remains a mystery. If it was related to #4 (southern rust infection) it still doesn’t answer why cut this way….maybe it prevents spread? But I’ve seen intact corn fields right next to the cut ones. Maybe those were treated….maybe its just a coincidence that this field has the fungus. next time I see such a thing, I’ll see if I can identify the fungal infection.
#2 seems to have the most legs so far, but I’d like more solid confirmation rather than speculation. If it is to dry faster, I’m not sure why not do it to more fields. Its a relatively rare event.
I’m currently in email conversation with yyyy county Extension ,
I’ve placed three conversations in relevant social media platforms,
I’ve called the company that (I think) owns the field (but may not).
I’ve contacted the state corn growers association
All the answers are “Huh, I don’t know.” Or “The fields are detasseled in the spring to control pollination.” Even though the pictures are showing something different than detasseling….its in late summer and it’s the entire field down to 3 ft.
@Sigene: Have you overflown the fields with a drone to check for evidence of alien crop circles? Maybe they just shaved the top of a couple of fields for fun, and left their real marks out in the middle where they can only be seen from above.
I got a bit of an answer from a local extension person who related this information from a local university corn specialist. 3 possibilities for ‘detopping’ after silking.
If the grower is a dairy producer as well, they may want to use corn for dual purposes and in this case, they can use the top stalk and leaves (low lignin, higher digestibility) to feed the livestock and then let the ears mature to black layer and eventually harvest it for grain. This practice is not very common in North America but a lot of small-scale farmers in South Asia (especially India and Nepal) practice this. It works for them because most of them are doing subsistence agriculture and not aiming to sell in the bigger markets. It might be possible that the grower is interested in looking at this practice, but I am not sure if that is the case.
In case of a consistently wet year and in a field with heavy soils the corn may grow very tall making it prone to lodging. The grower may opt for cutting the tops off to prevent plants from tipping off in event of torrential rain or storm.
The third reason is very uncommon, but this practice may be done in order to recover from a hail event or wind damage event.
I have a new field that I just saw this in. Its the entire field topped to about 3-4 ft leaving the ears of corn still on the plant. My previous answers I’ve gotten might be true, but I guess I’d like confirmation. I’ve now seen this for at least 3 years in different fields, its not common, but common enough for me to notice it. I’ve posted pictures and a short video here:
I’m going to go with @Sigene 's answer #2. The corn was growing too high,the ears weren’t mature yet, and the grower topped the plants hoping they wouldn’t lodge (topple over.)
My cousins are famers grow seed corn. If as pictured, every 6th or so row has been removed. These are the male rows who, after pollination, are “run over” by a piece of equipment, chopped up, or otherwise removed. The left over rows are the female plants and with mechanical detasseling the are purposely cut down short to prevent any self pollination of the female plants variety.
Before harvesting the seed corn by ears picking the ears, (not combining the grain like normal field corn) they may also cut the plant short to limit the amount of “trash” that the seed corn picker needs to process when harvesting the seed corn.
Read my original OP. It is definitely NOT detasseling to control pollination. Forgive me, that this is getting very maddening to me. Nearly every time I’ve asked this of the dozen or so resources I’ve gone to, they ALWAYS first say detasseling to control pollination.
It’s not. I keep saying its not, and the next person I ask, suggests the same thing…again. Look closely at the pictures and video, you will see its the whole field, not just certain rows.
These are entire fields, not every sixth row that have been mowed down. This happens in late August/early September after the corn has been pollinated and is well on its way to maturity. The corn is not ‘topped’ where the top foot where the stamens are removed, They are cutting about 4-6 feet off of the top of the plant, every plant in an 80acre field to the same height, not selected rows.
The first picture that shows up on my end from your post on September 15 shows a field with every 6th or so row missing. I live in north central Iowa, grew up on a grain farm, a that picture looks EXACTLY like a field of seed corn.
If it’s being done in late August or September it is most definitely not detasseling, as that process takes place in June or July.
I don’t see that. The field in the first picture has rows where the machine’s wheels drove through the field, but it sure looks to me like ALL plants have been sheared.
Close, but not quite right, IMO.
The ears are mature, there’s no more growing to be done, and the farmer is now just waiting for the plant to completely dry out before harvesting.
When the plant is harvested, the stalk is pulled through the corn head of the combine, which strips the ear from the stalk, and then the ear is fed into the combine itself, where the corn kernels are removed from the cob and collected in the bin. If the top portion of the stalk has already been cut off, that makes less work for the corn head, which makes for a more efficient operation. Plus, if a storm would hit the field before harvest, a shorter plant is less likely to be blown over.
Let me start by saying IANA farmer. I can usually recognize a cornfield, and that’s about it.
I did live right at the rural-suburban divide for a few years in an area where feed corn (“dent corn”) was grown. It was interesting to watch how the fields went through their annual cycle. It was also interesting how hard it was to actually catch any farmer out in the field doing any farming. Made it look like corn farming would be an easy job. I bet looks are deceiving.
I’m curious about this comment:
Clearly the machine will work less hard, you may be able to pass through the field more quickly or with less fuel consumption, there may be less refuse getting mixed in with the good stuff, etc. Makes complete sense.
But the cost of doing that is making another earlier run through your fields with the topping equipment. Assuming that’s a different setting on the same machine, you’ve roughly doubled the labor input, diesel input, machinery wear and tear input, etc., of your harvest. And if you need a special topping machine or attachment, there’s some more capital cost too. I would assume there’s always some crop damage any time you drive a vehicle through a field. Yes, you lay out your planting to make the field driveable-throughable then steer carefully to minimize damage. But there’s still some, which represents another drag on total yield.
At first glance it seems hard to justify the additional effort versus the additional payoff. So clearly there’s more to that story I don’t yet know. Any thoughts?
It’s not the same machine. Here’s a video of a detasseling machine, which can be configured to chop off the tops of selected rows. I think that in the case of the OP, it’s been set to chop off the tops of all rows.
As to the amount of energy and fuel used, I don’t know the difference. But the farmer obviously does.
