Page 30—Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 13,1993
Grower’s Experience: Prevent Compaction, Improve Corn Yields
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.)
Clarence Keener believes
com growing and harvesting
equipment is too heavy and the
chances for compaction are
greater than farmers realize.
Dealing with compaction
problems on his 80-acre farm
(in addition to another 120 he
rents) allowed him to harvest
the most amount of com he’s
ever seen on his farm 211
bushels and made him tops
in the state in the large acre size
shelled com class from the Pen
nsylvania Master Com Grow
ers Association Five Acre Com
Club.
Keener will be honored with
the award at the Pennsylvania
Com Conference, scheduled
March 2 at the Ramada Inn in
West Middlesex.
At an interview at his farm,
Keener, who has farmed for 32
years, outlined the major char
acteristics that went into
achieving the highest yields in
the state for the class.
Using subsoiler
“What has helped me in the
last few years is going into deep
tillage, using what they call a
V-ripper,“ said Keener. “That
was one of the contributing fac
tors in being able to break the
200-bushel yield.”
All his life Keener has
dreamed of being able to
harvest more than 200 acres. A
combination of choosing the
right seed, preventing compac
tion, and the right growing con
ditions (nearly ideal in the
southeastern part of the state in
1992) garnered him the
recognition.
Keener met with Wilmer
Nissley, a Pioneer seed rep
resentative based in Mount Joy.
Keener selected Pioneer 3245,
which the salesman and Keener
believed would do well on the
farm, considering the
Hagerstown-Duffield loam soil
type as well as the growing con
ditions and soil fertility.
‘ ‘ It was com that was planted
into a field that hasn’t had com
on it for 5-6 years,” said Keen
er. “It had been sod, and there
fore that’s one of the contribut
ing factors.”
Prevented compaction
Keener said the sod allowed
the soil to aerate and organic
matter to work down in. Also,
keeping the heavy equipment,
including tractors, wagons,
bins, and combines off the field
as much as possible, prevented
compaction, which has been
proved to decrease com yields.
Using a subsoiler, in this
case, a V-ripper, has proven
effective. But the weather con
ditions the past fall weren’t ide
al for subsoiling, considering
the wet and cool conditions.
According to Keener, the
ground must be as dry as possi
ble. ‘ ‘To rip well, it has tO'be fit
> -
for planting type of tillage,’ ’ he
said.
The field numbered “5”
on careful records kept by the
com grower was a 10-acre
parcel. The ground, worked by
minimum tillage, had com
planted the last week of April.
Harvesting took place late in
October.
Alleviate compaction
Regarding the problems of
compaction, Keener said that
more of it takes place on conti
nuous com than it does on a
rotation, “because alfalfa and
so forth and some of the other
crops with their rooting sys
tems will help alleviate com
paction,” he said.
Also, working closely with
Pioneer, and choosing a good
variety and obtaining soil sam
ples on a regular basis, in addi
tion to seeding the right popula
tion at the right planting date,
also helped.
Keener noted that his farm
ing operation didn’t use any
animal manure since 1974.
(Until that date. Keener raised
steers on the farm, and now
raises entirely cash crops.)
Observe practices
Keener said a few years ago
he won the National Com
Growers Association award for
state yields. He was invited out
to Indiana to tour seed plants
and to observe other cultural
farming practices.
One thing Keener learned is
ST. LOUIS, Mo. Com
growers will quiz the experts
about their expectations for
com prices in 1993 and beyond
during the upcoming Com
Classic.
A trio of marketing sessions
will examine market highs and
lows, offer crystal ball fore
casts, and delve into a variety of
marketing techniques to max
imize profit potential.
The National Com Growers
Association’s 35th annual Com
Classic will be Feb. 21-23 in
San Antonio, Texas. More than
2,500 registrants are expected
to attend.
On Monday, early risers can
participate in a sunrise market
ing session sponsored by
Doane Agricultural Services
Co. In a mini-classroom set
ting, expert Jack Tower will
discuss ways to customize gen
eral marketing strategies. He’ll
also answer questions about
pricing fundamentals.
Noted ag economist John
Marten will lead two Tuesday
morning breakout sessions
called “Prices, Production, and
Politics in 1993.” He’ll provide
€®3M TAM HEWS
’ENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC.
