season ranks as the 17th warmest in Ohio since 1895*. June 2018 ranks as the 4th warmest.
  • Temperatures averaged 0 to 4°F above normal across the state, with the largest differences across the northern counties (Fig. 1).
  • The warmth was driven by overnight lows that were well above average (Fig. 2).

Click Here to Read Full Summary

 

Ensuring Quality Silage After Excessive Rains and Flooding

Source: Penn State University

Corn that will be harvested as silage, and was previously in standing water during the growing season can be of concern when it comes to forage quality and palatability. Bacterial contaminants and silt can lead to animal health and fermentation problems.

According to a Cornell University publication by Paul Cerosaletti and Dale Dewing, silt deposition on standing corn can result in greater risk for clostridial contamination, as the primary source of clostridium bacteria is found in soil. If silage does not undergo the desired lactate fermentation and undergoes clostridial fermentation, moisture levels can reach greater than 70%, the pH is typically greater than 5.0, and a rank odor can be detected. This type of fermentation also causes deadly botulism toxins. Soil-contaminated forage can also contain coliform and listeria bacteria.

Corn that has been flooded and has a large amount of silt deposition on the standing forage could be of less risk to animal health and improper fermentation if it dried down and is harvested for grain. If the silt is found only on the portion of the plant near the ground, consider raising the chopping height so soil particles are not integrated into the chopped forage.

A publication from Cornell University goes more in depth on what to look for with flood damaged corn and management factors to consider.

New Requirements for Paraquat

by Mary Ann Rose, Director, Pesticide Safety Education Program OSU Extension

The EPA will be phasing in key restrictions and label changes for paraquat products due to the disproportionately high number of deaths resulting from accidental ingestion of the highly toxic herbicide (17 deaths since 2000). Only certified applicators who complete an EPA-approved paraquat training program will be able to apply the material; direct supervision of uncertified applicators will not be allowed. Applicators must take the online safety training every three years and keep documentation of the training. The pesticide label will be modified to highlight paraquat toxicity, new application restrictions, and training requirements. Packages will feature safety stickers and counter cards with warnings will accompany each purchase. Registrants submitted label changes in March 2018 and will have 12 months from EPA’s label approval date to adopt the new labels.

Closed-system packing will be required for all non-bulk containers (less than 120 gallon). Registrants will submit label changes and new product registrations for the closed system packaging by March, 2019, and will have 12 months from EPA’s label approval date to adopt the closed system packaging.

Registrants will be prohibited from sale or distribution of old labeled product after the deadlines, but persons other than registrants may continue to use/sell existing stocks until exhausted.

Will the 2018 Corn Crop Get Smaller?

Source:  Todd Hubbs, University of Illinois

December corn prices approached contract lows not seen since the second week of July as August ended.  The continued weakness in corn prices persists despite 2018-19 marketing year projections of stocks to use near eleven percent.  The August Crop Production report forecasted 2018 corn production at 14.586 billion bushels with a yield of 178.4 bushels per acre.  Recently, the corn yield forecast has come under scrutiny due to the latest industry estimates predicting yields below the current projection.  The question is whether the corn production forecast will change enough to result in higher prices than those currently reflected in the market.

The USDA forecast for the 2018 U.S. average corn yield in August sits at 178.4 bushels, approximately seven bushels above the estimated linear trend from 1960.  Using data since 1997, the change in the yield forecast from August to September declined in 11 of those years.  The decline exceeded one bushel in five of those years and dropped more than two bushels in four years.  The quick maturity for the crop this year combined with a decrease in the combination of good and excellent ratings over the last month from 70 to 68 percent provide some support for this speculation.  By comparing crop progress for years since 1997, seven years witnessed the national crop at the current 61 percent of dent this early in the year.  Of those years, three years saw final corn yield above the trend projection.  When one excludes the drought year of 2012, the average corn yield for the remaining six years came in at 0.3 bushels above the estimated linear trend from 1960 to 2017.  If the average deviation calculated above came to fruition this year, the national average yield would be approximately 172 bushels per acre.

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Early Yellowing Soybeans

Source: Dr Anne Dorrance, OSU Extension

Sudden Death Syndrome

Soybeans across the state range from ready to harvest to still flowering.  But in some fields, the yellowing was limited to pockets – some was sudden death syndrome or brown stem rot, charcoal rot, Phytophthora stem rot, and soybean cyst nematode.  There are some other early yellowing situations that we are still working on an accurate diagnosis, but yellowing in these cases may be linked to fertility issues and/or related to late flooding injury.  I think in 2018 we’ve observed just about everything, and it was all dependent on where in the state the soybeans were grown, how much rain occurred and when that rain fell, as well as the variety.  It did seem that we had calls on the same variety from multiple regions.

The heat this past weekend is also going to move the crop fairly fast. So if you haven’t driven by the earliest planted fields – this is the week to do so.  Sudden death syndrome is very widespread – but in most fields, it is limited to a scattering of plants throughout the wet areas.  The plants were not severely affected as most of the fields I visited were holding their leaves and not defoliating as quickly as I have observed for the most susceptible varieties. Late season Phytophthora stem rot is also present – in this disease, the plant wilts, holds its leaves and develops a brown canker that extends from the base of the plant up the stem.  Charcoal rot can also cause early yellowing or dying, and these symptoms were present last week in several areas of the state.  To distinguish this from other diseases, cut open the tap root and look for the black dots embedded in the tissue and lower stem.  When populations of soybean cyst nematode are high, plants will also mature earlier.  For cyst, you can dig up the plants, shake the soil off and see the small white pearls (females) on the roots.  Often we need a microscope as the cyst will turn tan to brown and becomes hard to see.

This round of late season scouting is important for variety selection, improving fertility applications for the fall, and prioritizing which fields to sample for soybean cyst nematode.  Let’s just hope the weather cools so we can get out of the trucks and walk into the fields!

Last reminder – FSR Agronomy College is September 11th

The Farm Science Review Agronomy College is held in partnership between the Ohio AgriBusiness Association & OSU Extension. The event is designed to educate agronomists, Certified Crop Advisers, custom applicators and farmers on current agronomic crop issues.

Topics we think you will be interested in:

  • Updates to the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations
  • Ohio Phosphorus Risk Index update and on-line tool demonstration
  • Got Weeds, Insects, Diseases? It’s been a great year for pests.
  • Want ideas to try on Variable Rate Soybeans?

Date: September 11, 2018

Location: Farm Science Review – Molly Caren Agricultural Center, London, OH

Time: Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.; sessions begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 4:00 p.m.

Cost: $120 Registration: Click here to register for the event. (or try this link:http://oaba.net/aws/OABA/pt/sd/calendar/67757/_PARENT/layout_details/false)

Contact: Janice Welsheimer at 614-326-7520 or by email: jwelsheimer@oaba.net, or for additional information, contact Harold Watters at 937-604-2415 or by email: watters.35@osu.edu.