Impact Of Headland Area On Whole Field And Farm Corn Silage And Grain Yield

Use of agricultural equipment on corn (Zea mays L.) fields can contribute to soil compaction, especially on headland (HL) areas where wheel traffic is more intense than on non-headland (NHL) areas. Better decisions about HL management (investment to improve production potential, discontinue, or plant another crop) can be made when the HL contribution to field and farm yield is known. We quantified yield differences between HL and NHL areas, at field-, and at farm-scale using corn grain and silage yield data from 4,145 fields (similar to 20,000 ha) across 63 farms in New York. Further, we quantified the yield impact of HL areas across years from four farms with 8-11 yr of yield records. Per field and farm "potential production gain" was determined as the potential gain in production if HL yield could be increased to equal NHL yield. Yields per hectare were 14% (grain) and 16% (silage) lower in the HL areas. Production gain per field averaged 4% for both grain and silage, reflecting the smaller proportion of HL per field. For about 70% of the fields potential production gain was <5%, vs. 5-20% potential production gain for about 25% of the fields. Small, low-yielding fields had the highest potential production gain (>20%). Production gains across years ranged from 1 to 7% (grain) and 0.4 to 6% (silage), independent of growing season precipitation. We conclude potential production gains are sufficiently large to warrant headland management, but management should be directed to fields with the greatest potential for yield increase.