HIGH OLEIC HIGH OIL CORN - UPDATED FOR 2003

Description: High oleic high oil corn has a fatty oleic acid content averaging above 50 percent compared to about 28 - 37 percent for normal corn. Corn oil with elevated levels of oleic acid provides desirable properties related to both health benefits and stability characteristics. Because it is a monounsaturated fatty acid, high concentrations of oleic can lower blood levels of cholesterol. For feed use, high oleic corn provides desirable meat quality benefits. High oleic corn is high oil corn with the stacked value-enhanced oleic trait.
Trends in demand: Currently there are no commercial products on the market in 2003. Development of new high oleic high oil corn hybrids is being explored, but do not expect seed for this market in the near future. Seed companies had difficulty in converting traditional hybrids to have the high oleic trait, and end-users had difficulty in justifying premiums based on savings in processing efficiency. About 5,000 acres of high oleic high oil corn were being grown under contract with Optimum Grains for the first time in Illinois in 2000. All of the high oleic corn acres were grown with DuPont’s TOPCROSS® technology, which involves planting seed of a high oil pollinator mixed with seed of a male-sterile hybrid.

RECOMMENDED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Management and production practices for growing high oleic corn are virtually the same as those for growing high oil corn:

• Seed Selection: Important considerations for successful high oleic corn production are oil content, yield potential, maturity, standability, disease resistance, drought tolerance, dry-down and adaptability. To ensure top yields and maximum profit, ask your seed dealer about elite hybrids adapted to your area.
• Field Selection: To maximize returns, select better-yielding, high-quality soils.
• Crop Rotation: A soybean-corn rotation plan is recommended to increase yield and decrease insect and disease pressures.
• Isolation: For best results, plant TOPCROSSâ high oleic high oil corn varieties in large blocks to reduce oil content loss due to pollen drift from normal hybrids into high-oil fields.
• Seedbed Preparation: Prepare a seedbed that will promote uniform seed emergence and crop development. Avoid cloddy soils with heavy residue and poor furrow closure conditions. Conventional and minimum till methods may provide for more even plant emergence.
• Plant Population: Increase plant density as much as 10%, or by 2,000 to 3,000 plants per acre to make up for less-productive pollinator plants. Around 30,000 to 32,000 is ideal for highly productive soils, with yield response up to perhaps 34,000 under good conditions. Ask your dealer about specific rate recommendations as per field and hybrid selected.
• Planting Date: Plant early, as you would other hybrids. The second half of April is normally the best time to plant.
• Fertility: A good balanced fertility program is a must. Starter fertilizer can promote uniform plant emergence for good pollination. Apply nitrogen in adequate amounts – 1.2 pounds nitrogen per bushel of expected yield, minus credits.
• Insect Management: In the TOPCROSS® high oleic high oil hybrids, the pollinator may be more susceptible to insects, therefore, it is important to have an effective pest control program. If planting corn on corn, below-ground pests should be controlled with a soil insecticide. Rootworm insecticide should also be used in areas where western corn rootworm damage has been observed in first-year corn or where wireworms and true white grubs have a history. During the growing season, monitor fields for above-ground pests such as corn leaf aphid, corn rootworm beetles, and Japanese beetles that can clip silks and reduce the number of kernels pollinated.

RECOMMENDED HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

• Harvesting High Oleic Corn: To avoid excessive mechanical damage to kernels, make sure the combine is properly adjusted according to the operator’s manual. Set the clearance and speed of the cylinder and make slight adjustments as grain moisture and field conditions change. Grind off all sharp edges in the feeder housing, rotary and handling systems. Replace excessively worn augers. Rotary combines are generally recommended.
• Drying Strategies: Some field drying is good, in that it lowers drying costs. High oleic corn may be artificially dried at low temperatures. To minimize undesirable quality losses, keep dryer temperature below 140° F and kernel temperature below 110° F during the drying process. Many producers prefer to transfer corn to separate storage facilities after drying. Otherwise high oleic corn can be handled like normal corn.
• Corn Handling and Cleaning: Keep high oleic corn separated at harvest and in storage. Make sure that augers to and from the dryer are not causing damage: keep augers full when running and consider replacing pulleys to reduce auger speed to help maintain grain quality. Clean dry corn before placing it into a storage bin to improve airflow and reduce the potential for spoilage problems. Storage bins should be swept clean prior to placing grain in them to reduce insect problems. Run a cooling cycle through grain once a month during the fall and throughout the winter to lower grain temperature by 10 to 15° F at a time. Cover fan to minimize moisture accumulation in stored grain during premature warming in spring.

