Crop Production Stays Green

While reports of corn acreage doubling in the Chesapeake Bay region are hitting the headlines, farmers are taking a traditional and practical approach to planning next year’s crops.  Much has been in the news since corn prices briefly hit the $4/bushel mark, focusing on worst-case “what if” scenarios as ethanol “takes over” the corn supply.  However farmers are staying grounded in the best management practices they know that will provide a sustainable future.    

“Even with significantly higher corn prices at planting time, Maryland farmers only increased their corn acreage by 10% this year, adding an additional 45,000 acres,” states Chip Bowling, farmer from Charles County and President of the Maryland Grain Producers Association.  “Just like a stock market investor, farmers diversify crops to protect their investments, as well demonstrated with this summer’s drought.  A farmer just won’t plant all of their acreage in one crop knowing that all it takes is one untimely storm to completely destroy it.”

While the high corn prices have dropped back to the $3.50/bushel range, wheat and soybean prices, continue to rise, so a mix of crops is expected next season.  Wheat is commonly planted after corn and is followed by soybeans the following year.  Low corn yields this year mean that fertilizer applied in the spring remains unused, so planting a fall crop like wheat or barley will utilize the remaining nitrogen in the soil and prevent it leaching into the waterways.

Advances in research and best management practices, according to USDA, have seen growers use less nitrogen to produce more than 50 percent more corn than was produced in 1980. Furthermore, during the past 15 years, farmers have experienced an increase in nitrogen efficiency, which means fewer nutrients are being lost to runoff. 

Slow release fertilizers are being introduced to increase this efficiency further. Precision farming boosts crop yields and reduces waste by using satellite maps and computers to match seed, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions.  Sophisticated Global Positioning Systems can be specifically designed for spraying herbicides and pesticides. A weed detector equipped with infrared light identifies specific plants by the different rates of light they reflect and then sends a signal to a pump to spray a preset amount of herbicide onto the weed.  This targets the herbicide only where it is effectively used without additional runoff. 

“Corn hybrids are being developed today that contain traits designed to further increase corn nitrogen utilization efficiency, as well as corn utilization efficiency of phosphorus and potassium,” reports Pioneer representative, Jeff Middleton.  Pioneer is a developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide. 

At the recent Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, Monsanto, another worldwide seed supplier, was demonstrating a new corn variety which will need only a portion of the nitrogen needed by today’s crops in response to concerns over corn being a “leaky” crop. The correct usage of fertilizer and pesticides together with genetic research, better tilling practices, hard work, and a host of other agricultural innovations provide Americans the safest, most affordable, and abundant food supply in the world.  American consumers spend the lowest percentage worldwide of their annual income on food – just 9.3 percent.

“We raise crops to provide the public with the food, fiber and fuel they need and enjoy.  It is our business so we have to make a living, but we also have to protect our land and water resources - otherwise we are out of business,” concludes Bowling.