Corn Stalk Issues/Solutions
Dealing with corn stalks Part 1 After heavy rains/flooding, a common complaint is the movement of corn stalks/residue off fields into surface ditches. The Soil & Water transects shows that about 67% of corn acres are planted to no-till soybeans and only 6-7% of soybean acres are planted to true no-till corn. The corn residue including corn leaves, corn stalks, and corn cobs and chaff may float off any field once it becomes saturated with water. The practice of no-tiling soybeans into corn stalks followed by conventional tilled corn is called rotational tillage. Farmers have found that there are economic benefits to no-tilling soybeans into corn stalks. It takes less fuel for no-till, the corn residue conserves moisture in a dry summer, reduces weed growth, increases water infiltration, and improves drainage. Environmental benefits of no-till soybeans into corn residue include less soil erosion and sediment losses, less nutrient runoff, and improved soil productivity. Negative side-