Optimistic

Bob Kleinschmit (Corn Product Manager)

What a difference a year can make.  Twelve months ago, planting was going full speed across the corn belt.  Today, there is only limited planting in the southern parts of our sales area and our northern areas have a blanket of snow.  We are all anxiously awaiting the right moment to start planting and anticipating what 2013 has in store.  Whether you are a pessimist or an optimist, I think 2013 will be a year we will talk about well into the future.

At Producers Hybrids, we have lots of great things to talk about.  Our winter production is beginning to come back in a timely manner.  Everything should be here in plenty of time for planting.   We have a good supply of seed in most maturities and we have a great seed production plan in place for next year.  Whether you are concerned about the great drought of 2013 or believe this year will be a bumper crop, Producers Hybrids has the corn and soybean products that will perform on your farm.  We can provide the products with the right mix of disease tolerance, stress tolerance and yield potential to handle whatever comes your way.  Talk to any of our sales representatives about which products will work best for you and your farming practices.

This year we started a new plot program modeled after our highly successful NET program.  The “Premier Product Performance” or P3 trials goal is to have predetermined plot sets that will give our DSMs and Dealers replicated plot locations to go to for product training, observation and yield data.  These are available for corn and soybeans.  The P3 trials have our lead products, new products and competitor checks.   I think the P3 trials will be a great addition to our testing program.  Watch your mail for tour dates or talk to your DSM or agronomist.  There is at least one near you.

There are many exciting things going on at Producers Hybrids.  I am optimistic about this coming year and look forward to watching the new products and trait combinations work on your farm.  Thank you for being valued customers and have a safe and prosperous year.

Successful Spring

Erik Scott (DSM, Region 1 – South Dakota)

As we near another spring in South Dakota we hope for the drought to break and allow us to have a successful growing season. Here in southeastern South Dakota, we have received some moisture since the first of the year, peaking our optimism that it can rain again here. We will still need many more timely rains for 2013 to be a success, but things do look a lot better than they did 3-4 months ago.

2012 really changed the way we think about farming in my area and made many people sit back and take a look at their operation and the way they do things. It has been a fun off season talking with farmers about how they may tweak their operation to defend against drought yet not lose yield if it does rain. Some changes we have identified are population, planting more flex ear type hybrids, tweaking fertility programs, minimizing tillage and crop rotation. Producers Hybrids offers many hybrids that excelled in the drought of 2012. I was very impressed with how our hybrids took the heat and the lack of moisture. As we move into 2013, take the time to talk with your dealers and DSMs to help place the proper hybrids for you.

Supply has been a big discussion in my area. As some popular hybrids in the industry have suffered supply issues this winter and spring, we have been very fortunate to fill most of our original orders and have been able to help people fill orders that were cut in in recent weeks. Going into spring, we will be carrying a good supply of proven hybrids at our dealers and DSM warehouses. If you need in season seed to finish a field or to fill out your spring planting needs, please give me or one of our Premier Dealers a call and we will be more than happy to help you.

In closing I want to thank all of you who support us at Producers Hybrids. We have great customers, dealers and people at our Battle Creek office that make everything work, and without you all we would not be able to make Producers Hybrids the successful seed company that it has become. It has been very exciting for us internally this past year and we are very excited to launch some of our new marketing programs this coming summer. I hope you all have a good planting season and thanks again for all your support.

Counting Cards

Justin Blasius (DSM, Region 1 – South Dakota)

We received some much needed moisture in central South Dakota last week.  The sky carp (snow geese) are passing through our area.  That means we are getting close to spring!  I am excited to hear birds chirp and see planters roll in the next 30-40 days.

I love to work with corn growers.  Planting plots is a great way to do this.  We get to know each other and we gain information that helps both the grower and Producers Hybrids to be more competitive.

Good card players spend time counting cards and calculating odds, that is just how it is.  Those players that don’t spend time counting and calculating their cards are soon back to work at their old job and eating sky carp for supper.

Production agriculture has become so competitive that we also must count and calculate our cards.  Simply put, we must compare every practice and try to measure the production difference between them, then calculate cost and return.  This is most often difficult and time consuming.

I am glad to assist you in counting at least some of your cards by helping plant and harvest plots.  This way we can make sure that you are planting the best hybrids for your area.

I have great optimism for 2013!

Prescribing Hybrids

John Dolan (DSM, Region 6 – Southern)

Throughout this past sales season I have been constantly asked if we will experience a drought next year like the 2012 growing season. My reply has most often been that there are two things in life that you cannot out guess; the Chicago Board of Trade and Mother Nature.  With this in mind, I refuse to attempt to make any sort of prediction on the weather of next year’s growing season.  What I can do is look at each customer’s farm and try to better prescribe hybrids on a per field basis.

Through this process we can determine which acres need a defensive hybrid and which acres can utilize a more offensive hybrid.  The days of selling customers one or two hybrids may be a thing of the past. We are now breeding hybrids that react to certain field conditions better than others.  For example in North Central Missouri, Producers Hybrids 7013 VT2Pro has worked exceptionally well when planted on marginal fields and has pollinated under intense heat. Producers Hybrids 7413 VT2Pro seems to function better in higher yield potential soil types. This continues for every hybrid that is sold by use. Each hybrid has its own environment that it will excel in.

