01.11.08 - How To Raise 300 Bushel Corn
Part 3 of a 4 Part Series
Welcome back...we hope you enjoyed the first two articles on preparing to raise your corn yield averages to 300 bushels per acre or more. This is the third, in our four part series, if followed will both increase your yields and change how you farm.
Every grower knows profitability in farming starts with producing the highest yields. Many veteran producers still believe that there is only so much they can do to maximize yields; they think the rest is out of their control.
In reality, farmers can do a whole lot more to increase their yields to new heights. In fact, the things we are "teaching" growers to blow past yield barriers have been available for decades. It’s just those key principles have not been taught or deemed important until now..
Let’s start here.
The first question most farmers ask is…"where do I start?" Let’s start with a short review of key principles we have already covered in previous articles. First, you can’t produce record-breaking yields we’re talking about unless you believe you can. Success with this program starts with an unwavering belief that producing 300-bushel corn can and will be done. Second, once you believe, you have to start thinking like a 300-bushel corn producer. If you don’t think like one, you will never make the changes you will be asked to make. Last but not least, you have to develop a five-year plan for achieving 300-bushel yields and stick to it. Increasing your corn yields, to levels you never thought you could, is not going to be realized in one or two years. We plan for you to achieve exceptional corn yield averages on your farm in five years. Sound exciting? You bet it does.
The next step is to review where you are right now with your past five-year corn yield history. Locate your corn yield histories, by farm, for the past five years and chart those numbers on a sheet of paper. Then connect the numbers with a line to show the yield trends.
When you look at the yield trends, what do you see? First, you see that not every year gave you a continued upward trend in yield did it? Due to many different factors, yields may have dropped in any single year. Second, you probably see that even when yields went up, they did not increase the same number of bushels every year did they? Your yields probably jumped more in one year than they did in other years, simply because weather factors and other conditions may have been more favorable.
We don’t expect those trends to change, just because you’re now embarking on a 300-bushel per acre program for your farm. Those ups, downs, and inconsistencies will still exist. In fact, the fluctuations could actually be even greater with the suggested changes we will be implementing for your program. However, the overall general trend will be upward and hopefully in a more consistent and significant manner than you have had in the past. The third thing we want you to observe about the graph you have just drawn is the number of years it took to raise those yield averages just 10 or 20 bushels per acre. We are going to ask you for that same amount of time, 3-5 years or more if needed, depending upon the condition of your soils and so on. During this time, you will make significant yield increases each year.
Next, take another piece of paper and plot your yield goals for each of the next 5 years, starting with last year’s actual average yield. These are simply goals that you have in your mind as you work your way to that 300-bushel average. It will be fun and educational to chart your progress each year as you march toward your 300-bushel average yield goal.
One More Exercise
Let’s do one more quick exercise to be sure you are ready to become a 300-bushel corn producer. Take a clean sheet of paper and divide it into two columns. Label the first column, "Things I Currently Know About Raising Corn." Give yourself enough space to write as many things as you can about what you "believe" you know about raising corn. Label the other column, "Things I Need To Do Different" before I can even think about raising 300 bushels of corn per acre. Have fun with this exercise, and see what you can come up with. After all, if you are the one writing these down instead of us telling you what to write, you must believe those things to be factual.
Information Is The Key
So far we’ve devoted a series of three articles to getting you to "think" more about how exceptionally high corn yields are achieved. One thing you WON’T hear us talk much about is the cost of production inputs. We know from past experience that when commodity prices are low cost of production CAN have a greater impact on profitability if significant yield increases are not achieved. However, in any year, regardless of commodity prices, significant yield increases always outweigh input costs. Now, when prices are high, it is even MORE essential to get top yields because we can achieve exponential growth in profits by combining more bushels with those higher prices. What a concept!
The 4th article in this series will be sent directly to you instead of being published in the Delta Farm Press because there is so much more individual information that it will not fit on one page. If you would like to receive a copy of our final Part IV, which goes into much more detail, please call us directly at our AgVenture office. You will really enjoy the next in this series and we look forward to sending it to you.
Scott Flowers, Clarksdale, MS "We have been steadily increasing yields through varieties, better management and land improvements so I think 300 bushel corn is possible"