Crop Quality Management for Harvest 2017

Corn and soybean yields in 2017 were better than expected, which will add to the largest grain surpluses in recent years. As of the November 9, 2017 USDA crop production estimates, national corn yield estimates exceeded 2016 production and were closer to 2016 production in Iowa than preharvest expectations. Soybean yields are estimated to be lower than in the record year of 2016, but total US supply will be larger due to acreage increases

Management of Flood-submerged Grain

There have been flooded fields with water over the grain in Southwest, Northwest and East Central Iowa this year. This was caused by intense rains over Labor Day and the following weekends. Poor stalk strength causing downed corn has increased the amount of grain covered by flood waters. Grain submerged by uncontrolled flood waters is considered adulterated under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. This policy dates to 2008 when grain storage in Cedar Rapids were inundated and has been applied to several situations since then. Adulterated material cannot be put in commercial facilities of any type, where there would be a chance of entering human or animal food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its flooded food guidance on September 17, 2018. Grains are considered food crops

Horizontal and Vertical Airflow Resistance of Shelled Corn at Various Bulk Densities

Airflow resistance of shelled corn was measured in both horizontal and vertical directions at eight airflow rates between 0.76 and 28.6 mVm2.min and at three different bulk densities. Data were fitted to the Ergun equation and multipliers for horizontal airflow were determined. For airflow rates above 6 mm^-min, horizontal airflow resistance was about 58% of the vertical resistance. For airflow rates at or below 6 mm^-min, horizontal resistance was about 45% of the vertical resistance

Testing and Handling GMO and Non-GMO Grains

In April, 1999, the three largest US com processors, Cargill, Archer-Daniels-Midland, and AE Staley announced that they would not accept corn from hybrids that had genetic modifications not yet approved for sale in the European Union (EU) (www.grainnet.com/BreakingNews/articles.html?ID=3581). While the USA sells little whole com to Europe, it does export com gluten products to the EU. Gluten feed and meal are produced from the protein and bran fractions of com after starch has been extracted in a wet mill plant. This statement affected an estimated 3-7% of the com about to be planted this spring, but nonetheless greatly increased the awareness of the US market to the rapidly expanding genetically modified organism (GMO) issue in Europe. Consumer pressures increased through the growing season to the point that, in September, ADM requested that elevators serving its plants separate all GMO products from all non-GMO products, regardless of EU approval status. (www.grainnet.com/BreakingNews/articles.html?ID=4653

Quality and Storage Challenges for the 2005 Crop

Management of the 2005 Iowa crop is presenting varied challenges for quality and storage. In southeast Iowa, drought-induced aflatoxin in corn is the primary issue. In NC-NW Iowa, larger than anticipated corn and soybean crops combined with large old crop carryovers and new demands of the ethanol industry have caused significant amounts of corn to be placed in outdoor piles. Management of aflatoxin and outdoor/temporary storage is presented. Statewide, rapid maturity and field drydown reduced soybean protein levels sharply compared to the previous 3 years

The Impact of FDA Traceability Rules on Iowa Agriculture

In June of 2006, the Food and Drug Administration will begin enforcement of new bioterror related recordkeeping rules for food products. Handlers and shippers of food products (including bulk grains) will be required to keep records of the origin and type of food received, and to whom the food products were then sold or delivered. Tracking grain from farmers through to end users will present major challenges, but also will support other market-driven requests for traceability, purity and food safety. This session will present the regulations as they apply to farmers, grain handlers and processors and will offer some initial steps toward meeting the requirements

Crop Quality in 2019: Another Unusual Year

This year continues the chain of growing seasons with extremes and rapid changes beyond our long-term experiences. This made for periods of both stress and favorable crop growth despite the planting dates. Frost, potentially killing in the northern half of Iowa, is expected between October 11-13. USDA data indicate a wide range of maturity due to planting date, but the periods of hot weather scattered through September and early October may have reduced the potential for very high moisture corn and soybean. Variability will be the key issue to manage in 2019 corn and soybeans

Current Storage and Handling Issues for the 2007 Crop

The October 12, 2007 crop report indicated a US corn production of 13.318 billion bushels as compared to 10.565 billion bushels in 2006. Soybean production was set at 2.598 billion bushels, down from 3.188 billion in 2006. The Iowa corn crop was set at 2.511 billion bushels versus 2.050 billion bushels in 2006. The Iowa soybean crop was established at 0.44 3 billion bushels compared to 0.510 billion in 2006. Overall, the shift from soybeans to corn represented a net increase of 2.18 billion bushels in US grain volume, approximately 0.50 billion of which was in Iowa. Increased ethanol demand has further pressured available storage by requiring that an estimated 0.50 billion bushels of Iowa corn that might have left the state remain here for ethanol use in the 2007-2008 marketing year. On average, ethanol plants have storage for about 5% of annual consumption with the expectation that the long term storage functions would be provided by farmers and elevators. The net impact is that Iowa may be short 0.6- l.0 billion bushels of covered storage for the 2007 crop