LAGRANGE, Ind. — I visited a cornfield last week where a lot of grain was lost during harvest. More than I had ever seen, in fact.
A little corn on the ground can add up to a lot of loss. Just 2 kernels per square foot is the equivalent to a bushel of corn per acre. Therefore, 20 kernels inside a 10-square-foot area add up to a bushel lost per acre.
In this field, there were a lot of ears on the ground. You can estimate losses from ears by measuring 1/100 of an acre, and collecting the ears on the ground. One 1/100 acre is 435 square feet. If you are planting 30-inch rows, and have a 4-row harvester, the distance to measure is 43.5 feet from the back of the machine across the 4 rows. The loss of just one ear in that size area equals one bushel per acre. I estimated there were 6 or 7 ears on the ground in the area I checked.
Between the ear loss and the kernel loss, I think this grower was losing 15-16 bushels per acre of corn, corn that will not be sold or fed, the equivalent of $50+ worth of corn per acre in today’s market. And some of that corn will sprout next year in his bean field and become a weed to be contended with. In this 30-acre field, the losses might total $1,500 in just this field!
But that’s not all that was lost here. The corn in that field was already “paid for” because the grower had paid for seed, fertilizer, spraying and making multiple passes over the field. It’s a bigger loss than most people realize.
When you see losses in a field, it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to evaluate the situation. Is the root cause of the issue something you can adjust for on your picker or combine? For $1,500 worth of corn, you can afford to pay someone to adjust the equipment.
Other serious questions to ask: Did the problem arise from disease or insect issues, or is this a variety that does not stand up well in the field? Again, losing $50 worth of corn per acre begs answers to some serious questions that affect your livelihood.
— Jeff Burbrink, Extension Educator – Ag & Natural Resources, Purdue Extension – LaGrange County
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