Corn Appraisals

Harvest is quickly approaching and the last week of 90+ degree days and the flash drought we are experiencing in the mid-west is strengthening the pace. I've been working silage appraisals in Benton County, IN all week and am so lucky to get to continue through this Labor Day Weekend (thankfully they will NOT be chopping on Sunday).  I'm just taking a little break while the choppers open up another field.

In the crop insurance world we appraise corn using a weight method. Basically, we measure out 1/1000th of an acre (17.4 feet in 30 inch rows) and weigh all the ears from that length of row. We also work up something called the shelling factor (to account for the weight of the cobs) and test for moisture. After plugging the weight, shelling factor, and moisture into a formula we arrive at an ESTIMATE yield in bushels per acre. The whole process is very simple but it does take time and man power.

Weighing Samples

Testing for Moisture

While taking my break from work I decided to do some yield checks on some of our own fields. I am very surprised with what I found. In an ideal case, I would have taken multiple samples from different sections of the field for an average but since it's 90+ degrees and high humidity, I only took one random sample in each field. Below are my findings. I'm excited to see after harvest how "off" I will be from the actual yields. Let me stress again, this type of appraisal, or any appraisal for that matter, is an ESTIMATE!

Triple L Farms (I am the current Farm Manager of this 40 acres of corn)

This sample was taken from a dry hill straight west of the F8 windmill. I was severely disappointed with the size of the ears, they seemed small in diameter but each ear was fully pollinated and filled all the way to the tip. We had a good stand with 31,000 plants per acre. We usually plant at a 32,000-34,000 rate.

The one sample I weighted was 15.1 pounds with a moisture of 29.0%. Perfectly dry corn should be 15% moisture but we will start harvesting at anything less than 20%.

The yield for this sample was 179.6 bushels/acre.

31 ears in 17.4 feet = 31,000 plants per acre

The best and the worst of the sample

South Farm

This sample was taken directly east of the corn crib and seemed to be much better corn than Triple L with much larger ears. BUT, once I shucked all the ears I found that many of them had "tipped back" meaning they did not fully pollinate. Another good stand with a 33,000 plant population.

This sample weighed 17.3 pounds with a moisture of 29.1% and averaged 205.4 bushels/acre.



33 ears in 17.4 feet = 33,000 Population

Tipped Back Ears

I will be back after harvest to let you know how the yields turned out!