In the Furrow
2007 corn acres on the rise
By Will Duffie County Extension Coordinator

Folks traveling the roads in Burke County will see many more corn fields in 2007. Upswings in the markets have g r o w i n g corn more attractive this coming year. The increase in corn acres will also be beneficial to succeeding legume crops peanuts or

soybeans from crop rotation. Growers need to order corn seed as soon as possible due an increased demand in corn seed across the southeast U.S.

As we approach the end of 2006 producers are already making plans for the 2007 corn crop. Every year growers have the option to plant new hybrids of corn. One of the most important tasks is to select the most suitable plant varieties for your farm. A variety not only needs to be selected for your farm, but for a specific field based on factors such as soil type, irrigation, disease resistance, and other management practices.

Where do growers get reliable information on varieties? Information

from official variety trials conducted by each state’s land grant college is extremely important. The University of Georgia is the land grant college in Georgia. Official variety trials are conducted on corn, cotton, forages, peanuts, small grains, forages and others as well. These tests are conducted annually in Athens, Griffin, Midville, Plains, and Tifton. You can get this information at the Extension Office or visit the web site http:// www.griffin.uga.edu/swvt/. The peanut, corn, and soybean yields are available at this site. Another source of variety information

is from local research demonstrations conducted on farms in Burke and surrounding counties. These trials are conducted by the local extension agent or seed company representatives. We currently do have limited local corn variety trial data available.

Diversifying crop acres will spread the planting and harvest season for many farms in our county. One major challenge will be the availability of truck to haul corn from the fields at harvest. For more information on corn variety selection, contact the Burke County Extension Office at 76-554-2119.