Count Every Kernel With 4 Corn Harvest Tips

Even the best-planned corn harvest can lose bushels if small details slip through the cracks. Combine settings, crop conditions and weed pressure all play a role — and with tight margins, every adjustment matters. Here are four simple ways to hang onto more of your yield this fall:

1. Header settings matter more than you think. A lot of loss happens before the corn even gets inside the machine. If deck plates are set too wide or chains are pulling too fast, ears fall. That loss adds up, especially in fields with downed corn. Take a minute at the start of the day to check spacing, speed and head height. If the corn is leaning, slowing the gathering chains and lowering the head usually helps you pull in more.
2. Change your settings throughout the day. What worked in the morning might not work by afternoon. Moisture shifts, hybrids behave differently, and no two fields run the same. If you’re seeing cracked grain or throwing kernels out the back, stop and fine-tune. Small tweaks can save a lot of bushels.
3. Pay attention when the combine is slowing down. Dragging through patches of lodged corn is often a sign of disease pressure or weak stalks late in the season. That slows harvest and leaves grain on the ground. A strong fungicide program can help maintain stalk integrity through the finish. The Cleaner & Greener* fungicide portfolio is built to support plant health, keeping plants green, and standability, helping more corn stay upright and make it to the grain bin.
4. Watch for weed escapes and seed spread. Weeds left standing at harvest drop seed and build pressure for next season. Pay attention to where weed escapes happen throughout the season and which weed species you’re dealing with. This information can help guide your herbicide strategy for the season ahead. For fields that need help preventing tough, late-emerging weeds, Storen^® corn herbicide consistently delivers long-lasting residual to help keep fields clean well into the season. If more bushels in the bin is your focus, Acuron^® corn herbicide helps ease early pressure so the crop can focus on growth and grain fill.

*No claim is being made herein about the environmental attributes of any product. References to “cleaner and greener” indicate plant-health benefits (e.g., less disease and increased crop efficiency and productivity) from foliar fungicides and the visible color of the plants.