Grain Damage Showing Up In Some Regions Of Corn Belt - Cracking, Mold Thanks To Endless Harvest

[hatrack]

OMAHA (DTN) -- Elevator managers across Iowa and Illinois are concerned about how well last fall's corn is storing on the farm, and some producers are finding problems as they core bins to check on conditions.

One example: Iowa producer Ben Reinsche said he had a 10,000-bushel bin with corn that went into storage in November and was well aerated, but the three sump doors had stopped flowing. Earlier this week, his crew used the local co-op's grain vacuum to clean out the bin, and found "a big chunk of fines from this low-test-weight, easily-cracking crop had heated up in the center of the bin. Had we not been moving physical grain until spring, I'm sure that I would have had 400 bushels of 'manure' rather than hot fines that we could blend out," Reinsche said.

There's no accurate measure of how many bins are in this situation. According to a recent DTN online poll, most farmers feel grain is in good shape so far. Of farmers with corn stored on-farm, 76 percent said grain was in good condition, though of that group, 17 percent (or 13 percent of all respondents) said they were still drying grain. Another 17 percent of the total respondents had found hot spots or were expecting minor mold damage; 6 percent expect major grain loss. Grain merchandisers contacted by DTN all said they are urging producers to keep a close eye on stored grain.

A merchandiser at a co-op in northeast Iowa said she estimates 75 percent of producers in her area are finding problems. It could be a "nightmare all the way through the marketing year," as damaged corn comes to town and elevators have to find ways to blend the lower quality grain. In southeast Iowa, at Farmers Co-op in Ainsworth, Joni Sandburg said problems are widespread. She said, "If don't watch these bins and keep them moving, there will be a big train wreck" ahead, as they encounter big discounts or even have loads rejected for damage.

EDIT

http://agnews.dtn.com/index.cfm?show=4&id=0702BF4D

[madrchsod]

1. it`s been a really bad harvest year in the corn belt.

the fields and corn were to wet to harvest. there was a window that provided several weeks but then the winter snow stopped any remaining harvesting. storing wet corn is always a bad gamble...but that`s farming

[pansypoo53219]

2. just pray i find white popcorn this year.

i could only find blue/black/red last summer and it's all gone! luckily i really stashed up on white from previous years. freezers are awesome things.

[pnwmom]

3. Where do they explain that the cause is "endless harvest"? All I can get out of this

is that they put wet corn into storage, and now it's turning up moldy.