THERE IS MORE TO GROWING CORN..
Than Just Planting and Harvesting
by David Morris

"One of my philosophies in farming is to be involved in farm organizations that relate to the business that I'm in," says Larry Cowan, Director for Region 12, Middlesex County. "

Larry Cowan

In the late 1980's, we grew seed corn and I was on the Seed Corn Growers Marketing Board (now the Seed Corn Growers of Ontario) from 1985 - 1992. Those were the glory days of seed corn production in Ontario and I was at least partially responsible for getting the companies to look at producing seed corn in Middlesex, Elgin and Lambton. I quit growing seed corn in 1992 and left that Board. Around the same time, Fred Lewis retired as OCPA Director. I had always been interested in the work of the Association and had been a delegate since it began. So, it seemed like a natural fit for me to move up to Director."
Cowan has served on both the Grain Trade and Market Development Committee and the Environment, Technology and Research Committee of OCPA. "Those are my main areas of interest", he says. "I have also been Chair of the Convention Committee since I joined OCPA. I also chair The Corn Industry Advisory Committee, which is a group that was formed by OCPA to bring together representatives of all sectors of the industry - government, processors, the grain trade, seed companies. It serves as a sounding board for OCPA - a place where we can get feedback on our activities and ideas."
Cowan notes that one of the overall goals of OCPA is to get as much Ontario-grown corn as possible processed here. "One of the areas we are going to focus on is helping producers understand the industrial markets for corn in Ontario and how to market to them. We are just beginning to plan some seminars on how the Ontario market works and how to develop a marketing strategy. Our goal is to help Ontario corn producers displace U.S. corn by marketing smarter. Producers need to pay attention to when the big users of Ontario corn are buying and to market their crop then. Producers need to know the processors' buying patterns to get in on the best price. CASCO, for example, books their requirements months ahead. So, part of it is learning how best to use things like forward contracts and basis contracts. The "Sell Your Corn" (www.sellyourcorn.ca) website is one piece of that and it has been working well.
On the research side, Larry notes that OCPA is in the process of revisiting its research priorities. "I would like to see us focus on research that relates more closely to producing and marketing a bushel of corn. One of the questions I always ask is "What does this have to do with a bushel of corn? What is the pay-off to the corn producer?" There is still a big need for agronomy-type research. There are a lot of things about nutrient management that we need to learn more about, especially nitrogen usage. We also need to develop systems that will help producers cope with the Nutrient Management Act and all its regulations. There is a lot more to be done to enhance the information database to help farmers decide what to do.
"In our own case, for example, we have been working for about 10 years to make variable-rate technology for nitrogen work. It has been a lot of trial and error, but I am pretty confident in our system now. Before we started into this, we were putting on 150 Ib/ac of N on just about all of our corn. Now, we are averaging less than 100 Ib/acre.
"There were a lot of pieces to the puzzle, but we tried to look at the whole picture. Crop rotation was one piece. And, we made a deal with a neighbouring hog farm to take some of their manure. We also put a big emphasis on the pre-sidedress nitrogen soil test. We use those tests, and yield maps, to make up nitrogen rate maps and have a variable-rate controller on our 28% applicator."
Cowan has been farming near Mt. Brydges in Middlesex County, since 1975. He, his wife, Marj, and his brother, Tom, and Tom's wife, Joanne, are owners of Chimo Farms. Their operation includes about 1,700 acres of crops, of which 300 are devoted to processing vegetables. The remainder is divided more or less evenly among corn, soybeans and winter wheat. "Because of the vegetables we do not have any set rotation," says Larry, "but we never plant the same crop in a field two years in a row. All of our soybeans and wheat are planted no-till. Corn and vegetables are planted with conventional tillage." Cowan notes that because Tom had a full-time career off the farm, the responsibility for the day-to-day farm management fell to Larry. "We are always a bit thin on labour around here," he notes, "but we could not justify hiring full-time help." Larry's son, Chris, works with him in the spring and fall, but has full-time work off the farm in vegetable harvesting during the summer. To fill in the gaps, the Cowans have had a relationship with a nearby young farmer for the past 15 years. This arrangement has evolved to the stage where they now share ownership of a combine and no-till drill.
Cowan believes that farmers have to take a closer look at some of their cropping practices. "Farmers need to spend more time in their fields figuring out what is going on and just as much time at their desk analysing information and looking for ways to improve. I have spent more time in my fields over the past 10 years than I ever had before and it has paid off. I am always looking for new approaches to get bigger yields at less cost. There is a lot more to growing corn than just planting and harvesting it. You have to be always analysing and making changes as you go. Let go of how you have always done things. Really think about what you are doing and be willing to try something new."