It was a reality check time as I walked across the parking lot to the studio this morning. The actual temperature was about 18 degrees but the wind chill was around zero degrees. I am actually happy the cold weather is here. I would like to see the ground freeze to a depth of a couple of feet. Soil that has frozen in the winter is much more mellow in the spring. Let's not get carried away with really cold weather though! I would love to see "normal" precipitation and temperatures.

With the lower temperatures, now is the time to aerate your corn in storage. I ran my fans last fall while I was drying corn but not since. I do check the corn each week but with the higher temperatures, rainy weather and high humidity, the conditions were not good to run the fans. Now with lower temperatures and lower humidity it is time to cool the corn down so that it does not go out of condition. If the mass of corn is much warmer than the outside temperatures you will get moisture migration. Where the moisture collects the corn will start to crust and spoil. This will occur even if the corn was dry when you put it in the bin.

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