This past week we were able to finish mowing all our remaining roadsides and begin hauling our July contracted corn. The demand for old crop corn in our area is so high that we have an "inverted" basis. That means that instead of bidding "below" the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, end users are bidding "above" the national offered price. Having an inverted basis isn't something that is uncommon for our area, but we were able to lock in plus 30 cents over our contracted price because our delivery location must have corn to fill barges.
We also finished putting up the remaining signs on our corn plot. This year our plot grew to 43 entries with a "check" hybrid between every company entry. A "check" means we put the exact same hybrid in between every company's entries. This allows us to make adjustments to soil types and possible wet holes which could cause entries to yield less. After harvesting, we then average the yields of the checks and then adjust the hybrids' yields next to the check hybrids.
We also started scouting our first planted corn fields for diseases and pests. So far we have not seen much disease due to our early fungicide applications. However, we do have significant infestations of Japanese beetles in certain areas. These beetles chew on both the silks and tassels. This can cause kernels to not pollinate, thus reducing yield significantly. Also, by them clipping the silks on the ear they open up the tips of the ears and allow other insects, birds, diseases, and rots such as diplodia to enter and cause yield damage as well. Thus, we called in Holzwarth Flying Service to come in and spray the infested fields.
This week we plan to haul corn and begin work on rebuilding the corn head. We also plan to attend the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies seminar in Dixon, Illinois. Check it out at www.wyffels.com/cornstrategies.
Our 43 entry corn plot along Highway 123 
Japanese beetles feeding on fresh corn silks
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