which corn to plant

As time goes on different opportunities become available for farmers to take advantages of different markets. One that is becoming more attractive to many farmers is conventional corn. During a conversation with a seed salesman last week the subject came up and he mentioned that in north east Kansas conventional, non GMO, corn had quite a bit of interest and that his seed supplies were becoming tight. He showed me variety tests and pointed out a conventional variety that had performed well in the tests.

When considering going to a specialty crop such as this, several things have to be taken into consideration. Am I going to have to add different equipment to seed or harvest? What am I going to do with it after I harvest it, store it on the farm? How far will I have to ship it to get a premium? I will no longer have insect resistance in my plant so I might have to add insecticide at planting time for root worms, and then I might have to apply insecticides again for insects when the corn is bigger. How close can I plant to GMO corn?

The equipment is the same for planting. A detailed cleaning is required to ensure seeds don't find their way into the field since this is is a field size trial. Planters are easy to clean out, a few minutes a row and that is accomplished. The combine on the other hand, can be more time consuming to clean. If I plan to have that field ready for harvest first then I can ensure the combine being free of GMO seeds because of wheat harvest.

Being a specialty crop I won't be able to market it for a premium locally, particularly in my low corn production area. I will have to store it on the farm and ship it at a later date. The good thing is we have more than adequate storage space and equipment to handle it and keep it in condition.

It will most likely have to be shipped to Kansas City or farther, so the premium has to be enough to make it worthwhile. My local corn price is strong and the trucking can eat up much of the premium. I can still sell the corn locally to the feedlot, it's still yellow corn except it doesn't contain genes that protect it from herbicides or insects, without a premium.

Plant protection is the next challenge since the plant is no longer herbicide tolerant and insect resistant. We haven't been using Round Up in our corn, even though it is tolerant of it, because we wanted to reduce our chances of resistant weeds. Our normal weed control protocol shouldn't be a problem. Insect control could be a problem, working with a Certified Crop Adviser is a benefit in this area. He will help scout fields for troubling insects and recommend the best product to use.

Non GMO corn will need a buffer from GMO corn. I know that corn pollen from yellow corn can blow across a road and contaminate white corn. In the article Banking on non-biotech "You need to grow non-GM corn at least 660 ft. from a GM variety, said G.W. Dimmett Premium Ag Products general manager." I can easily accomplish this from the lack of corn production in my area and fields that are isolated.

I think it is possible to raise conventional corn, especially with supplemental irrigation. I want to see varieties in some more yield tests and how the heat stress from a normal year effects them.

What's happening down on the farm.

I would like to wish everyone a belated merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Grain Sorghum harvest is finished. The snow was on the ground, but we able to keep the combines rolling after a few days let the snow work out the grain heads.


Snow between the rows of sorghum. I found it funny to harvest a tropical plant with snow on the ground.

A picture of my dad harvesting in the snow. We had to leave some on the edge where the snow drifted. Snow will plug up the inside of the combine that seperates the grain from the rest of the plant.

We started on the double crop sunflowers. Seed has shattered out of the heads, the last 2 fields that were planted had shattered bad and won't be harvested. The sunflowers that are still in the field seem to be holding their seeds good.

At the moment our attention has shifted to delivering corn that is stored on the farm. We are taking it to a local cattle feedlot where it will be combined with hay, wet distillers grain with solubles, and supplement to be fed to the cattle. The corn provides the energy and some of the protein in the diet. Hay helps ruminants, animals with four compartment stomachs, digest feed and provides some nutrients. The wet distillers grain with solubles is the grain that is left over from making ethanol, it is high in protein and minerals. Supplements are additional minerals that the feed is lacking. This makes for a very efficient method of raising tender and juicy beef. I weigh in and out on their scales next to the where they move cattle to the vet shed for vaccinations and I see the cattle handled quietly and calmly with a low amount of stress.


Unloading corn at the feedlot. The machine on the left grinds the corn, making it more palatable and the nutrients more available.

Down on the farm during a rainy harvest.

Another rainy week at the farm. These past few weeks has dragged on with little harvesting taking place. It seems like there is 2 or 3 days that we can work in the field before the next rain. Dad and the rest of the crew finished soybean harvest while I was gone to meetings over the weekend and I was able to get the corn finished Monday before this last rain. Despite the rains our yields have been good this year and grain quality has remained good. There have been reports of mold problems in different parts of the country in corn and some in soybeans. The moisture level in the grain has been reasonably low also, grain has to be at a certain level or lower to be stored without having quality problems during storage.



My son Trevor standing in a Milo field. He is 6 years old and is 4 foot tall to give some reference to the height of the milo. The field is a little weedy, but most of that is along the edges of it.

Some of our down time has been spent at the shop working on the combines preparing for milo, grain sorghum, harvest. Normally we make a few changes to the header on the combines and a couple of quick changes on the combines as quickly as possible so we can start harvest. This year we have looked them over closer and changed the engine oil. We also plan on using our third combine for milo this year also, if we can get the logistics of trucking worked out.

All of our milo will go to an elevator, even though we will store some of it on the farm and deliver it to an elevator later this winter. From the elevator there are many places that it might go. It could go to a poultry farm for feed, it might be used as a feedstock at an ethanol plant, or exported to another country for use as livestock feed or as food for humans.