Why are farmers taking corn in already?

[hoosierdoc]

Along SR37 I saw numerous fields with probably 98% of the crop taken in and several isolated rows remaining. Anyone know why this may be? It's curious that it's down so early and also curious that they left little strips.

Maybe I'm a consipiracy theorist but it seems like there's some insurance thing at play.

If they were going to plan a different crop, why leave little rows of corn in all of the fields?

 

[singlestacksig]

cutting it for cattle feed.. you can't save the corn crop now, but at least you can feed your cows for a little longer..

 

[hornadylnl]

Sounds like seed corn to me.

 

[indyjoe]

The corn they are dropping is already lost. Salvaging what they can. Fields near us have strips of 3-5 rows of corn every so often. I wonder if that was left to keep wind from stripping the fields, if it continues to stay bad.

 

[jeremy]

The are cutting the corn down for Livestock Feed, Silage. A LOT of the Corn in areas of the State pollinated (attempted anyway) last week. Due to the heat and the lack of rain it was probably sterile corn, meaning all they would have had at the end of the year was a corn cob and no corn...

 

[DownByTheTracks]

Seed corn is planted in male and female rows, like this:

M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M

They only take the female corn and just mow the male. Seed corn is on a completely different schedule than commercial corn.

 

[jeremy]

Seed corn is planted in male and female rows, like this:

M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M

They only take the female corn and just mow the male. Seed corn is on a completely different schedule than commercial corn.

To early to be pulling seed corn as well...

I thought it was 2 rows of Male Corn for 4 rows of female Corn?!

 

[indyjoe]

Seed corn is planted in male and female rows, like this:

M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M

They only take the female corn and just mow the male. Seed corn is on a completely different schedule than commercial corn.

Ah, that explains the rows. Although it looks like they took 80% of the field. So your MF diagram is a little off for the fields I'm looking at.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

MFFFF would be 80% F.

 

[indyjoe]

MFFFF would be 80% F.

Corn this year seems 100% F'ed.

 

[Justin Case]

The are cutting the corn down for Livestock Feed, Silage. A LOT of the Corn in areas of the State pollinated (attempted anyway) last week. Due to the heat and the lack of rain it was probably sterile corn, meaning all they would have had at the end of the year was a corn cob and no corn...

^^^^THIS^^^^^

 

[hoosierdoc]

Seed corn is planted in male and female rows, like this:

M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M FFFF M

They only take the female corn and just mow the male. Seed corn is on a completely different schedule than commercial corn.

OK, so what about the

MMM FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF MMM

that I am seeing? Literally about 98% of the area is down

 

[indyjoe]

OK, so what about the

MMM FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF MMM

that I am seeing? Literally about 98% of the area is down

I think that is closer to ours as well. I assume this is non-pollinated corn as mentioned above. So no corn would ever form on the cob.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I think that is closer to ours as well. I assume this is non-pollinated corn as mentioned above. So no corn would ever form on the cob.

I guess that would make sense. I still don't know why they left some, unless they have to prove how poor the yield would have been come harvest time for the insurer?

 

[Scutter01]

I think I read where the mild winter allowed many farmers to plant their corn early in the hopes of getting it down in time to squeeze in an extra crop of something before next winter. Could that have anything to do with it?

> Not a farmer, but I do enjoy eating, so I feel I have a tenuous connection.

 

[indyjoe]

I guess that would make sense. I still don't know why they left some, unless they have to prove how poor the yield would have been come harvest time for the insurer?

That makes some sense. The wife and I theorized about see how it would have done. But insurance gives a valid reason to do that.

 

[singlestacksig]

leave some for deer bait?

 

[DownByTheTracks]

To early to be pulling seed corn as well...

I thought it was 2 rows of Male Corn for 4 rows of female Corn?!

Most seed corn hasn't pollinated, or was just detasseled. That's the way my farmers are doing it, I suppose different seed companies could set up their rows differently.

It's silagae chopping for sure. The little bit that's left might be for wildlife.

 

[WhitleyStu]

Saw a story on TV last fall about the farmers in the southern drought states cutting the corn for silage when it didn't mature. Probably a lot of that going to happen here this year.

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

To early to be pulling seed corn as well...

I thought it was 2 rows of Male Corn for 4 rows of female Corn?!

have no idea now, but in the late '80s it was 1 male for 4 female every field i detassled. boy that was a lot of work for $4.00/hr.