Production, research and extension of corn in Tohoku region

Abstract

  The cultivation area of corn is increasing in the Tohoku region due to the high utilization of paddy fields and the increasing demand for domestically produced concentrated animal feed. The advantages of corn include: for crop farmers, it enables labor-saving management and potential increases in yields of later crops by introducing corn into crop rotation in paddy fields; for livestock farmers, it enables the production of livestock products using domestically produced concentrate feed and promotes the use of manure. Crop-livestock integration using manure is important for corn in Japan. The cultivation area of corn in the Tohoku region has continued to increase rapidly from about 100 ha in 2020 to 561 ha in 2023. Most corn was used for direct trading between local crop farmers and livestock farmers, with some exceptions until 2021. However, from 2022, distribution through compound feed companies began, and it is thought that corn cultivation in the Tohoku region has entered a new stage of production. Extensive research has been conducted on high-speed corn cultivation methods using plowing, drying and silage, storage, mycotoxin control, quality evaluation (US number: kernel quality, and feed quality), and feeding techniques. The National Agricultural and Food Research Organization is providing technical support to farmers in cooperation with related organizations and is working to increase the cultivation region of corn. This study introduces the production status of corn in the Tohoku region, and describes current research and range extension.