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Central MN | Falling numbers is the test you are referring to. It is by no means "new", they always test for it but in a normal year its not as much of an issue. They HAVE to have a good quality result from this test or it is no good for milling. The poorer results are due to the chemical change that the kernal undergoes as it starts to "sprout".
Fall seeded crops are much more prone to trigger this sprouting process as they don't need as much moisture or heat to begin sprouting.
Plain and simple this year was a B***h for harvest. A lot of grain was lost due to the cool moist weather. The way to "try" to eliminate the possibility of this occuring again is to either wait for dryer weather before swathing, leave it in the swath for a shorter amount of time, do more for weed control to eliminate the amount of material in the swath and improve the drying (or "re-drying" if it gets rained on), cut the grain higher or, if you have a good handle on weed control straight cut.
If you have a pressure cure air bin you can easily harvest at 17% and dry it down in the warm summer air. This year harvesting it wet and drying was better than waiting for mother nature. In most years we can get the grain out at less than 13.5% with just waiting for good weather or swathing.
In the end, if it is lodging and wet and starting to sprout.... its hog feed. Not fun.
As far as what to do with your sprout damaged grain? Well, what I don't get used up for seed I'm burning mine in the corn burner.
Best of luck. Some years are not as easy as the others. This is one of them.
Edited by MNRyeGrower 9/3/2009 14:14
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Rejected Rye sample
