A Home Run for "Grain Quality" Starts with the "S" in SLAM By Bill Casady

What do baseball and "grain quality" have in common? Answer: A grand slam is a very good thing. Years ago, the term SLAM started appearing in farm news as a postharvest IPM strategy to maximize grain quality and profits. Co-developed by Oklahoma State University and Purdue University, the proactive steps outlined in the SLAM formula seek to prevent pest problems before they arise.

The term SLAM, sometimes written S.L.A.M., comes from the following four basic principles outlined in the method: sanitation, loading, aeration and monitoring. While it's still July or early August, let's take a closer look at the first principle - sanitation.

Sanitation refers to several steps that primarily involve preparing the equipment and the bin site for the new crop. Sanitation begins with cleaning and ends with cleaning. It's important to always keep the bin site free of spilled grain, weeds and other vegetation, but it's particularly important to do a thorough job now in preparation for receiving new crop grain at harvest.

Likewise, it's a good idea to thoroughly clean combines, trucks and all grain handling components whenever they have been used.

Routine cleaning at the end of the day or whenever a job has been completed helps to avoid forgotten piles of grain that can make a home for grain pests. To facilitate routine cleaning, design new facilities with easily accessed cleanout panels at transition points such as the bottom of elevator legs and anywhere else grain may collect in the system. Use selfcleaning components wherever possible to ease the chore and to make cleanout more complete. A little leftover grain can act as an inoculant to contaminate any new grain introduced to the system.

Depending on conditions, such as the length of time grain is expected to be stored, entomologists often recommend spraying the walls and other parts of grain structures with residual insecticides to protect grain from later infestations. Life will find a way, and insects will eventually find stored grain. Wayne Bailey maintains a good summary of stored grain insect management available at http://agebb.missouri.edu/storage/pests/insect.htm.

Finally, set the combine to harvest good clean high-quality grain and store only the highest-quality clean grain for best results.

Look for more on SLAM in upcoming Integrated Crop and Pest Management newsletters and visit http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/ID/ID-207.html. for the original publication describing the S.L.A.M. strategy.

Bill Casady, (573) 882-4370