Clarence Keener, Manhelm, was honored by the Five-Acre Corn Club for a harvest
on a3+ acre corn size totalling about 211 bushels per acre. This photo shows the origi
nal homestead, built in 1859, of which a family room was added about eight years ago
Photo by Andy Andrews.
the way Midwest farmers
handle compaction. There, they
do not follow the same rows
when discing or chisel plowing
in the fall. Farmers in Pennsyl
vania, on the other hand, tend to
aggravate compaction by fol
lowing the same rows as the
planter or combine. In the Mid
west, they disc and chisel dia
gonally from the rows keep
ing away from the same tracks
as the combine. By going off
row and working diagonally,
the areas under compaction
stress are not recompacted
For Keener, the contest itself
encourages com growers to
“become involved on your cost
of production,” he said. “It’s
not only the yield, it’s what
your cost of production is.”
Corn Growers To Debate
Key Issues
an insider’s view of market
trends and take his best shot at
predicting which way com
prices will go. Marten’s presen
tation will cover the nuts and
bolts of making market predic
tions. Marten’s appearance is
sponsored by Farm Journal.
The first session begins at 9
a.m. and repeats at 10:45 a.m.
Rounding out the trio of
marketing sessions is a special
V. A. Ishler
Dairy and
Animal Science
Extension
Some increase in problems
with feed intake, production,
and health may result this year
from mold that developed on
the com silage while the crop
was in the field or during stor
age when ensiled at below nor
mal moisture levels due to
delays in harvesting. Consider
able amounts of mold may
depress energy content by five
percent and reduce feed intake.
Tuesday afternoon presentation
by the Chicago Board of Trade
(CBOT). “Don’t Just Sell Your
Grain: Market Your Grain”
covers the how-to’s of trading
through cash, futures, and
option markets as well as gov
ernment programs. It features
CBOT education specialist Jeff
Campbell. The session begins
at 1:30 p.m.
Participation in the market
ing sessions is included in the
Com Classic registration fee.
Other
If any of these symptoms
occur, the suspect forage
should be sampled and sent for
a mycotoxin screen. Do not
sample only the moldy portions
of the feed, since mycotoxins
are usually present in samples
Yields differ
Keener cautioned that far
mers must be careful in consid
ering what varieties of com
they choose, because yields
will differ according to site
specific conditions. Varieties
differ to how they handle diffe
rent types of weather condi
tions and plant and disease
stress.
Also, farmers should be care
ful to choose different varieties
and an array of planting dates.
‘‘Don’t put all your eggs in one
basket,’ ’ he said. “You have to
use three or four different num
bers so you can average out.”
Winning awards such as
these allows Keener to meet
with different farmers from
around the state and country to
exchange information and
At Classic
Corn Problems
If mycotoxins produced by
mold are present in appreciable
quantities, production ’ may
drop drastically, animals may
go off-feed, and increases may
occur in acetonemia, displaced
abomasum, diarrhea, hemor
raging, infertility, and
infection.
improving yield and profit
goals. “The incentive to win
ning I think is competing on a
farm-to-farm basis, to see how
you compare tillage practices
and looking at it from an overall
program and see whether
you’re producing com on a
cost-per-bushel basis compared
to the other fanners in the con
test,” he said.
But in managing his own
crops, more important is to
keep abreast of different variet
ies, which he does in field test
plots. “Before I choose a varie
ty, I’d like to see how it does on
my farm.
“Since I have achieved my
goal of more than 200 bushels,
I’ll have to set my goals even
higher with the new technology
and new varieties.”
All sessions will be held at the
San Antonio Convention
Center.
In addition to providing a
wide range of educational
opportunities, Com Classic fea
tures an extensive trade show. It
also includes an evening of
entertainment by country music
stars Crystal Gayle and Lionel
Cartwright.
To register for Com Classic,
call NCGA at (314) 275-9915.
that exhibit no visable signs of
mold. Once the level and type
of mycotoxin(s) are deter
mined, appropriate recommen
dations can be made.
The variability observed in
com silage is also showing up
in high-moisture com. There
has been a tendency for lower
protein values, and because
com did not dry down properly,
there will be more variation in
moisture content.