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Late harvest resources

On this page:

> Handling moldy feed > Moldy corn > Mold in livestock feed

> Other corn issues > Soybeans > General crop drying and storage

Dealing with high moisture grain from the field to storage to feeding

The fall 2009 harvesting season was a challenging one to say the least. We will continue to see the repercussions throughout the spring — as temperatures rise, molds may begin to grow again on crops that were stored wet. Because of this issue's continuing impact on crop storage, livestock feed, human and animal health, future planting decisions, and marketing and sales, Extension will keep this page updated with the latest on these topics.

Dealing with moldy corn has been a primary concern. The University of Minnesota Plant Disease Clinic reports that many samples came back Cladosporium, a genus with which no known toxins are associated. You can send samples to the clinic to diagnose and help identify mold and kernel infection. Call them at 612-625-1275 for more information.

See the October 28 news release on late harvest issues

Handling moldy feed

• Staying safe around moldy crops

Moldy corn

• Watch for 'moldy corn,' U of M Extension experts warn
• Fungal growth on corn ("moldy corn") in Minnesota in fall 2009
• Mold in corn update from the SWROC
• Steps to take when mold is present in corn — Pioneer
• Molds and mycotoxins show up in corn — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Ear rots and grain molds are common this year — University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Corn ear rots widespread in Indiana — Purdue University
• 2009 corn quality issues: Field molds — Iowa State University Extension

Mold in livestock feed

Dairy cattle

• Mold in dairy feed: Nine things to think about
• Corn quality challenges effects on dairy cattle, fall harvest 2009
• Mold and mycotoxin issues in dairy cattle: Effects, prevention and treatment — eXtension.org
• Managing cattle feed contaminated with mycotoxins — Government of Alberta
• Dairy cattle feeding issues with high-moisture corn, snaplage and dry shelled corn — University of Wisconsin

Beef cattle

• Strategies for feeding mycotoxin and mold-contaminated grains to cattle (173 K PDF)
• Mycotoxins and their effects on beef cattle (21 K PDF) — Mississippi State University
• Moldy feed and reproductive failure in cows — Government of Alberta
• Poor corn crop concerns livestock producers — North Dakota State University
• Mycotoxins, from Beef Cattle Handbook (75 K PDF) — Utah State University

Poultry

• Fusarium molds, mycotoxins and poultry

Swine

• Effect of mycotoxins in swine
• Low test weight corn for swine (70 K PDF)

Sheep and goats

• Moldy feed for sheep and goats

Horses

• Do not feed moldy hay to horses (163 K PDF)

General

• Use of feed contaminated with fungal (mold) toxins (mycotoxins) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Moldy grains, mycotoxins and feeding problems — The Ohio State University
• Test cornstalks before feeding to cattle and horses — Iowa State University
• Feed and forages: Molds and mycotoxins — Dairyland Laboratories, Inc.

Other corn issues

Drying and storage

• Drying, handling, and storing wet, immature, and frost-damaged corn
• Corn test weight changes during drying
• Natural-air corn drying in the upper Midwest
• High moisture corn harvest and storage considerations — University of Wisconsin
• Calculating grain weight shrinkage in corn due to mechanical drying — Purdue University
• Harvesting, handling, and drying corn with ear rots in 2009 — Purdue University
• In-bin drying of corn in 2009 — Purdue University
• 2009 corn quality issues: Storage management — Iowa State University Extension

Other

• Report transgenic corn performance problems
• Weigh risk of leaving corn stand through winter — University of Wisconsin
• Combine considerations for a wet corn harvest — University of Wisconsin
• Adding organic acids to high moisture corn — University of Wisconsin
• Understanding corn test weight — University of Wisconsin
• Test weight issues in corn — Purdue University
• 2009 corn quality issues — Iowa State University Extension
• 2009 post-harvest tips for later maturing corn (Word document) — North Dakota State University Extension Service

Soybeans

• Storing, drying, and handling wet soybeans
• Soybean drying, handling, and storage
• Considerations for artificial drying of soybeans — University of Wisconsin
• Soybean quality issues in 2009 — Iowa State University Extension
• 2009 soybean drying tips (PowerPoint) — North Dakota State University Extension Service

General crop drying and storage

Extension software: Fan selection for grain bins

When you're warming grain, condensation will occur just ahead of the warming. If the fan is shut off prematurely, the condensed moisture could freeze. Leaving the fans on until the warming front has passed all the way through the bin can help avoid this problem. Extension's WINFANS software can be used to help estimate airflow and answer other questions.

Download Windows version (90K)
October 1998: Corrected an error in parameters for flaxseed

This program is in the form of a self-extracting archive. After downloading WINFAN.EXE to your disk, doubleclick WINFAN.EXE to extract the three files:
WINFANS.EXE -- the program
FANS.DAT -- a database of over 200 commercial fans
WINFANS.HLP -- help file

Download DOS version (93K)

This program is in the form of a self-extracting archive. After downloading FAN.EXE to your disk, enter FAN to extract the two files:
FANS.EXE -- the program
FANS.DAT -- a database of over 200 commercial fans

We would appreciate comments on the software. If you find errors or bugs, please send them to wilck001@umn.edu.

Other resources

• Post-harvest handling of crops
• Grain drying — North Dakota State University Extension Service
• Optimizing grain dryer operations — Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service
• Grain equilibrium moisture content charts (4.2 MB PDF) — North Dakota State University Extension Service
• Equilibrium moisture (226 K PDF) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The links on this page were reviewed by University of Minnesota Extension faculty in October and November 2009.