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Season of extremes
Corn growers survive summer heat, drought with ‘better-than-expected’ yields
| Story and photos by Allison Morgan, Mark E. Johnson, and Chris Villines |
9/28/2012 |
It’s the last day of August, and corn harvest is nearly complete on the Woods farm in Haywood County.
As rains from Hurricane Isaac skirt their farm, brothers Clyde and Everett keep the combine rolling without skipping a beat. The Mid-South Farmers Cooperative members, who also farm with Everett’s son-in-law, Scott Farmer, say it’s the earliest they’ve ever shelled their corn.
“If the weather holds, we’ll be done by Labor Day,” says Clyde. “Usually, we’re just getting started by then.”
Indeed, corn will be harvested this year at the fastest pace on record, according to reports from the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) Tennessee field office. It’s just another example of the extremes experienced by producers across the Southeast this growing season, which started with a warmer-than-usual spring that encouraged early planting and was followed by summer’s record-high heat and one of the worst droughts in recent memory.
Even yields have been extreme, ranging from dismal to exceptional. In early September, NASS estimated the state’s corn yields at 87 bushels per acre, down from last year’s 131-bushel average and the lowest in 20 years for Tennessee growers.
“We’ve seen a wide variation in yield results, from reports of 300-plus bushels per acre all the way to down to zero in some of the hardest-hit areas,” says Alan Sparkman, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative agronomy marketing manager. “It depends on where you were and when the corn was planted. Considering this summer’s heat and drought, you would have thought our corn crop would have been a total disaster, but overall harvest is turning out better than expected.”
Like many growers, the Woodses planted more corn than ever — 1,000 acres — prompted mainly by higher commodity prices. They also installed irrigation this year on 225 of those acres and saw that investment pay off with a yield difference of more than 100 bushels per acre compared to their dry-land corn.
“Irrigation is the ultimate insurance,” says Clyde. “Input costs have gotten so high you just can’t afford not to have it these days. In fact, we’re going to put in more irrigation next year. I hope every year isn’t like this, but it sure made a difference this time.”
While he’s new to irrigation, Clyde is experienced with Croplan corn hybrids, which the Woods family planted exclusively in 2012. The entire farm averaged 207 bushels per acre, with yields in the 240-250 range under irrigation and a wider variation from as low as 40 up to 150 bushels per acre on dry-land fields. All in all, Clyde says it was a respectable performance considering the summer’s adverse conditions.
“I’ve always had good results with Croplan, and that’s the reason we keep planting it,” he says. “They may not always be the highest-yielding, but they’re dependable. You’ve got to fit the hybrid with the land — based on soil type, slope, and yield potential — and that’s what I’ve found with Croplan.”
In particular, Clyde has been pleased with Croplan 6926, which produced excellent yields this year in both irrigated and non-irrigated fields, and Croplan 6986, a proven performer on his more “marginal” ground.
“I started with this one [6986] three years ago and had really good results,” says Clyde. “It’s even done well in the rolling hills where we don’t expect high yields.”
Choosing the corn hybrid to fit the growing conditions is a smart practice for any crop production year, good or bad, says Ashley Plymale, director of seed and agronomy for Winfield Solutions, parent company of the Croplan brand.
“No hybrid fits across every acre,” says Ashley. “Even in a tough year like this one, genetics and hybrid placement come into play. The differences may be more subtle, but they’re still there. And, at $7 or $8 corn, a yield difference of five to 10 bushels per acre is significant.”
This summer’s oppressive weather also adversely affected corn production on the Monticello, Ky., farm of brothers Douglas and John Burton, who raise some 600 acres of dry-land corn in addition to 420 acres of wheat and 525 acres of soybeans. A drought/heatwave combination in June disrupted the pollination cycle of the corn — planted the second week of April — during its most critical stage of development. Although the overall yields have been predictably disappointing, the brothers say the Croplan 6926 corn they planted this year performed surprisingly well given the circumstances.
“A good corn year is all about rainfall timing, and this year’s was not the best, to put it mildly,” says John. “Through the month of June, the crop all but died, but we rebounded with eight to 10 inches of rain in the latter part of July. Where it survived the drought, the corn performed great. In those areas of the field, the yield monitor bumped 150 bushels. Under these conditions, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Although no corn hybrids are bred to withstand the two-week-long stretch of 105-plus-degree, dry weather that the Monticello area experienced, Croplan 6926 is well suited to handle the typical dry spells of the Southeast U.S., says TFC agronomy specialist Jack Christian.
