The best - and easiest and fastest - way is to just leave it to dry on the stalks. Pretty much the standard practice when grown to be dried.

Once picked that's impossible of course and you are stuck with either just long term air drying for months or forced air drying such as they do in grain silos. Then you have the problem of shelling. If you can access a corn sheller - great - or you will have to shell it by hand. If it still isn't completely dry when shelled then I hope you have a dehydrator.

Dave

I was worried about it molding on the stalk. Also, coons are an issue, though the variety I grew was so tall and strong that they seemed to leave this dent alone.

So when do people usually harvest their dent?

I do have a dehydrator, and a corn sheller.

So this may be a bit of a more complicated question than just leaving it in the field as it was recommended that Indiana farmers not do field drying this year, as the corn was drying too slow and there was too much danger of mold and rot:

http://www.hoosieragtoday.com/field-dry-down-not-recommended-this-year-for-indiana-corn/

Also, another article said that after October, field drying really slows down.

I am ot sure how to measure moisture content in field corn but 24 hours in the dehydrator at 125 degrees did seem to produce a flour that was not moist to the touch like it was before.

Yeah if you can get it shelled then low as possible temp on the dehydrator wooks fine - just the cost of the electricity.

The field drying will vary in some locales and years due to weather. Any possible mold development is also weather related. Normal seasons it should be no problem. Here we leave in on the stalk in the field until the first long hard freeze is predicted and then harvest it before that happens. The is usualy late Nov. early Dec. For you it will be a little earlier.

Light frosts don't bother it - only a long hard freeze of 28 or lower.

If you have a room indoors where you can dry it the humidity is normally lower indoors this time of year - rather than a barn or garage and such I mean. And indoors where it is protected you don't have to rush the process. We usually wait until late Feb to start grinding as once ground the meal will mold rot rapidly if any moisture remains in it.

You lose some of the kernel and nutrient benefit when shelling it before it is really well dried but sometimes that can't be avoided.

Dave

Thanks, Dave!