BA, I am currently combining 20.5% corn, with very little field loss, and nice shelling. If I could combine all of my corn right now, and pay the LP and electricity, I would at this level. With 80 degree weather forecast all week, probably will just be binning corn direct by next monday, but with lots of losses. Last year was the exception....I was combining corn the first week of December, no lodging, 15.5% moisture, excellent condition. This years wind and drought damaged corn wont be around for December, let alone most of November. Needs to come out.
As far as "Phantom" losses on the 225 bu corn yield.....here is the rub. You are always going to lose more corn as it dries to harvesting damages, just common sense. Elevators even recognize the additional losses in drying and handling, by assessing 1.4 % shrink vs. the 1.0 percent in a perfect world. 30 percent corn, shrunk to 13 percent by an elevator's formula will lose an additional 6.8 percent or 15 bushels of drying shrink if their argument is correct and they are not just ripping us a new one.
So I agree with the "phantom losses" to an extent...in a perfect world, hand shelled corn at 30 percent, and solar dried afterwards, will probably give you an additional 5 percent yield, but I don't live in a perfect world. And I have spent very little on drying in the last 10 years, and had high quality 200 bushel corn. This year I am paying for drying and trying to get the stuff out as best I can.
