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Posts tagged Corn

Retired Judge Goes Back to Farming

When one was raised in a farm, chances are, one will venture into farming after retiring. That’s why one prepares for this by buying farmland while still in service.

Such is the case of Judge Osmundo Villanueva who retired as a Regional Trial Court judge in Sultan Kudarat in 2005 after 35 years on the bench. He was still a young boy when his family migrated to Mindanao from Tarlac in search of the proverbial pot of gold in March 1949. The pot of gold, however, was nowhere in sight and his father ended up as a tenant of a big landlord in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat.

Judge Villanueva was in Grade IV when his family arrived in Tacurong. “The world became different to me because I was mixed with other pupils speaking different dialects, which is why I speak Bisaya, Ilonggo, Maranaw, Ilocano, Tagalog, Pangasinense, and Capampangan fluently among several others,” he said.

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Posted on January 4th, 2009 under Corn/Maize, Farming, Rice. Tags: , , . Comments: None

Promising Rice and Corn Coffee Makers in Sarangani

Rice and corn coffee are believed to relieve gas pain, and make the body feel light after a heavy meal.

One of the many Filipinos who believe in this is Nanay Cresing of Maitum, Sarangani Province. It seems that her day would be incomplete if she has not drunk rice coffee, which Ilocanos call kinirog a bagas or sara-sara for the Visayans.

Since it’s her favorite beverage and it so happened that Maitum is the biggest rice-producing municipality of Sarangani, her daughters Elizabeth R. Palma and Nieda N. Ramos who are both government workers thought of venturing in processing rice- and corn-based products. They saw a business opportunity in these ancient Filipino beverages, for these are 100 percent caffeine- and preservative-free. After all, they thought, “not all coffee comes from a bean.”

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Posted on January 1st, 2009 under Coffee, Corn/Maize, Rice. Tags: , , , . Comments: None

Managing Aflatoxin in Your Corn Grain

Lack of or absence of postharvest facilities… this is the perennial problem plaguing the corn industry for more than a decade. Despite technological advancements that the Philippines is able to catch up on, postharvest is apparently left behind. To this day, we still see plenty of corn and palay being dried in highways all at the mercy of the elements and even motorists. It was reported that about 4 to 25% of a given volume of corn grains are lost during and after harvest. From picking to storage, a farmer knows that every step of the way he or she is losing money. The longer it takes for farmers to bring the grains to the buying center; the higher the postharvest losses.

One of the things that very few farmers know in postharvest management is about grain quality and aflatoxin. We term aflatoxin locally as amag. Everybody is aware of amag and it can spell the difference between rejected and acceptable grain, premium and inferior grain prices. I have personally heard of an incident where a truckload of corn grains from North Luzon was rejected at the feedmill plant just because it failed the tolerable levels of aflatoxin. It was a waste of money, time and effort and to think it travelled several hundreds of kilometers only to find out that they are carrying tons of garbage.

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Posted on December 26th, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: , . Comments: None

Protecting Your Corn Seedlings

In corn production, young plants are the most vulnerable against various pests and environmental stresses in the field. In fact, based on my personal experience majority of farmers .are more concerned with the first 40 days of the corn s growth than at any other stage. From a technical perspective, this concern is very valid. The first month of the young corn is the most challenging as farrmer tries to ensure it can deliver the yields by growing healthy and stress-free young plants. Ensuring health young plants is like assuring more than half of your yield potential already. No degree of catching up in the second month can ever help a neglected crop and outperform a healthy crop in the first month.

AVOIDING SURPRISES IN THE FIELD
I know plenty of farmers who would really give Pioneer agronomists a call if they see any young corn plants with unusual appearance, color, or height. For instance, keen and trained eyes are needed to see the difference between leaf feeding damage caused by corn borer and that of cutworm.

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Posted on December 9th, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: , , . Comments: None

The Challenge of No-Corn Importation

The bane of domestic corn farmers in the past has been the propensity of big users of corn to dangle the importation card whenever domestic corn prices are in the upswing.

For whatever reasons they have, the members of the Philippine Association of Feed Millers, Inc. (PAFMI) through their association president recently announced that they will not be importing corn in the near future (Philippine Star issue of August26, 2008, p. B2). This is truly one of the better news our farming communities have been waiting for.

The bane of domestic corn farmers in the past has been the propensity of big users- of corn to dangle the importation card whenever domestic corn prices are in the upswing. Farmers not able to sustain their momentum as big users would ask for imports as an alternative to rising domestic corn prices. But things had changed in the worldwide commodity markets, making importation a not-so-attractive option anymore.

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Posted on December 3rd, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: . Comments: None

When Your Corn Loses Its Green

A friend of mine once said, “It’s always refreshing to see a lush corn field out here just when everything is turning brown”. He was referring to one of the best corn-growing environments of the Philippines in Pangasinan, during the dry season from November to March. Here, you get the right amount of sunlight for your corn and a manageable irrigation system. One that gives each cornfield here a promise: better yields than in any other parts of the country.

