Even without phantom yield loss, harvesting corn at moisture levels of 24% and above has several perks, including the following.
- Early corn harvest can hedge against adverse late-fall weather. “The more we get in early, the less of a chance we have for high winds or late-season disease to move in on vulnerable stalks,” says Steve Luther, farm manager of Stine Seed Farm, Adel, Iowa.
- End users may pay a basis premium for early-harvested corn. Prior to harvest, end users such as ethanol plants may run short of corn. “There’s a basis premium you can get by harvesting corn early and delivering it to them,” Luther says.
- Hybrid yield potential increases. “I can plant a racehorse hybrid [with high yield potential] that might have stalk issues later in the season,” says Robb Ewoldt, who farms near Davenport, Iowa. He has simultaneously expanded the relative maturities of his hybrid lineup, moving from a top of 112-day corn to one of 119-day corn. Longer-maturing hybrids have higher yield potential, he adds.
- Full-season soybeans have higher yield potential. Ewoldt has flipped his spring planting schedule by planting soybeans before corn. This enables him to plant fuller-season soybean varieties with higher yield potential. “By mid-October, I’m normally done with corn to where I can harvest full-season soybeans,” he says. This also enables Ewoldt to dodge potential adverse September soybean harvest weather. “In September, hot temperatures and high winds can drive soybean moisture down to 9%,” he says.
Drier soybeans lead to more cracking and fewer soybeans harvested. A University of Nebraska analysis calculated a 4.4% yield decline for 9%-moisture soybeans compared with soybeans harvested at 13% moisture.