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Corn Harvest Quality Report 2012/2013

Contents

  1. Harvest Quality Highlights
  2. Introduction
  3. Quality Test Results
  4. Moisture
  5. Chemical Composition
  6. Physical Factors
  7. Mycotoxins
  8. Crop and Weather Conditions
  9. Planting and Early Growth Conditions - Spring (March-May)
  10. Pollination and Grain Fill Conditions - Summer (June-August)
  11. Harvest Conditions (August-October +)
  12. U.S. Corn Production, Usage, Outlook
  13. U.S. Corn Use and Ending Stocks
  14. Outlook
  15. Survey and Statistical Analysis Methods
  16. Survey Design and Sampling
  17. Statistical Analysis
  18. Testing Analysis Methods
  19. Corn Grading Factors
  20. Moisture
  21. Chemical Composition
  22. Physical Factors
  23. Mycotoxin Testing
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II. Introduction

The U.S. Grains Council Corn Harvest Quality Report 2012/13 has been designed to help international buyers of U.S. corn understand the initial quality of U.S. yellow commodity corn as it enters the merchandising channel. This is the second annual survey of the quality of the U.S. corn crop at harvest. With two years of results, the Council was able to draw some preliminary conclusions about the impact of weather and growing conditions on the quality of the U.S. corn as it comes out of the field. Despite the challenging growing conditions and widespread drought experienced by many of the U.S. corn production regions during the 2012 growing season, the United States produced a favorable quality corn crop with slightly higher average test weight, protein levels and density, and lower moisture and BCFM than in 2011. The Council notes that two years of data only begin to lay the foundation for evaluating the trends and the factors that impact corn quality. As the Council accumulates harvest quality data over several years, the cumulative Harvest Report surveys will gain increasing value by enabling export buyers to assess patterns of corn quality based on growing conditions across the years.

This Harvest Report 2012/13 is based on 637 yellow commodity corn samples taken from areas within 12 of the top corn producing and exporting states. Inbound samples were collected from local grain elevators to observe quality at the point of origin and to provide representative information about the variability of the quality characteristics across the diverse geographic regions.

The sampling areas in the 12 states are divided into three general groupings that are labeled Export Catchment Areas (ECAs). These three ECAs are identifed by the three major pathways to export markets:

  1. The Gulf ECA consists of areas that typically export corn through U.S. Gulf ports;
  2. The Pacific Northwest (PNW) ECA includes areas exporting corn through Pacific Northwest and California ports; and
  3. The Southern Rail ECA comprises areas generally exporting corn to Mexico.

Sample test results are reported at the U.S. Aggregate level and for each of the three ECAs, providing a general perspective on the geographic variability of U.S. corn quality.

The quality characteristics of the corn identified at harvest establish the foundation for the quality of the grain ultimately arriving at the export customers’ doors. However, as corn passes through the U.S. marketing system, it is mingled with corn from other locations, aggregated into trucks, barges and rail cars, stored, and loaded and unloaded several times. Therefore, the quality and condition of the corn change from the point of first sale to the export elevator. For this reason, the Harvest Report 2012/13 should be considered carefully in tandem with the U.S. Grains Council Corn Export Cargo Quality Report 2012/13 that will follow early in 2013. As always, the quality of an export cargo of corn is established by the contract between buyer and seller, and buyers are free to negotiate any quality factor that is of importance to them.

This report provides detailed information on each of the quality factors tested, including average and standard deviation for the aggregate of all samples, and for each of the three ECAs. The “Quality Test Results” section summarizes the following quality factors:

  • Grade Factors: test weight, broken corn and foreign material (BCFM), total damage, and heat damage
  • Moisture
  • Chemical Composition: protein, starch, and oil
  • Physical Factors: stress cracks/index, 100-kernel weight, kernel volume, kernel true density, whole kernels, and horneous (hard) endosperm
  • Mycotoxins: aflatoxin and DON

In addition, this Harvest Report includes brief descriptions of the U.S. crop and weather conditions; U.S. corn production, usage and outlook; and detailed descriptions of survey and statistical analysis methods, and testing methods.