GDDs August 7, 2020
Erik Smith, Area Field Crop Specialist/Team Leader
Central New York Dairy and Field Crops
Each week we will be offering the air Growing Degree Days (GDDs) for corn that have accumulated to date from 13 locations across the team 8 county area. A thank you to our intern Peter Burritt for pulling this information together.
Four planting dates will be listed and included will be:
GDDs Season To Date
15 Year Average GDDs
30 Year "Normal" GDD
Period of Record - Max and min recorded GDDs for that time period
See: Growing Degree Day Calculator
Growing Degree Days for corn are Base 86/50 degree F and calculated by taking the average daily temperature, ((Daily Max Temp - Daily Min Temp)/2) - 50. But the maximum temperature cannot be more than 86 degree F and the minimum less than 50 degree F.
Planting date GDDs continue above the 15 year average and definitely above the 30 year "normal" for the date and the May 10 and 20 planting dates are near record GDDs for this date.
Tasseling/silking (1200 GDDs) should be completed at most locations except for corn planted June 1 and at higher elevations. If you know your GDDs for your hybrid to physiological maturity(black layer) subtract off 150 GDDs to get you roughly the GDDs needed to silage harvest dry matter for that hybrid. Record Silking/Tasseling Dates for Corn Fields
If you saw tasseling/silking in the middle of July look to start harvesting corn silage the last week of August or first week of September. That may still seem rough in terms of when to begin, but for planning purposes you should be making plans for an early start for corn silage harvest this year unless weather changes drastically to temps below the 15 year average. It is always hard to think of corn silage being too dry, especially after 2019, but think back to 2018 where dry matters actually started to get ahead of us at harvest which also began late August to early September.
Some of the greatest corn yield losses can occur from drought stress at tasseling/silking. Kernels 10-14 days after silking (R2-blister stage) may abort from drought stress. As of 4 August, all eight of our counties were listed in the abnormally dry category at the United States Drought Monitor site and much of Saratoga County indicated as moderate drought: NY State Drought Monitor Map
See the attached table for more of the August 7, 2020 results.
See the attached pdf for a good guide on corn development and our reference for growth stages.
GDDs August 7, 2020 (pdf; 115KB)
Visual Guide to Corn Development (pdf; 21544KB)
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Mother nature has really been difficult over the last few days. Significant damage has been seen throughout NYS. Please let us know what types of damage your farm may have sustained during this time. This could be in the form of property damage, lost power, milk dump due to lost power, loss of livestock, loss of stored feed or growing crops.Farms are encouraged to DOCUMENT AND SHARE any impacts the weather may have had on their home or business. This could include structure damage, crop loss, inventory loss due to power outages, damage to equipment or fencing, and more.
If your farm experienced any sort of damage, please reach out to any of the folks listed below (or all of them). The more impact information that is collected, the greater the likelihood of a disaster declaration which can bring vital emergency support and awareness. The CNYDLFC Team will continue to collect detail and submit to NYSDAM and the EDEN network.
Reporting Weather Related Impacts (For your home or farm business)
- First, ensure that all the people and animals on your farm are safe, and that there aren't any unsafe working conditions created because of the weather (check your structures!). If there's an emergency, call 911 - don't try to manage it all on your own.
- Second, document all negative weather impacts for your farm and their estimated financial cost. Take photos, make estimates, and put it all in a safe place.
- Reach out to your insurance providers - farm, vehicle, crop, etc. to initiate the claim process as needed.
- Then, share your farm's damage with any (or all) of the ag support agencies listed below. We all work together to collect storm damage information and funnel it up to Ag and Markets which can initiate a natural disaster declaration.
- Chenango: 607-334-5841
- Fulton/Montgomery: 518-853-2135
- Herkimer: 315-866-7920
- Madison: 315-684-3001
- Otsego: 607-547-2536
- Schoharie: 518-234-4303
- Saratoga: 518-885-8995
- Erik Smith: 315-219-7786
- Daniela Gonzalez: 315-749-3486
- Ashley McFarland- 315-604-2156
Your county USDA/FSA service center.
- Chenango: 607-334-3231
- Fulton/Montgomery: 518-853-4015
- Herkimer: 315-866-2520
- Madison:315-824-9076
- Otsego: 607-547-8131
- Schoharie: 518-295-8600
- Saratoga: 518-692-9940
Your county farm bureau manager
- Region 3: Bailey Coon: 518-937-0566
- Region 5: John Wagner: 315-761-9770
- Region 6: Natally Batiston: 518-937-0269
- Region 7: Todd Heyn: 518-431-9338
Please let us know how we can help you.
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