The biggest challenge is to ask the customer enough questions regarding the farm’s operation to make the best hybrid prescription possible.  I tend to usually mention that this process may take several growing seasons to perfect. The days of selling hybrids may be changing to prescribing hybrids. As script technology becomes more fully utilized on the farm level, the requirements of the selling agent also need to change.

If you are looking for high quality, high performing seeds, look no further than Producers Hybrids. Myself or another Producers District Sales Manager would be glad to help you figure out which hybrids would work best on your farm.

Soybean Update

Mark Grundmayer (Soybean Product Manager/Sales Agronomist, Region 4 – Eastern Nebraska)

I am fortunate to have a dual role within Producers Hybrids, working both as the Soybean Product Manager and as Regional Agronomist for Eastern Nebraska. I have worked with our soybean program since starting in 1996. 1996 saw the commercialization of Roundup Ready soybeans and their adoption grew at an extremely rapid pace.

Nearly all of the soybean acres in our sales footprint have been planted to Roundup Ready soybeans for at least the past 13 years.  During that time, growers have had several weed species become more difficult to control with glyphosate.  Marestail and Giant Ragweed are probably two of the more widespread weeds that fall into that category of “tough to control”.  A combination of factors contributed to the resistance issue, ranging from reduced application rates of glyphosate to the plants ability to be prolific seed producers.  How we got to this point is irrelevant, as long as we learn from past experiences.

Currently, there are several companies in the process of working to offer solutions to weed resistance issues. The focal point of this effort is tolerance to multiple modes of action of herbicides. Gene stacks combining growth regulators and glyphosate and/or glufosinate are the very near horizon. 2014 will likely see the launch of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybeans and 2015 will likely see the launch of Dow AgroScience’s Enlist Weed Control System for soybeans. Roundup Ready 2 Xtend stacks dicamba and glyphosate tolerance, giving growers two modes of action for improved weed control. A new formulation of dicamba that reduces both drift and volatility will be an integral part of the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend program. Dow’s Enlist Weed Control System stacks 2, 4-D, glyphosate and glufosinate tolerance for their multiple modes of action herbicide tolerance event. The 2, 4-D component features Colex-D Technology, a new formulation of 2, 4-D that also reduces drift and volatility. There will likely be several other herbicide tolerant stacks that will be commercialized by the end of the decade.

All of these efforts will give soybean growers more effective weed control options. Along with the launch of the herbicide trait stacks, stewardship programs will be released as well. The goals of the stewardship programs are to help soybean growers avoid potential weed resistant issues in the future. Look for more information on both of these herbicide tolerant stacks later in the growing season. Have a safe (and hopefully wet) planting season!

New Look

Have you noticed our newly updated look? You may have noticed a few changes to our colors at the farm shows this past summer, and now you will see our new look on our pickups!

Positive Despite Drought

Ben Schomp (DSM, Region 3 – Western Nebraska)

Here in Western Nebraska, it’s been very dry since last spring.  Very little dryland corn and beans were harvested.  Much of the dryland corn wasn’t worth swathing for cattle feed which is in big demand as many of you know.

The irrigated fields that got a lot of water got really good yields in 2012.  Fields that were short of water saw a lot of yield drag. Pivots and much of the flood ground couldn’t keep enough water on them to keep up with all of the heat we experienced.

We need a lot of rain to get things back in order around here such as, subsoil moisture.  Many of the corn growers I do business with will plant pivots to a fast growing feed for the cows so they can hang onto them.

However, despite the drought and issues that come along with it, I look forward to 2013 and working with you in the coming year!

Planter Tips

Dan Olson (DSM, Region 2 – Minnesota)

Attention: there are 38 days until we start planting (April 11^th)!  That’s not too far away, and frankly, I’m very excited.  Although everyone might not be in his or her planter on April 11^th, this is the day that crop insurance kicks in in south central Minnesota.  Are you ready to pull out the planter and get the seed in the ground?  Ultimately, a good seed bed and planting conditions determine when planting begins, but many of my customers have told me they are working on getting their planters ready now.

I believe your planter is your most valuable piece of equipment on your farm (even though my father would say something different since I come from a livestock farm).  Since, on average, a grower will get approximately 40 planting seasons during his time as a farmer, most growers can’t afford to make a mistake during any of those years.  You get one shot to plant your field each year for maximum yield potential.

It is very important to get your planter fine-tuned to place your seed correctly with spacing and depth.   You may have the best seed in the world (Producers Hybrids) but have poor spacing and depth, which will make you lose yield potential.  It is vital to have your units on your planter checked each year. This will be very beneficial to your farming operation.  Here are a few things to keep an eye on when going through your planter:

• Your planter level (this includes your planter frame and boxes).  This will help you have a consistent depth and placement of kernel drop.
• Having your planter bar 20”-22” above the ground.
• Opening disks should have contact with each other.  Each planter has their own specs.  A way to check this is take a business card from your Producers Hybrids contact and slide it between the disks until it gets tight.  Then you can measure the distance.
• Seed tubes should be checked for cracks and damage.  Damaged tubes will disrupt the flow of the seed to your farrow.

These are only of few areas on your planter that you can check as you are getting your planter ready for the 2013 growing season, as well as during the planting season.

I wish everyone a safe 2013 planting season and thank you for your business.