SAMPLE PARTIAL BUDGET ANALYSIS

• Seed Costs:
  High Oleic Corn:
  32,000 kernels per acre (increased 10% to make up for pollinator) = 2.5 acres per 80,000 kernel unit
  $102.50 per unit ? 2.5 acres = $50.00 per acre.
  Regular Hybrid Corn:
  29,100 kernels per acre = 2.75 acres per 80,000 kernel unit
  $96.25 per unit ? 2.75 acres = $35.00 per acre

• Per Acre Variable Cost Comparisons

Regular Hybrid Corn		High Oleic Corn - 5% Lower Yield		High Oleic Corn - Equal Yield
Fertilizer & lime	$50	Fertilizer & lime	$50	Fertilizer & lime	$50
Pesticides	35	Pesticides	35	Pesticides	35
Seed	35	Seed	50	Seed	50
Drying	16	Drying	15	Drying	16
Mchy. repair, fuel & hire	28	Mchy. repair, fuel & hire	28	Mchy. repair, fuel & hire	28
Storage	29	Storage	28	Storage	29
Operating Interest	6	Operating Interest	6	Operating Interest	6
Total	$199	Total	$212	Total	$214

Harvest Delivery Contract	Spring & Summer Delivery Bonus	Oleic Acid Production Incentive
8.0% oil - $.30 per/Bu	May 2000 - $.04 per/Bu	$.10 per/Bu*
7.9% oil - $.29 per/Bu**	June 2000 - $.06 per/Bu
6.0% oil - $.10 per/Bu	July 2000 - $.08 per/Bu

• Increased profit potential per acre:
  Regular Hybrid Corn: 155 Bu/acre x $2.35 per Bu = $356.50
  $364.25 per acre - $199.00 cost per acre = $165.25 Regular Hybrid Corn
  High Oleic Corn (spring delivery) with 5% lower yield:
  147 Bu/acre x ($2.35 + $.24 + $.04 + $.10) = $401.31
  $401.31 per acre - $212.00 cost per acre = $189.31 High-Oil Corn Added Value = $24.06 per acre
  High Oleic Corn (spring delivery) with equal yield:
  155 Bu/acre x ($2.35 + $.24 + $.04 + $.10) = $423.15
  $423.15 per acre - $214.00 cost per acre = $209.15 High-Oil Corn Added Value = $43.90 per acre
• Trucking Costs:
  Semi - $2.00 per loaded mile. Trucking costs may be higher if high oleic corn must be transported further.
  

ADDED VALUE CALCULATOR

ADDITIONAL WEBSITES

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Rita Frerichs compiled the information contained in this fact sheet through interviews with experienced producers and from private sector company representatives. This information has not been validated through research carried out by University of Illinois scientists, but this fact sheet has been prepared under the technical supervision of Emerson D. Nafziger, Steven Eckhoff, and Dale Lattz, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This work has been carried out as part of a project to Improve Farm Incomes and Rural Communities through Specialty Farm Products funded by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) under the Special Research Initiative (SRI) on Rural Community Development. For more information on other project activities and outputs, contact Burton E. Swanson, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, 332 Mumford Hall, 1301 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL. Tel: (217) 244-6978; Fax: (217) 333-5835; or by e-mail: swansonb@uiuc.edu. ________________________________________

Please note: This analysis provides an example, based on statewide production costs, of how farmers can easily evaluate the economics of high oleic high oil corn. Producers should use their own cost and yield data in comparing the potential profitability of high oleic corn under local conditions.
Based on experienced farmer interviews, many producers’ average reductions of 5% below the yields of their conventional hybrids. Therefore, a 5% yield reduction has been assumed in this example to compute the additional value/acre of high oleic high oil corn.
Some producers report that if elite HOTC hybrids are well adapted to local growing conditions, they can yield as well as their normal hybrids. In these cases, high oleic high oil corn can produce extra profits, as shown in this third example.