ORGANIC FOOD-GRADE
CORN - UPDATED FOR 2003
Description. Organic corn is non-genetically
modified corn grown without the use of “synthetic”
fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides or fungicides. Emphasis
is placed on building the soil with organic amendments using
crop rotations, crop residues, legumes, animal manures, mechanical
cultivation, approved mineral-bearing rocks and aspects of
biological pest control to maintain soil productivity, supply
plant nutrients, and control insects, weeds and other pests.
Producers pursuing organic production must not use synthetic
fertilizers, pesticides or GMOs three years prior to becoming
certified. In October 2002 the USDA approved national standards
for organic certification. There is a cost share program available
to offset costs associated with organic certification.
Trends in demand. Organic production practices
are increasing each year, on average by 20%. The majority
of organic corn production occurs in Minnesota, Iowa, North
Dakota and South Dakota. There is a large demand for organic
corn for both food processing and feed use. Adoption of organic
production is growing slowly in Illinois, with more acres
in soybeans than corn. Ninety percent of the organic corn
produced is used domestically, with exports limited by competition
from Argentina and China. Due to the significant adoption
of GMO corn, maintaining organic corn production will become
more difficult due to pollen drift in both grain and seed
production. Corn grown organically is used in organic cattle
operations as well as processed into organic food ingredients.
Organic corn generally yields less than corn grown using conventional
methods, depending on hybrids grown, soil fertility status,
and weed and other pest management. Lower yields are offset
by the premium offered for organic corn.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES
- Seed Selection. If contracted, the contractor
specifies several non-GMO corn hybrids for use. Select the
hybrids that match your particular geographical latitude.
Also consider personal management or cultural practices.
- Site Selection. The crop rotation pattern
will designate which fields go into corn production.
- Crop Rotation. Organic systems generally
require a five-crop rotation of corn, soybeans, cereal,
legume green manure, and a fifth crop that is varied from
year to year.
- Isolation. Isolation from non-organic
corn is necessary. Allow for 24-36 border rows around field.
These border rows should be harvested separately and sold
as non-organic corn.
- Seedbed Preparation. Organic production
requires good seed-soil contact and moderate soil moisture
for almost 100% germination and emergence. Generally, two
trips with a conventional tillage tool will kill the second
growth of weeds and produce an adequate seedbed.
- Plant Population. Organic production
practices prefer plant populations of 22,000 to 24,000 plants
per acre for larger kernel development and stronger stalks.
- Planting Date. The latter part of May
is the best planting period, after soils have warmed sufficiently
and second or third flushes of weeds have been mechanically
destroyed, if soil conditions permit.
- Fertility. Managing crop systems to
naturally build soil nutrient levels is the preferred approach.
Livestock manure and cover crops, such as clover, are important
sources of nitrogen, along with vetch, lupine, and alfalfa.
Other sources of organic nutrients are fish emulsions, natural
phosphates, bone meal, cottonseed meal and seaweed.
- Insect and Disease Management. Crop
rotations are used to control insects and disease.
- Weed Control. Effective weed control
for corn is usually provided by the following management
practices: mechanically till corn with rotary hoe four or
five days after planting and once more after corn is emerged.
Immediately start first cultivation after last pass with
rotary hoe and cultivate two or more times depending on
soil conditions and degree-days. Propane burners may also
be used for small weeds.
RECOMMENDED HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST
MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES
Quality is of particular importance in the organic market
place so representative grain samples are collected and sent
to potential buyers throughout the harvest, drying, and storage
process. Other than this, management practices are much the
same as for non-organic food-grade corn.
- Harvesting Organic Corn. To avoid excessive
mechanical damage to kernels make sure the combine is properly
adjusted. Set the clearance and speed of the cylinder according
to the operator’s manual as a starting point and make
slight adjustments in the field as needed. If conventional
crops are also harvested, the machine must be thoroughly
cleaned between crops.
- Drying Strategies. Corn can be machine
dried using conventional methods. Low-temperature drying
is recommended for increased storability due to low breakage,
less fines, improved aeration, and less opportunity for
fungal growth. Grain kernel temperature should be kept below
140?F during the entire drying process to minimize undesirable
quality losses. Field drying is best and allows the kernel
to reach full-maturity.
- Corn Handling and Cleaning. Organic
corn must be kept separate in order to maintain value. 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 and 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 and contamination problems. Once
a month during the fall and winter, you should run a cooling
cycle to lower grain temperature by 10 to 15?F. The remainder
of the time, the fan should be covered to minimize moisture
accumulation in the stored grain, especially during premature
warming periods in the early spring.
SAMPLE PARTIAL BUDGET ANALYSIS
Sources:
-
Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University
of Illinois. Farm Income and Production Cost Summary
from Illinois Farm Business Records 1998.
-
Experienced Grower Interviews, September – February 2000.
-
Fairview Farms. The 1997 Fairview Farms Crop Harvest
and Storage Guide.
-
Gulbranson, Lisa. 1998. Organic Certification of Crop
Production in Minnesota. University of Minnesota.
University of Minnesota Extension Service. BU-7202-S.
-
Illinois Stewardship Alliance. 1999. Progress Report
on the Farming Systems Comparison Project: Yields, Economicsand
Water Quality.
-
Macey, Anne. 1992. Organic Field Crop Handbook. Canadian
Organic Growers Inc. Ottawa, Ontario.
-
South Dakota State University. 1993. Agronomic, Economic,
and Ecological Relationships in Alternative (Organic),
Conventional, and Reduced-till Farming Systems.
-
U.S. Feed Grains Council. 1998-1999 Value-Enhanced
Corn Quality Report.
______________________________________________________
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.
______________________________________________
This analysis is only an example of
how to evaluate the economics for growing organic soybeans.
Producers should use their own cost and yield estimates, plus
any premiums quoted by participating elevators in calculating
estimated returns for their own situation.
These are the prices paid by 2 firms contacted about organic
corn
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