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These twisted stalks in Greg Odde’s corn field have created a lot of buzz among observers driving along U.S. Highway 281 north of Aberdeen. Connie Sieh Group for the Aberdeen Insider.
Farmers know other farmers will be looking at their fields and comparing them.
Often, fields along a major highway such as U.S. Highway 281 face even more intense scrutiny, and if there is a problem, it becomes a matter of conversation at local coffee shops.
This summer, a weather situation coupled with evidence of corn rootworm caused major damage in the field owned by L&O Acres. It happened in the quarter a half mile from their shop near Westport.
“We still really don’t know what happened,” said owner Greg Odde. “We had a storm with a lot of wind come through. You can see how the stalks are twisted and tipped over.”
Odde said harvest will be tricky and the operation plans to use a combine that has a reel ahead of the corn head to pick up the stalks and feed them into the machine.
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“This was used when the derecho hit Iowa and pushed over a lot of acres,” he said. “I think we should be able to pick up most of it.”
He said that looking at the stalks, the cobs seemed to fill out even though the roots were compromised.
“We won’t know yields until we run the combine through but expect it won’t be too bad. The field was fertilized for 180 bushels per acre.”
The variety of corn planted did not have the trait for corn rootworm control. It had the trait for corn borer, but since there has been little local rootworm activity, that defense was not included in the seed for the field.
The field had been in the Conservation Reserve Program for 15 years before becoming farm ground about five years ago, Odde said.
Knowing that 80% of the success of a crop depends on planting decisions, in the future he plans to use a variety of corn that includes rootworm resistance and will follow up with insecticides when warranted.
Lesson learned.
Connie Sieh Groop
Connie Sieh Groop of Frederick is a veteran journalist and writer who has focused on all aspects of the agriculture industry during her career.