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Iowa | 1) Use a RW hybrid. Rw pop peaks in 2nd year, and will DECLINE over time in long-term con't corn. Be advised that RW hybrids can occasionally fail. I have a few fields with 25 years con't corn and they will stand straight and true with no RW treatment. 2nd year corn will tangle up or more likely go flat w/o Rw control.
2) Chop the stalks, chisel it as black as possible. Prob the most important step for getting a good stand next spring. Chopping the stalks has really helped for me.
3) Fall NH3 will be just as good as sidedress (better than sidedress if you don't add a little N at planting to help the corn get started), and better than spring liquid if you wait until about Thanksgiving to apply it so there is very little chance for loss. HOWEVER, many times it won't seal, especially if chiseled a little wet (like it looks will be the case this year). Main bottleneck with C/C is applying spring N when neighbors are planting. Many years it just won't seal in the fall in the cloddy pothole areas of the chiseled fields. Try to wait and chisel any field to be corn again next year until it is dry and mellow--in years when possible--then you can fall apply NH3. Otherwise I guarentee it will not seal.
4) Don't get too caught up in a hybrid's C/C rating. A superior hybrid is a superior hybrid.
5) Use row cleaners and drive the planter a little slower to reduce "bounce".
6) 4500 gal/A hog manure and you will have better corn than on your bean stubble. Of course not always possible, but manure makes C/C almost fool proof if you follow the other suggestions on tillage, planter speed, etc.
7) Newish machinery will not make a nickle's worth of difference. Good maint and carefull operation will make a WORLD of difference. Keep your planter in top shape. I'd rather have a 20 year old planter kept in like-new shape than a 4 year old planter that has just been dragged around and not re-calibrated annually.
8) Sometimes fields will end up with a little more grass pressure than if rotated with beans. Upping the rate of the preplant herb a little will usually be wise. Now with liberty and Roundup, raising C/C has gotten easier, but don't try it "naked". Rotate between Liberty and Roundup and you can control the volunteer corn. Sell your cultivator(if you can get anyone to buy it).
9) Build more storage. Do c/c correctly and there will be no yield penalty. It is just like all of farming--pay attention to the little details and you will do good. | |
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For Jedeka: 3rd year corn experience from another central Iowan
