A couple of years ago we launched our F2F Genetics seed line into the industry and I’ll be completely honest,.. I knew very little about the seed business then, but I’ve learned a lot about seed since adding it to our portfolio, in fact I’ve learned enough to know that I have lot left to learn. Fortunately, our seed team at FBN does an awesome job educating our sales team, they really know their stuff (and they are passionate about it).
One of the first things I learned about the seed industry was that it’s somewhat confusing and often times misleading. A prime example of this is how many seed varieties are offered by various brands in the industry under different names in different bags w/ completely different price points… but they are the exact same seeds. If you have a moment, checkout what we exposed when we released our seed relabeling report. Without this transparency, farmers are at risk of overpaying for seed, one of their largest expenses. Beyond protecting growers from overpaying, this effort on our part also helps growers make variety selections that will insure they have genetic diversity on their farms as opposed to planting the same genetics unknowingly.
Always Look for Ways to Increase ROI…
When growers shop soybean and corn seed here in the mid-south there are a couple of brands that typically reoccur on farms year after year because growers have a comfort level knowing that these brands have always performed for them. It’s pretty simple actually, you go with what you know, it’s easier that way. What’s interesting to me though is that when I talk w/ growers, one of the first things they bring up is that seed prices are one of the biggest input expenses and it seems that these costs continue to rise year after year. Whenever I’ve had these conversations w/ growers I always ask if they’ve ever brought new genetics and varieties onto a small percentage of their operation to do a side by side comparison to see if there might be varieties from other brands that might present a better ROI than their current seed. Most guys admit that they always consider this while making their pre-season plans but never actually follow through. I’ve actually heard this response a number of times each season, so many times that it actually motivated me to put this post together. I’ve put together 3 of my top seed recommendations for growers to consider on their farm this season.
Allocate a Small Percentage of Your Acreage to Experiment w/ Other Varieties
I want to be perfectly clear, I’m definitely not asking growers to replace proven winners that they’ve had success with year after year, I’m simply asking the growers that I work with to carve out a small percentage of their planned acreage and experiment w/ one of these varieties so they can some insight into how other genetics / varieties perform on their farm as well as an opportunity to evaluate their ROI w/ a seed variety that hits a much better price point.
Corn Seed Recommendations for the Mid-South from Master Farmer
These are my two favorite corn varieties for placement in the mid-south. Download Master Farmer Seed Guide
- Master Farmer MB-T159 / Tech Sheet
This adaptable hybrid has high yield potential w/ great grain quality. This variety also fits well on non-irrigated acres. In terms of management, you’ll want to make sure it’s planted into well drained soils. We also recommend harvesting early for best results.- 115 Day Relative Maturity
- Above Ground Trait Group
- High Yield Potential
- Moderately Drought Tolerant
- Has performed very well in the Mississippi Delta
- Plant at moderate plant populations
- Master Farmer MB-P179 / Tech Sheet
This popular variety has great top end yield potential, and we’ve had some great results in the delta w/ this variety. This variety features a large, showy plant, and it can handle wet soils pretty well. This variety is not very drought tolerant and we recommend a fungicide treatment for best results.- 117 Day Relative Maturity
- Above Ground Trait Group
- Ultra High Yield Potential
- Works well on poorly drained soils
- Really Good heat tolerance below average drought tolerance
- Recommended 32k plant population
- Large plant size
- Recommended for placement in 200bu average environments
Soybean Seed Recommendation for the Mid-South from Paloma
Picking a soybean variety for the mid-south from our portfolio is pretty easy, as a new entry in the seed industry, most of of our offerings have incompatible relative maturities for use in the Mid-South, however we have one variety that I’m recommending to my growers that are interested in planting an alternative to Dicamba technology on their farms this season. Our Paloma Seed™ Enlist E3® varieties support the use of 3 technologies for control; glyphosate, glufosinate, and enlist. Each product from Paloma has the best germplasm and trait package in the industry offering flexibility for weed control.
- Paloma PL2E440 / Tech Sheet
This is an adaptable variety that features a large plant that will canopy early for increased weed control.- 4.4 Relative Maturity
- Very Stable Across All Yield Environments
- Taller Plant w/ Above Average SDS Tolerance
- Pl 88788 SCN Source
Lots of Programs to Help You Save!
We have lots of programs available this season to help you reduce costs, for a complete listing of all of our programs this season, see our 2022 Sales Program Guide. If you are running the numbers and would like to try one of our seed offerings this season, I recommend reaching out to me directly and I’ll sharpen my pencil and do whatever it takes to get a few acres on your operation this season, just give me a shout (501) 206-1664.
Download our 2022 Seed Guides
Because we know that each operation is different, we offer a variety of programs that will enable you to utilize our seed products in a way that works best.
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