“That hybrid has an excellent drought tolerance and is very versatile,” says Jack. “It’ll handle multiple soil types and can be successfully grown in both silt loam and clay. It’s got top-end yield potential under good weather but excellent stress tolerance, too.”
John adds that he was pleased with the structure of the corn.
“In a normal year, you can tell a lot just by looking at the plant,” he says. “Even with the harsh weather, the 6926 stands well, the tops are in it, the upper part is a little green … it’s got all the things that you normally want to see. We will definitely plant it again next year.”
The Burtons are still relative newcomers to Croplan, having been introduced to the brand after Overton Farmers Cooperative opened its branch store in the town just two years ago, but they say it’s been a welcome addition to their operation.
“We’ve been well pleased with the performance of the corn and soybean varieties we’ve tried so far,” says John. “We are always looking for better products and ways of doing things, and Croplan has made believers out of us.”
In East Tennessee, the corn crop on the farm of Knox County dairyman Curtis Blake was a little more fortunate than others, as some timely rains helped boost yields after the early summer heat wave. The Knox Farmers Cooperative member planted 180 acres — his largest crop ever — of Croplan’s 8221, 851, and 8410 hybrids from May 1-15.
“That 100-plus-degree weather hurt the earlier-planted field, but the rest of it has stayed in good shape,” says Curtis, who planned to harvest his corn in late September. “The stalks have big, girthy ears and really show no stress at all. I believe I’ll get 200 bushels per acre out of a lot of it.”
In addition to Mother Nature’s moisture, Curtis says his crop has benefited from the advice of TFC field agronomy specialist Tom Bible. In turn, Tom credits Curtis — who has a degree in plant and soil science from the University of Tennessee — for applying his knowledge to produce “one of the best crops in Knox County.”
“Curtis has done a good job of keeping good pH levels in his soil and his corn well fertilized, and he’s done a lot of the things that we talked about as far as applying micronutrients,” says Tom. “A plant that has the right nutrition can withstand drier times than a plant starved for nutrition. Curtis understands this very well, and he’s put the time and effort into making sure his corn crop prospers.”
Nutrient management has also played a key role in his crop’s success, says Curtis, who applied Winfield’s micronutrient fertilizer Max-In® Ultra ZMB® (#96221) to the corn in late June. He says the corn showed marked progress in response to the Max-In, which contains sulfur, boron, manganese, and zinc plus CornSorb™ technology to aid in absorption and movement of nutrients in the plant.
“To me, Max-In has been a saving grace,” says Curtis. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I had a field that was looking kind of sick, and when I sprayed it for weeds, I added Max-In to the tank. It turned that field on; it was like unlocking the door. In my opinion, it’s been just as important as putting water on it.”
Originally, his corn was meant to be silage to feed his 60-head milking herd of Holstein and Jersey cows, but with commodity prices at a premium, Curtis decided to harvest it for grain. Some of the crop is contracted with TFC as feed ingredients.
“When corn got up to $8 a bushel, it made more sense to shell it,” explains Curtis. “I’ve got enough silage to last awhile, and I’ll chop a lot of wheat in the spring. I thought it would be a good time to take advantage of higher prices and add income that I wouldn’t normally have.”
Whether his future corn production includes silage, grain, or both, Curtis says Croplan hybrids will certainly be part of those plans.
“I’ve been very, very satisfied with the product,” he says. “It’s stayed healthy through some stressful times. I’ll grow it again next year, that’s for sure.”
Though the positive results growers have seen with Croplan hybrids are a good measure of performance potential, Ashley warns that yield alone — especially in an unusual year like this — should not be the basis for next year’s seed decisions.
“This year’s test plot data will have to be taken with a grain of salt,” says Ashley. “Your best bet is to go back and compare 2010 and 2011 as well as 2012, and look for consistency. Sit down with your local Co-op representative and have those conversations to make sure you’re matching the right hybrid to the right conditions on your farm.”
Ashley says the 2013 Croplan seed lineup includes such consistent performers as 6926 and 8410, which have performed well across the board this year, as well as some new “standouts” like Croplan 6640 and 8621. However, he encourages producers to make seed decisions as soon as possible, since supply will likely be a challenge due to lower yields across most of the country’s corn production areas.
For more information on Croplan corn hybrids, visit www.answerplot.com or talk with your Co-op agronomist.
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