E2-Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 19, 2002 Fulton County Grower Manages Under Unique Conditions (Continued from Page El) small grains and manages timberland as well. But McLucas has also de veloped systems that work for growing and handling com. While he’s experiencing his share of drought loss this year, some of the fields are produc ing moderate to good yields. “The best word I can give you is ‘erratic,’” he said of the com crop. He noted yield esti mates ranging from 11 to more than ISO bushels per acre, with a good part coming in at around 90-100 bushels. According to McLucas, those figures would be a lot worse without the manage ment practices he employs on his limestone-based soils that contain a lot of alluvial sand stone and shale in the top layer. The key to maximizing com yields is the no-till or min imum tillage approach he has been using for more than 20 years. In the past four years, he has switched to a strip-till planter, which works a narrow band for each row. The difference in soil quali ty and moisture conservation beween no-tilled and plowed ground is significant, McLu cas said. After years of obser vation, and one recent experi ence with planting com in a chisel-plowed field, he is ready to put the plow away. According to McLucas, chisel plowing opened up the soil to greater moisture loss and contributed to a crop fail ure. “Never again,” he said of using the plow to prepare com ground. A T-shirt held up at bin door demonstrates signifi cant amount of air being forced up through corn from below by a fan aeration system. The bin here contains shelled corn about six feet deep. McLucas said that even when the bin is full, there is no ap preciable loss of air movement. McLucas looks over his land in “The Narrows” area of Great Cove. No-tilling also helps prevent erosion in McLucas’s fields, many of which have fairly steep slopes. For planting wheat after com, McLucas makes one pass with a heavy-duty disk harrow. It’s necessary to work the com stalks down to reduce disease pressure on the wheat, he said. In addition to moisture shortages and other chal lenges, McLucas estimated that deer cause him upward to $30,000 com crop damage a year. A possible advantage to farming here is what McLucas calls a “micro-climate,” which creates unusually heavy fogs and dews each spring and fall. This phenomenon occurs in a relatively small area of the valley, including the land he farms. According to McLucas, these waterings can contribute significant moisture for crops. McLucas makes sure of this: the com he does harvest will be dry, high-quality grain that brings a premium price. His propane-powered dryer system can dry shelled com from 25 percent to 17 percent moisture as fast as it is har vested by his four-row Glean er combines and hauled to the pit where it is augered to the dryer. “If you start the dryer at 6 in the morning, by 10 at night it will do 4,000 bushels,” he said. According to McLucas, the TIMPTE HOPPER BOTTOM TRAILERS • AvellaWeinthe following lengths. 33'5", 36', 40“, 42'2" A 48' • Side height*; 86", 72", 78", 84" « 90" Trailers In Stock * Over 30 New Timpte Grain Trailers in Stock. 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Box 127 * Blue 8011, PA 17506 717/3544971 • 800/2924752 • fox: 717/355-2114 www.mhfby.com drying costs about 7 cents per bushel, including propane and electricity to run the dryer fans. When the com is dried to 17 percent, it is augered to a 16,000-bushel round steel bin equipped with a commercial aeration setup, which com pletes the drying process. This is accomplished by a high powered fan that forces air from the floor of the bin up ward through the com. Once com comes into the bin in the fall, the fan runs continuously until January to ensure dry, quality kernels. It takes about $35 worth of electricity per month a small price to pay, according to McLucas. He doesn’t take chances on com going bad. “The grain bin people tell me I’m overventilated, but on the other hand, I don’t have moldy grain,” he said. McLucas starts harvesting com at 25 percent moisture in order to head off field losses. By the time harvest is com pleted, the com is at about 18 percent moisture in the field, he said. For hauling com, as well as hay and small grain, McLucas has another solid system in place. His son-in-law, Donald Truax, runs a trucking busi- The for Grain & Bulk Commodity Transportation Equipment HI The lightweight Grain Trailer 33'6" x 66" x 96" Farm Hopper In Stock Relatively small but fllled-out ears are char acteristic of McLucas’s crop this year. ness, mainly hauling ag com- modities. “I guess you could say it’s an in-house trucking compa ny,” McClucas said. In addition to farming, McLucas was recently named secretary of the Pennsylvania Com Growers Association. He is also hosting field com trials on a number of varieties this year. McLucas contracted his en tire com crop this August to ensure the benefit of a rela tively high com market. What does he think of the price? “It’s close to what it ought to be,” he said. “It’s getting there.”