Field Corn (Dent)
Zea mays subsp. mays
Annual warm-season grain crop grown for grain, silage, ethanol, and feed. Field (dent) corn is the dominant row crop in temperate agricultural regions worldwide. Adapted broadly across Zones 3-9 given sufficient growing-season heat units; modern hybrids span maturity ratings (~80-120 day relative maturity) so growers match hybrid GDD requirements to local frost-free season. Best on deep, well-drained loam soils with pH 5.8-7.0 and 20-30 inches of in-season moisture.
Crop Snowflake Score
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Overview
Field (dent) corn (Zea mays subsp. mays) is an annual C4 grass with a 90-130 day production window depending on hybrid maturity. Planted in spring once soils stabilize at 50°F (10°C) and the frost risk is past, with seeding rates typically 30,000-36,000 plants/acre on 30-inch rows (narrower on irrigated/high-management ground). Nitrogen is the dominant input (commonly 0.9-1.1 lb N per bushel of yield goal), supplied as anhydrous ammonia, urea, UAN, or manure; phosphorus and potassium are matched to soil tests. Critical moisture-sensitive periods are silking and grain fill (R1-R5), when water stress causes the largest yield loss. Harvest occurs once kernel moisture drops to 22-25% (combine harvest) or 14-15% (no-dry storage); silage harvest targets 60-70% whole-plant moisture. Major pests include corn rootworm, European corn borer, western bean cutworm, fall armyworm, and tar spot/gray leaf spot/northern corn leaf blight diseases; many are managed with traited (Bt/RR) hybrids and rotation. Yields scale with management and soil productivity; well-managed temperate fields commonly average 170-220 bu/ac, with rainfed marginal sites in the 100-140 bu/ac range. Crop rotates well with soybean and small grains; continuous corn carries higher disease and rootworm pressure.
Growing Season
- Plant
- Late spring after soil reaches 50°F – Early summer
- Harvest
- Late summer to early fall (silage); fall (grain at 22-25% moisture) – Late fall
- Frost-free days
- 110+
- GDD (base 50°F)
- 2,200 – 2,700
Yield
- Typical yield
- 180 bu/acre (shelled, 15.5% moisture)
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
- Years to full prod.
- 1
Market Fit
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Climate Fit
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Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
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Equipment Requirements
planting
Primary tractor for planting, tillage, and harvest support. Sized to pull 12-16 row planters and primary tillage on commercial corn acres. Used or older models substantially reduce capital.
Modern central-fill planter with vacuum metering, hydraulic down pressure, and seed/fertilizer split-row capability. Critical for stand uniformity that drives 5-10 bu/acre. Used 8-12 row units common at smaller scales.
Secondary tillage for seedbed prep — vertical till units (Salford, Great Plains Turbo-Till) increasingly preferred over field cultivators for residue management. Sized to tractor.
For strip-till or no-till systems — places fertilizer and conditions a 6-8 inch strip in fall or spring. Reduces tillage cost and erosion; requires precision GPS guidance.
irrigation
Irrigation transforms corn yields in droughty soils or arid regions. Per-acre cost varies $700-1200/acre installed. Variable-rate end guns and corner systems add $20-40k. Not used in humid rainfed regions.
spraying
Owned by larger operations or contracted from custom applicators. Used for herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide applications. Most growers under 1000 acres custom-hire spraying instead.
Pull-type sprayer for growers below custom-application scale. Adequate for pre-emerge herbicide and rescue post-emerge passes. Often the practical choice on diversified farms under 500 acres.
cultivation
Optional primary tillage tool — used less than historically as no-till and vertical-till systems expand. Still standard in heavy-residue rotations and for incorporating manure.
harvesting
Combine plus 8-12 row corn head. New Class 8-9 combines run $400-600k; used 5-10 year-old units in $200-350k range. Custom harvest is a workable alternative below 500 acres.
