Corn harvest time is based on kernel moisture and how the crop is standing. Used to be (cheaper fuel and corn prices) that optimum moisture was about 21%. Corn has to be dried to 15% to store at the elevator, but can go in a bin with air only drying at 16%. Corn has to be dried to 14% to be sold at the elevator. You pay for shrink (loss of volume and weight) and for drying fuel plus handling to dry corn.
It can be nice to pick corn at 14.5% like mine came in last year, but as corn dries in the field the stalks and ears get weaker day by day and there is a definite trade off on ears fallen vs cost of drying. I'll have a day of walking beans soon to break off the volunteer corn in them.
With different corn and fuel values, and different corn breeding, I don't know what the optimum corn picking moisture is. My guess its probably 16 or 17% with good corn resistant to corn borer. And with corn that doesn't completely sacrifice the lower stalk to finish filling the ear and that can depend on how much nitrogen was applied. I didn't apply lots of nitrogen and my end of season stalk nitrogen test was low and my corn was begnning to fall over when it was picked at 14.5% but the yield was still good. Some varieties begin to fall over at 18 or 19% moisture from stalk rot. And stalk rot is also increased by late summer rains.
There are those who will start combining at 24% just to be first, they don't look at the cost of drying very close. There are those who will wait for 14% to not have to pay for drying. Both sacrifice some profit for their viewpoint.
And then some farmers have so many acres to harvest that they begin at high moisture and finish at low moisture just because it takes them a month or more to harvest every field.
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