Storms Impacting Beck’s Seed Corn Production at Detasseling Time

Editor’s Note: This is the second story in the Ride Between the Rows series providing a behind-the-scenes look at Beck’s seed corn production process. Look back on planting in May and check back on the progress in September for harvest. For more photos and videos from the tours, go to the Seed Today Facebook page.

Written by Chris Lusvardi, Seed Today editor

Mount Pleasant, IA (July 29, 2024) – Weather continues to impact Beck’s seed corn production in fields surrounding Mount Pleasant, IA and elsewhere throughout the Midwest.

According to Corn Grower Manager Adam Smith, a storm July 15 caused widespread damage while detasseling work was underway, impacting approximately 5,500 of the 14,300 seed corn production acres near Mount Pleasant. After spending the following days assessing the damage both by walking through the fields and with imagery from flying drones overhead, Smith says the decision was made to abandon two fields.

He adds green snap was the most common problem they were finding. Crews were able to clean up other damaged fields, with enough signs that the crops can bounce back in those areas to continue the production process.

While providing Seed Today a tour July 25 of the work that is being done, Smith says they are hoping the recent setbacks won’t result in too much of a loss.

“We went through and so much was snapped,” Smith says. “We didn’t want to waste manpower. It’s the worst storm I’ve been through in my 18 years of doing this. We were detasseling my first year when a storm hit, but it was not as bad as this one.”

Production Location Manager Blake Smith says when previous storms have gone through, they will usually see localized damage but the difference with this one was the high winds were so widespread, covering a much larger area than usual.

Detasseling Process

Following cleanup from the storms, work continued to detassel the corn as the season moves closer to harvest, which Adam Smith says is on track to begin by the end of August. He says the first fields were planted May 6, but wet conditions throughout the spring caused the planting window to be condensed with plans needing to be adjusted.

He says they have been fortunate this year to have the machines and workforce available that are needed to keep the process moving along as smoothly as possible despite the challenges. Smith adds they will usually have at least five machines running a day, with as many as 11 machines running one day and over 300 workers to work on the hand picking of the corn.

Smith says it’s important for the detasseling process to be completed.

“They can come in and go,” Smith says. “When it’s time to cut, it’s time to cut.”

With the wet field conditions, the ground does not have time to dry out, making for challenging driving conditions. Drivers slide back and forth in the mud, testing their ability to keep the equipment on track to cut four female rows, with the male rows remaining uncut.

“We’ve had lots of rain,” Smith says. “They don’t want to get buried in mud, but they can slow down and keep going.”

Smith says the goal is to remove 75-80% of the tassels mechanically, followed by crews removing 20-25% of the remaining tassels by hand, resulting in 99.7% genetic purity.

Prior to cutting, he points out the corn can grow quite unevenly depending on varying factors within the field. The more uniform the plants end up, the better as they don’t want the corn to self-pollinate.

Prior to the storm, Smith says the corn had started growing at a rapid pace, with much of it ready or nearly ready to cut.

Yield Estimates

Despite the challenges, Smith still sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic about yields at the end of the season, including the male rows not being damaged in the storms.

“We could still be looking at something really big,” he says. “Somehow we can still make a lot of corn.”

The Beck’s team will begin taking yield estimates in August before harvest begins with the numbers being especially important for the company’s sales team holding the annual Becknology Days event Aug. 22-24 in Atlanta, IN. The event showcases the latest advancements and innovations in agriculture.

Smith says they will have a pretty accurate estimate for yields for the different varieties based on experience and readings they take in the field. The team can take kernels and estimate yields during visual inspections of the fields.

Blake Smith explains yield estimates are important to making sure they have sufficient storage space available.

“We can figure out other options for grain bins if we need to,” Blake Smith says. “With read outs early, the storage space can be freed up.”

He adds they can also take the information and apply lessons learned in the years to come.

In the meantime before the yield estimating process starts, Adam Smith says work will begin to destroy the male plants.

“We try to be in there in a timely manner to knock those out so we don’t have volunteer corn next year,” Smith says. “That work will eliminate potential problems for growers.”

Related Article

• Ride Between the Rows: Part One: Beck's Seed Corn Planting Underway Near Mount Pleasant, IA May 31, 2024