Many can tell when you will have a bumper crop from your hybrid corn; just look at how green and clean it is until maturity. A verdant corn field can be likened to a food factory in full operating capacity. The energy from the sun is tapped by the green leaves and converted to food in the most efficient manner. Every cell in the plant’s leaves performs this world’s most important biological process: photosynthesis.

To keep it going, the corn plant will need to have a steady supply of light, moisture, and nutrients. And of course, pests should be kept at bay. Any leaf-feeding insect will definitely reduce photosynthetic activity. Leaf diseases, on the other hand, should be managed since they will reduce effective leaf area and impair the leaf tissues involved in photosynthesis.

Fortunately, in Ilocos and Central Luzon leaf diseases are virtually absent. My friend can continue enjoying the green corn fields of Pangasinan. Farmers in Mindanao and Visayas will turn green in envy for their Luzon counter parts. Layab as they call leaf blights in vernacular is very rarely a concern. In the previous issue, we’ve directed our topic on lodging towards stalk rots. This time, we’ll tackle leaf diseases and its impact on yield.

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Posted on November 26th, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: , , . Comments: None

YieldGard Bt Corn Much Better than Ordinary Yellow Hybrid Corn

Small corn farmers have good reasons for adopting YieldGard, the first Bt corn variety introduced in the Philippines by the multi-national company Monsanto, according to international agricultural economists and policy consultant Dr. Leonardo A. Gonzales.

After monitoring and evaluating the socio-economic impact of the Bt corn YieldGard, Dr. Gonzales said his findings show that small farmers adopt this variety due to its higher yields, cost efficiency, profitability, potential to cover household’s poverty thresholds, global competitiveness, and return on investment (ROI). .

His study covered Isabela, Camarincs Sur, Bukidnon, and South Cotabato, the four major corn-producing provinces, and was conducted in four cropping seasons from 2003 to 2005.

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Posted on November 21st, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: , . Comments: None

What to Know During Corn Ear Formation

With the harvest period nearing and with the very attractive grain prices, it’s pay-off time for the hard work and the correct decisions made in the early going. Actually, farmers are use to declaring “tumama” by the time the ears are showing from the green, healthy-looking plants. Of course, harvesting is still several weeks away but there’s something the way these crops would show their potential yield. In fact, veteran farmers or agronomist can do an estimate right away.

Since we’re done with the first 60 days, more or less, of your corn plant, we’ll now discuss the stages immediately after flowering and some of the important factors that may interfere with it. Assuming that everything went right ;n the early stages, I would say that the postflowering phase is a lot easier to manage. As the kernels become mature with time, the reduction in yield from potential stresses becomes lower.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE POST-FLOWERING PERIOD?
The stages following pollination is when kernel development is rapidly occurring. Dry matter accumulation or seed-filling is the top priority for the plant. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are being relocated from the vegetative to the reproductive parts. Moisture content of kernels is around 85% at the blister stage and will continue to decline until maturity where it is expected to be at the 3035% level depending on the hybrid and environment.

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Posted on November 20th, 2008 under Corn/Maize. Tags: . Comments: None

The Off-Season Crop : Understanding the Risks

It is said that planting during off season is like committing suicide. For any crop or corn for that matter, not following the regular planting calendar spells a variety of should-be problems. The list includes insect pests, drought, diseases, and rodents. On top of these, drying and storage are potential problems that can be brought about by rains and poor weather. Palay and corn need thorough drying and if one does not have drying equipment, significant losses from poor grain quality can be incurred.

On the other hand, many corn farmers in Luzon and Mindanao find off-season cropping more of an opportunity. Prices of grains during the off season are normally higher than the rest of the year since harvest does not synchronize with the majority of standing crops. Some say they do not want their farms idle so they plant another crop just before the regular rice season (in Central Luzon) and earn additional income. Yield may be lower in some instances but most of the time, the grain price in the off-season can compensate for the reduced output. But getting additional cash from a two-cropping-a-year farm venture is what attracts them the most.

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Posted on October 23rd, 2008 under Corn/Maize, Other Crops. Tags: . Comments: None

Ex-tuba Gatherer Makes Big in Cornmilling and Farming

Despite the lack of education, a former tuba gatherer in Misamis Oriental and his wife have made it big in cornmilling and in corn farming.

From 1958 to 1967, 66-year-old Ponciano “Cian” Nob worked as a tuba gatherer and earned P2 for every can of tuba he gathered. He usually gathered two cans of tuba a day and, hence, earned P4 a day or a total of P120 a month. Although it was not big, his income enabled him to provide the basic needs of a growing family.

Sensing that tuba gathering would not be able to provide well for his children, Cian put up a sari-sari store along the highway in El Salvador with an initial capital of P300 in 1967. While his wife, Hipolita, attended to the store, he later engaged in hog and cattle buying. He went around the neighboring towns like Naawan, Manticao and Lugait and brought the animals to Cagayan de Oro City using a service jeep.
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Posted on October 13th, 2008 under Corn/Maize, Entrepreneurs, Other Crops. Tags: , . Comments: None

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