Farms: Dewey Lee: Minimize crop stress to boost corn yields

Michigan farmers can optimize returns in corn by mitigating plant stress through better management and irrigation. That’s according to Dr. Dewey Lee, executive director of Georgia Corn and crop physiologist and management specialist with the University of Georgia. Lee should know. He worked with first-generation farmer Randy Dowdy, of Valdosta, Ga., to achieve corn yielding a whopping 500 bushels per acre. After only nine years of active farming, Dowdy was the first to raise a record 503.7 bushels per acre of corn in 2014. Dowdy says his motivation is return on investment and not necessarily winning yield contests. Speaking to farmers at the Michigan Agricultural Commodities’ 2016 Great Lakes Crop Summit, Lee said all corn plants have the ability to perform to their highest potential if stress to the plant can be minimized. He offered the following advice: 1. Pay attention to the details in your field daily. 2. Use multiple hybrids and be willing to experiment. 3. Find a nearby weather station or mobile app with growing degree units. 4. Keep records of growing degree units for yearly comparisons. 5. Know when yield components form and react immediately to any signs of stress during the V4-V5-V6 growing stages.