Corn & Sorghum Struggling to the Finish Line

The sudden turn to rainy, humid weather is just insult to injury when it comes to the corn crop, especially in the Coastal Plain where they’ve had a very wet spring and summer.  NC State Extension corn specialist Dr. Ron Heiniger says all the corn should out of the field by now, but isn’t:

“It has been slow going with the harvest across the state. Some beans are still waiting as well. Its kept everyone guessing and a bit frustrating with the rain coming and going. This weekend really did slow us down when we needed to get rolling.”

Heiniger says mycotoxin issues have been a worry all summer, but with the current rainy, humid weather pattern, it’s now more of a concern:

“We are. That has been our worry for the last few months. We had stress in the summer and it’s a good indication that we would have this problem because it gives this fungus a really good environment and the byproduct is this mycotoxin. The weather is just adding to that for growers who still have corn out there.”

And if there’s a crop that hates wet, rainy weather, particularly this close to harvest, its sorghum.  Heiniger says producers should take every opportunity to get the crop out of the field:

“Sorghum, unlike corn, does not sit in the field well. It will get head mold and breakage. So this weather is just not good for it. We really need to hurry up and get it out of the ground. Its really a big concern, but most are doing a good job to get it harvested.”

We’ll hear more from NC State Extension grain specialist Dr. Ron Heiniger tomorrow on Inside Ag.