Tractor-pulled cart that shuttles grain from combine to road truck without stopping the combine. Critical for keeping the combine running during harvest weather windows.
post_harvest
Steel grain bin with high-capacity centrifugal aeration fan and dryer. Drying capacity sized to 1.5-2x daily harvest volume. On-farm storage captures basis carry of $0.20-0.40/bu post-harvest.
Single-axle straight truck (350-500 bu) for shorter hauls; semi-trailer (1000 bu) for elevator delivery and ethanol plant runs. Custom hauling is widely available as an alternative.
general
Dual-frequency RTK or PPP GPS receiver and auto-steer for tractor and combine. Reduces overlap and operator fatigue. Sub-inch RTK preferred for strip-till and narrow-row planting.
Combine yield monitor plus farm management data platform (Climate FieldView, Granular, John Deere Operations Center). Drives precision N and seeding rate decisions on subsequent years.
Finance Fit
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Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $4/$/bu |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $797 |
| Annual Operating Cost | $700/acre |
| Establishment Cost | $0/acre |
| Total Input Cost | $700/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $97 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Available |
| Subsidies | ARC-CO, PLC |
Source: USDA NASS Crop Values 2025 Summary (Feb 2026 release): OH=$4.25, PA=$4.60 -> avg $4.43/bu (state-avg, Lake Erie basin). Cost structure from regional extension corn enterprise budgets (typical operating cost ~$700/ac for 180 bu/ac yield). (2025)
Risk Fit
Scoring data for this axis is being loaded.
Known Risks
disease
Foliar fungal disease producing raised black "tar spot" stromata on leaves. Severe infections during grain fill can cut yields 30-50 bu/acre. Has spread rapidly through the eastern Corn Belt and Midwest since first US detection in 2015 and is now considered a routine production threat in humid corn-growing regions.
Residue-borne fungal leaf disease, most damaging in continuous corn under reduced tillage. Lesions reduce photosynthetic area during grain fill; severe infections cause premature plant death and stalk rot.
Fungal foliar disease producing long cigar-shaped lesions. Most severe under cool, humid conditions and on susceptible hybrids during silking. Can reduce yield 30% in epidemic years.
Complex of late-season fungal pathogens that compromise stalk integrity, causing lodging at or after physiological maturity. Lodged corn dramatically increases harvest losses and combine time.
pest
Larvae feed on corn roots causing lodging and yield loss; adults clip silks and reduce pollination. Bt-resistant populations and rotation-resistant variants document widely in continuous-corn regions, eroding traditional control tools.
Larvae bore into stalks and ears, weakening plants and creating entry points for stalk rot pathogens. Bt corn has dramatically reduced populations across most growing regions but pressure persists in non-Bt and refuge acres.
Lepidopteran pests that feed on whorl, tassel, and developing ears. Yield damage is generally modest in field corn but can be significant in late-planted fields and during armyworm migration years.
weather
Days exceeding 95°F with low humidity during the 1-2 week silking window damage pollen viability and silk emergence, causing kernel abortion and reduced ear fill. Single largest weather-related yield risk in most regions.
Planting delays beyond optimal window reduce yield potential roughly 1-2 bu/acre per day. Saturated soils also drive denitrification and replant decisions on early seedings damaged by ponding.
market
Corn cash and futures prices swing widely on weather, ethanol policy, export demand, and acreage shifts. Margins compress quickly in bumper-crop years given high input costs.
regulatory
EPA and state-level reviews have tightened atrazine label rates and added watershed-specific restrictions; neonicotinoid seed treatment use is under review. Loss of either could materially raise weed and early-season insect control costs.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Field Corn (Dent) against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: USDA PLANTS (ZEMA), USDA NASS QuickStats (yield averages 2020-2025), Iowa State University Extension Corn Production resources, Penn State Extension Agronomy Guide, Purdue Corn & Soybean Field Guide. Image to be sourced and verified by the image-audit task.
Economics data year: 2025 · Region: lake_erie View economics source →
30 tracked changes across 5 data categories