Consider the value of your corn head for harvesting more corn.
The annual quest for profitable corn production comes at a cost – both financially and emotionally. It’s a complex equation that includes input and equipment investment decisions, agronomic know-how, the right grain marketing actions – and a few prayers for favorable weather.
Iowa State University estimates that in 2025, Iowa farmers will invest an average $972/acre to produce a 230-bushel corn crop in a corn-soybean rotation. Regardless of the state, the story is the same; growing corn isn’t cheap and there is little room for error and uncooperative weather when it comes to making a profit.
Iowa State’s estimate accounts for the fundamentals, but farmers may invest in additional inputs to increase corn yield further, such as biologicals, nitrogen stabilizers, fungicides, etc. And each year farmers are asked to spend more on new and improved inputs that offer the hope of boosting yields even higher.
The missing link
All this focus on chasing higher yields and increasing profitability has left one key component in the profitability equation sometimes forgotten – the corn head. With 60% of harvest losses occurring at the corn head, it is the missing link in the quest for profitable corn production.
“After all the investment we farmers make to optimize corn yield potential, it’s the corn head that can ultimately make a difference between a profit and a loss,” says Dustin Bollig, farmer and Dragotec USA vice president of sales and marketing. “When corn is $7/bushel, we want every kernel, but when it’s $4/bushel, we need every kernel.”
Of course, combine head loss occurs in a variety of ways – ear bounce, butt shelling, improperly adjusted deck plates, down corn, etc. It takes just two corn kernels per square foot – or a single three-quarter pound ear in 1/100 of an acre – to equal one bushel per acre of yield loss.
“Given any variety of field conditions, including down corn, insect damage, drought and even high-yielding corn, a corn head can act like a sieve when it comes losing kernels and ears,” he says. “But it’s a loss that can be managed.”
Higher yields = higher potential loss
Bollig says one of the most overlooked factors leading to corn harvest loss is the amount of stalk width variability in today’s high-yielding corn. “An Iowa State study found that as little as a 1/8-inch gap between the stalk and deck plates can lead to up to a four bushel/acre yield loss.
“It showed that yield loss from mis-adjusted deck plates can be significant.”
To learn just how significant, Dragotec conducted a three-year study to measure stalk width variability and its potential impact on yield loss. Electronic sensors mounted on the automatic self-adjusting deck plates of a Drago corn head measured stalk width changes within and between rows as the combine harvested higher- and lower-yielding areas of the field.
As stalks entered the row units, the plates would automatically adjust to the width of the stalk, and the sensors would record their movements.
Results were “eye opening”
“What we found was eye-opening,” Bollig says. “We knew there would be some variability, but it was extreme. The deck plates were constantly adjusting to changing stalk widths. It was rare for any two rows to have matching plate gap widths.”
The study revealed that deck plate adjustments differed by at least 1/8 inch from row to row more than 90% of the time. In areas of the field where yield exceeded 200 bushels, row-to-row plate gap settings varied by ¼ inch or more 40% of the time. Deck plates made nearly two ½-inch adjustments every second.
“Contrary to what most producers believe, our research showed that higher-yielding fields have more stalk width variability, and therefore higher potential for yield loss,” Bollig adds. “Manually adjusted hydraulic plates that have one setting for all rows are incapable of keeping up with the variability that occurs in higher yielding corn.
“The study demonstrated just how critical deck plates can be in capturing and maximizing harvestable yield.”
Sights and sounds of yield loss
Corn harvest is a violent process. Knife rollers can pull ears down to deck plates at speeds of 15 to 18 mph. And when they hit the plate, they hit hard, creating opportunities for ear bounce and butt shelling.
“Corn farmers are all too familiar with the sight of ears bouncing out of the head and the sound of kernels pinging off the windshield when this occurs,” Bollig says.
Drago corn heads feature longer knife rollers that revolve at a lower RPM than those of other brands to reduce ear impact on plates. The knives catch and release stalks as they move higher up the row unit, allowing ears to be released further back. The Drago GT introduced a yield-saving feature called QuadSuspension™ – “ear shocks” placed under the deck plates to absorb the impact of ears as they are being separated from stalks.
“The combination of Drago knife rollers and QuadSuspension is a one-two punch for producers who are tired of the sights and sounds of yield loss compared to other corn heads,” Bollig says.
Capturing down corn
Down corn can turn a great season into a dumpster fire. Lodged corn is a sure bet that yield will be impacted, or at the very least, will slow harvest to a crawl. Drago market research revealed most farmers estimate they lose five bushels or more per acre in down corn.
“Drago corn heads are engineered to improve harvest in standing as well as down corn,” Bollig says. “Their gathering chains are positioned further forward than others and have larger lugs to collect and pull stalks into the head. This is especially beneficial in down corn.”
Bollig also notes that Drago stalk choppers are positioned under the stalk rollers, so stalks are not processed until they are in the grasp of the knife rollers. The head also has the lowest angle in the industry to help row units slip through and collect falling ears when harvesting lodged corn.
Grower experience
In the aftermath of a devastating derecho in 2020, Iowa farmer Tony Brown was in the middle of harvesting down corn when he decided to switch to a Drago. He started the harvest season with a John Deere corn head equipped with a reel running between 1 and 1.5 mph, not including the frequent stops he made to unplug the head. He says switching to the Drago made a big difference. “I was amazed. We were running at about 4.5 to 5 miles per hour through down corn.”
After finishing his own fields, Brown went to help a neighbor who was operating a John Deere corn head in the same down corn field condition. “He had to have his deck plates wide open to get the crop to feed in. Ours were self-adjusting,” he says. “Running in the same field side by side, there was a 25-bushel difference.”
Brown’s investment in a Drago helped him capture more of his hard-earned corn yield. “When you don’t see the shelling, and you don’t see the yield loss, they sell themselves,” he says. “I doubt we’ll own any other brand other than a Drago.”
“As corn growers ourselves, we know how carefully producers must evaluate each and every crop input every season,” Bollig says. “And considering the time, the costs, the effort – and stress – that go into those crop inputs, it’s just as crucial that growers also evaluate how they harvest to get the most yield possible. And for that, their corn head is the first place they should look.”
To see how you could increase corn yield and boost your bottom line, check out Drago’s ROI calculator.