US allays concerns of corn quality

The US Grains Council (USGC) seeks to allay fears that rainy conditions during the harvest will affect the quality of corn.

The corn crop is set to be one of the largest ever, and would meet all domestic and global demands, according to the USGC.

But reports of wet conditions throughout the corn belt have many importers on edge, as they are concerned about the impact the delayed harvest could have on corn quality, said Ken Hobbie, USGC president and CEO.

Hobbie said they are not sugar-coating anything but they do not want to create unnecessary anxiety. He assured that US farmers will make it a priority to minimise any quality concerns this year.

Tommy Young, an Arkansas corn grower and a USGC A-team leader, said he is running his grain elevator dryer 24 hours per day to keep the corn from staying wet long.

Young said they have found drying corn immediately and cooling corn rapidly greatly reduces mould growth in the storage bins, and they will be spending more than usual drying corn and removing fine material.