Straight from the Horse's Mouth

Duane A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator, Webster County February 27, 2010 Edition I had the opportunity this past week to attend my first Farm Bill oriented meeting of 2010. The emphasis was on preparing for reporting to the ACRE program. For those that aren’t aware, producers need to finish gathering together their grain settlement sheets, grain bin measurements and acreage certifications. I think we need to talk this week about what producers need to provide if they opted for the Farm Bill Average Crop Revenue Election and if we have time or room we should discuss stored grain. I think we may see some problems as spring gets closer. ACRE Program Provisions: As I mentioned above, FSA requires producers to give proof of yield for crops on each farm number. There are certain things you can use to report yield and some are still under question. For those producers who have an internet connection you can go to: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_Notice/dcp_215.pdf to download the official USDA Production Evidence for the ACRE Program Guidelines. One thing is certain, producers who have enrolled in the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program can certify production on an FSA-658, “Record of Production and Yield” to establish the benchmark farm yield. The benchmark farm yield is based on the production for the 5 most recent crop years; for 2009 specifically, the benchmark farm yield is composed of data from 2004 through 2008. The FSA form 578 is available from your local FSA office, or contact the Webster County UNL Extension office and we can get an electronic 658 form for use on computer to you. You can enter your data via computer directly to the form and then print it off. Several of us at the meeting were discussing whether or not ACRE would kick in this year, and if it did what the potential payments would be. There is a tool that you can use to help determine this, if you have a computer. This newly released farm management tool estimates the amount of Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) payments a farm will receive for its 2009 crop. The ACRE payment estimator is available for download from the farm analysis solution tools (FAST) section of the Farmdoc website at http://www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/. Any producer who uses the “ACRE Payment Estimator” enters their state and the crop for which ACRE payment estimates are desired. The Excel program then estimates the state ACRE payment. This estimate equals the state guarantee minus state revenue. The state guarantee is known for 2009 and equals the benchmark yield times a benchmark price. The ACRE payment estimator includes state guarantees for corn, soybeans, and wheat for most states in the United States including Nebraska. Good luck!! Corn Storage Problems: We all know that quite of bit of this years' corn crop was put into storage under less than ideal conditions, thus making it somewhat more vulnerable to potential storage losses though moisture related problems like mold growth, heat, etc. And you've probably all heard of stories over the past month or two of corn that has been found out of condition. It was tough to get the corn crop uniformly dried for good storage conditions over the winter. It will be even more important to make sure that the grain mass is uniform in temperature and moisture once spring arrives and we get warmer temperatures, which can cause a greater concern for corn spoilage. Several things to keep in mind for those stored bushels. First, remember that stored grain will vary considerably in moisture even though it may have been run through the dryer or air dried in the bin. It went in the bin with individual kernels varying in moisture by 15-20% from driest to wettest. It doesn't take many wet kernels to cause problems, and that has already happened in some cases across the region. Here are some suggestions to head off some potential problems. During the spring holding period, keep cold grain cold. Seal fans and ventilate headspace intermittently. Wet corn should be checked weekly, and monitored for temperature increases. Walk across or probe the surface to see if crusting has occurred. Take the grain temperature with a grain temperature probe near the bin wall every 20 feet around the outside and a couple places in the middle of the bin. Let the probe stand 7-10 minutes in each place before taking a reading. If there is more than a 10 degree difference in temperature between any two spots in the bin, run the aeration fan long enough to push a temperature front through the entire grain mass. If you don't have a temperature probe, test for signs of heating by turning on the aeration fan and leaning into the access hatch or climb into the bin. Ask yourself if the air hitting your face feels warmer than expected? Do you detect a musty odor? Does condensation form on the inside surface of the bin roof on a cold day? Wet corn should have 0.2 cfm (cubic feet per minute) per bushel of well-distributed aeration - double the normal rates for dry corn. As temperatures rise later this spring, make sure you warm the grain mass to within 10-15 degrees of the outside air temperature. This will reduce moisture condensation. And moisture condensation is one of the biggest enemies of stored grain. Once moisture increases, heat will be formed, and then it's like a snowball rolling downhill: your problem will escalate. It may take just a couple of days to move a drying front through the grain mass, or may take several weeks. It all depends upon fan speed and bushels. Experts are cautioning to not store poor quality corn any longer than winter. Don't take chances if you have grain that is in questionable condition. We will explore this further in next week’s edition. Now go check your grain bins! The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home