An OK year for yield, but not as good for quality in central MN corn harvests

At weigh-in this year, many Minnesota corn crops came in as lightweights.

Too much moisture left some Central Minnesota farmers with corn that took more resources to dry out and brought in less at the elevators. 

"The corn was a little poorer quality," said John Mages, who grows corn and soybeans about 7 miles northeast of Belgrade.

Corn is sold based on weight, so when corn is taken to an elevator, the elevator needs a test weight — a measurement of weight per volume. The standard test weight is 56 pounds for a bushel of corn.

Mages' corn had a test weight in the low 50s, he said, a weight that resulted in a discounted pay rate. 

Chad Willis, who grows corn and soybeans a mile east of Willmar and is a member of the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council for an area that covers a large portion of central, east-central and northeast Minnesota, said many farmers faced discounts when they hauled in corn because of low test weights. This is a particular problem in northwest Minnesota, he said. Northern Minnesota is also where more corn was left in the field, as it was too wet to use combines.

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Kevin Wesbur, who farms corn and soybeans and raises beef cattle about three miles southwest of Elrosa, said a lower test weight created challenges while harvesting, too.

"We're constantly trying to reset the combine, because when it's low test weight, when it's that wet, a lot of time the combine, even with the rotor, will crush the kernels," Wesbur said. This creates more a crop with more foreign material, is harder to dry and can also cause issues at the elevator.

In Willis' area, most people were able to finish their harvest. His corn yield was similar to 2018. Wesbur said his corn yield was slightly above average — a surprise, because his soybean yield was lower than normal.

Noah Hultgren, who raises corn, soybeans, sugar beets, kidney beans, sweet corn, peas and alfalfa about 7 miles west of Willmar and is on the Minnesota Corn Growers Association for a region very similar to Willis', also said his yield was slightly above average, though he has spoken with farmers who did not experience that.

"It really depended on how early some of the folks ... get the crop in the ground," Hultgren said.

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Mages said his yield was down from 2018 by about 10%.

But all four farmers said their corn was harvested wetter, with more drying required. According to Mages, his harvested corn ran through a grain dryer, which used liquefied petroleum gas, to lower the corn's moisture content. The goal is to reach between 14% and 15% moisture content for storage. His corn was probably in the mid- to high 20s when he started the harvest, Mages said, a few percentage points higher than his usual harvest stage.

Wesbur said his farm prioritized harvesting when the corn was wetter because he didn't want it to overwinter outside, as he knows fields left standing have a lot of losses.

The issues started with a wet fall and early freeze in 2018, Hultgren said, and then a long, drawn-out winter led to a cold and wet spring of delayed planting.

"Most farmers were probably, I want to say, a full three weeks to a month behind normal, and it's just in this short season that we have in Minnesota, it's really difficult to make up that kind of ground," he said.

Sarah Kocher is the business reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-255-8799 or skocher@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahAKocher.

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