If you have fields with stalk rot and the increased potential for lodging, Hurburgh says harvest those first regardless of moisture, and plan to properly dry the corn. He says spending some money to dry corn is a better choice than risking field loss at current corn prices. He says, “At $2/gal. for propane, the drying cost in an average dryer (2000 Btus/lb. water) for one point of moisture is equal to about 0.25% field loss with $7 corn. Dryers vary and propane costs change but in general, very little field loss can be accepted before early harvest and drying is a better choice.”

If you have disease in your corn, such as Goss’ Wilt, that caused a pre-mature death of the plant, it may have compromised grain quality. But Hurburgh says that is still an unknown and he’s is doing research on that. While a premature death causes lighter weight kernels, test weights will be hurt, but the jury is still out on other quality issues.

Measure your test weight and use that to determine what happens to the corn. If your test weight is below 52 lb./bu. it is a high storage risk. Hurburgh says take it to the elevator as soon as practical. If the moisture tester at the elevator has been calibrated to USDA standards, it should provide an accurate test weight, he says. But just like yield, expect test weights to vary widely. He also says the corn with the low yield will probably have higher protein and be good for feed, but have less starch and be poor for ethanol.

Hurburgh says if you are harvesting either corn or soybeans on warm afternoons, your priority should be to cool the grain, and it may take several aeration cycles with the help of dry air, which will pull moisture out of the grain. Take precaution to not overdry it, because of the rapid reduction in value of the grain.

Late-season rains will cause some soybean fields to have both low- and high-moisture grain, which become a headache for combining, and could be a headache for storage if not addressed properly. Hurburgh says treat those soybeans as if all were wet, which means aerate them to cool them and dry them, before transfer to storage.

Hurburgh says mixed-moisture grain will cause moisture meters to read 1-2 points below what they should read, “This is a storage issue, and also an inventory management issue. One percent moisture in $14 beans is about 16 cents per bushel. There is a much greater premium for accuracy in all grain testing and inventory monitoring.”

As frost begins to threaten some soybean fields that are still in a growth stage, the result is lack of maturity, and soybean oil that will pick up the green color from the chlorophyll from the immature beans. Processors do not like that and dockage may result. If you have to harvest green soybeans, Hurburgh says to put them into storage until the color subsides, then deliver them. Dockage can be arbitrated through a federally licensed grain inspection station.