2012
LOGAN COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE. LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com October 23, 2012
7
County U of I Extension office said that
if this was 10 years ago, the corn would
have already died. Newer drought-tolerant
hybrids resist the heat and seem to tolerate
the drought.
With RTK and the use of computers,
production statistics could be perfectly
gauged. Raw production numbers reported
in the county were anywhere from 0 to
170
bushels per acre, with the norm being
reported at 23 to 160.
Most producers reported that the
production of a given area was dependent
on the rain that fell. Those who examined
farm tiles found that while the tiles, some
24
to 48 inches below the surface, were
bone dry, there was still some soil moisture
in the root vicinity supporting the plants at
critical times.
Some other producers reported that
although their fields received no significant
rains, their corn crop was putting out normal
production due to superior soil types that
were holding moisture and adequately
keeping the plants from undergoing stress.
ne of the producers with acreage on the
east side of Airport Road reported normal
production levels of 150 to 180 bushels per
acre despite low rainfall amounts.
The harvest began early this year. Corn
that arrived at the elevator in the second
and third week in August came in with
typical moisture percentages, according to
Shew at Chestervale. This was surprising in
light of the heat and the lack of rainfall. The
individual kernels seemed to be somewhat
smaller than usual. The harvest proceeded
normally and finished early.
As the first loads came into the elevator,
it became apparent that even though the
drought-tolerant hybrids had produced
corn, the quality of that corn had been
compromised.
Molds are normal in harvested corn,
and every year’s crop has its own mold
challenges. Aspergillus is a common
mold present every year. However, during
drought years (1988, 2005 and 2012) the
normally occurring variety of Aspergillus is
replaced by Aspergillus flavus, which puts
off a toxin in the mycotoxin family called
aflatoxin, a carcinogen. This corn crop was
above average in aflatoxin because of the
lack of rainfall and the heating qualities of
the season.
According to Don Ludwig at Elkhart
Elevator, loads of corn with less than 20
parts per billion aflatoxin were accepted and
loads with more than 20 ppb were rejected.
The normal process of testing at the
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