Plants or Crops

Summer 2020 Climate & Drought Outlook

August 12, 2020

With alternating cool and warm weather patterns throughout the last few months and the summer season ahead, temperature continues to be a challenge for climate forecasters in South Dakota.

Flowering in Corn

Corn is at or near the most critical growth condition. Successful flowering and pollination are very important in determining the fate of the kernel setting and development. This article summarizes the pollination process and the effects of dry, hot conditions on pollination.

Caterpillars Active in South Dakota Corn Fields

Both European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) and corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) are active in corn fields. Sometimes the caterpillar activity and identity of these two species can be confused.

Standing Corn Considerations

The January 2020 South Dakota Crop Progress Report indicated four percent of S.D. corn acres remain in the field. Given the record rainfall of 2019, current snow pack levels and the 3-to-6-month precipitation forecasts, farmers will likely be dealing with a wet spring in 2020, thus making the removal of those acres important but hard to accomplish.

Estimating Corn Yield in the Field

As a result of late planting and inconsistent weather, both in-field and across-field variations have been significant this year in South Dakota. Even on highly productive land, it is expected for corn yields to vary significantly. Estimating corn grain yield prior to harvest can help growers make management decisions, especially storage and marketing.

Corn Grain Moisture Discount: Why and How Much?

Corn marketed at the standard moisture content of 15.5% and 56 pounds per bushel typically contains 47.3 pounds of dry matter and 8.7 pounds of water. At harvest, a producer has to decide whether to sell (or even store) his corn at ‘as is’ moisture content or mechanically dry it before taking it to the buyer.

Valuing High-Moisture Corn and Earlage

A key advantage to using commodities that meet standard specifications and are frequently traded is that it is very easy to establish an economic value that is accepted by most users. The marketplace sets the value of corn, and other feedstuffs on a daily basis, provided those products meet some set of standard specifications.

A Case of Mistaken Caterpillar Identity

Tweets about European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) caterpillars in the stems of conventional corn and feeding in the whorls of corn are crossing my Twitter feed. Unfortunately, there is a problem with some of these tweets. Not all of the caterpillars that are being identified as European corn borer caterpillars are actually European corn borer caterpillars!

Storing Wet and Modified Distillers Grains

One of the primary challenges for livestock producers in the coming months could very well be feedstuff cost and availability due to the fact that the corn planted acreage and crop progress are both well behind normal benchmarks. One opportunity that might help cattle feeders proactively secure feed supplies would be storing wet or modified distiller’s grains now to be fed at a later date.

Black Cutworm Caterpillars Are Actively Feeding in South Dakota

We received numerous reports this week of small holes in V1-V2 corn plants. The holes are the result of early instar cutworm caterpillar feeding and, more specifically, black cutworm caterpillars. After hatching, black cutworm caterpillars initially feed on the leaves. As they develop and become larger, they pose a clipping or cutting threat to corn.