How do we grow corn today?

The inventory is huge, the price is low, the income of growing corn is getting lower and lower, and even begin to lose money. Many farmers wonder whether corn can still be planted. What kind of corn is more cost-effective?

Recently, the reporter continuously visited farmers, professional households and experts to explore the future of corn.

Current situation: few people are happy and many are sad.

Du Weiyuan, a native of Dudian Village, Shuzhuang Township, Shangshui County, planted more than 800 mu of corn this year. The corn cob he planted is big and full, and he has had a bumper harvest this year, with a yield of more than 1600 jin per mu. "the good harvest is due to the planting of a good variety Zhengdan 1002," he said. "

This variety is a new maize variety cultivated by the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences. it has large grains and high yield, which can not be blown down by strong winds. A lot of corn lodged because of the weather this year, but du Weiyuan's corn didn't fall down. "regardless of whether the price of corn is high or low, the yield per unit area is higher, the yield is still much higher," he said. "

On September 25, less than 100 meters away from du Wei's corn field, farmer Zhang Liuzhu was harvesting 3 mu of corn planted at home. The corncobs he grows are small, many with only a few kernels sporadically. He said: "it is estimated that the yield per mu is about 800 jin. I work outside, I seldom manage it, and I don't irrigate the land and fertilize it during drought. " He sighed that the income of corn was low, and it was not worth watering the land when he asked for a few days off.

Some people are happy and others are sad about growing ordinary corn, while those who grow whole-plant silage corn and characteristic corn are happy. Zhao Shujie, the general manager of China Grass Storage Co., Ltd., has been busy harvesting and packing silage corn for more than 50,000 mu in Xiping, Gongyi, Zhongmou, Shenqiu and other places.

In Shangshui County, after settling accounts for the reporter, a farmer said: "according to the current calculation of more than 70 cents per jin, if the corn yield per mu this year is 1000 jin, after deducting the expenses of cultivated land, chemical fertilizer, seeds, and machine harvest, we will not lose nor earn."

However, it is not easy to achieve more than 1000 jin per mu this year. There are also land prices for the large households who transfer land, which makes it even more difficult to make money. No wonder big growers like du Weiyuan also say, "it is difficult to make money by growing corn this year."

Consultation: what is the crux of the corn problem?

Compared with autumn crops such as peanuts and soybeans, the comparative income of planting corn is lower, of course, the direct reason is the low price of corn. At the "2016 Autumn Grain and Feed Grain Symposium" at the Zhengzhou Grain Wholesale Market on September 20 this year, experts generally believed that there is still a long way to go for the digestion of aged corn in China in the future, and the decline in corn prices is a general trend. At present, the price of corn in the province is about 0.75 yuan per jin.

In this regard, Tang Baojun, a post expert in the provincial corn industry system and a researcher at the Institute of Grain production of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said: "on the surface, corn appears to be the problem of lower income caused by lower prices, but in fact, there is a deeper reason, which is that the cost of corn production is too high." the comparative income is low. "

The household-to-household system of small farmers is one of the most important reasons. Li Hai, a farmer in Yangfeng Township, Suiping County, planted 5 mu of corn. The husband and wife both went out to work. They went home once during planting and once at harvest time. Usually they did not go home for management at all. "regardless of the low output, it is not cost-effective to manage too much," he said. It is more cost-effective to calculate or rely on the sky's harvest. "

This is the general ambivalence of farmers under the small-scale peasant system. Because of the lack of economies of scale, the production cost of farmers planting corn is higher, and the natural comparative benefit is low. people generally have the feeling that growing corn does not make money or even lose money.

At the same time, the planting structure of corn itself also has big problems, the market does not need more planting, the market needs a small planting area. As far as our province is concerned, it is basically a single variety and a single product. Farmers are used to planting ordinary corn, resulting in a surplus of ordinary corn, silage corn and characteristic corn can not effectively meet the market demand. For example, Nanyang Tianguan Group needs a lot of high starch corn to process ethanol gasoline. However, there is a lack of large-scale cultivation of high-starch corn in our province, and enterprises can only choose ordinary low-starch corn.

The way out: how to plant corn in the future

Now that corn prices are low and stocks are large, it is imperative to appropriately reduce corn. Lower corn prices are both a challenge and an opportunity for corn cultivation. Tang Baojun said: "in the structural reform on the agricultural supply side, autumn grain needs to reduce the planting area of corn and increase the planting area of crops such as peanuts and soybeans, but corn itself also needs structural reform. Reducing common corn and increasing the planting area of silage corn and characteristic corn is an important direction for the way out of corn. "

At present, the stock of corn in our province is small and can basically be produced and sold on its own. In the consumption structure of corn in our province, 70% is used for feed. Our province plans to reach 4 million mu to 5 million mu of silage corn by 2020. At present, there are only 600000 mu of silage corn in the province, which has increased by 36% compared with last year, and there is still huge room for development.

After fermentation, silage corn can improve the quality of milk and beef. The income is high, and the problem of straw burning is solved. Tang Baojun said: "our province is a major breeding province, and there is a huge demand for silage corn." With the lower corn prices and the promotion of 'grain to feed', silage corn will be more and more sought after by the market, and the income will be better and better. "

For ordinary corn, the way out is to continue to cultivate and promote high-yield and high-quality varieties, increase the yield per unit area, and let farmers make money by growing corn. At the same time, the cultivation of varieties that can harvest corn kernels directly can enable farmers to harvest corn just like wheat, realize the whole mechanization of corn, further reduce labor and reduce the cost of corn production. The fundamental way out is to speed up land transfer and promote large-scale planting. Only in this way can we greatly reduce the cost of corn production, enhance market competitiveness, and enable farmers to make money by growing corn in the fierce market competition, which can not only meet the market demand, but also ensure national food security.