2020 has been a great year for seed corn production (other than in some storm areas) and the quality looks to be top notch. Thank goodness for that because there are a ton of new things coming for 2021 planting that you are going to want to jump on.
Do You Need Traits?
Your number one goal has to be return on investment. The last few years have seen a good percentage of the market move to lower dollar traits hoping spending fewer dollars would improve the bottom line. I walked way too many fields this year with insect damage from corn rootworms, corn borers, earworms, etc. to say that skipping the premium traits is really adding dollars for many farmers anymore. The traits that looked the best this year were SmartStax and Trecepta. Before you buy anything for 2021, do some analysis on your cost per acre for each trait. It doesn’t take a lot of insect damage to knock 10 bushels off the top. Well, 10 bushels times even $3 per bushel is $30 per acre, which could be $75 to $100 per bag, depending on your planting population.
SMARTSTAX
In areas where corn rootworms haven’t historically been a problem (like the Dakotas), we saw enough rootworms to justify either a full rate of insecticide in the furrow at planting or a move back to SmartStax. New products like Hefty H4144 & H4244 really look great in the 91 to 92 day corn market. Further south, H4734 and H4844 are raising the yield bar significantly even compared to some of the popular 100 day corns. Don’t forget H6524, which was an NCGA National Yield Contest winner in 2019 at more than 522 bushels per acre and looks fantastic all across the country again this year!
TRECEPTA
If you haven’t heard of this corn trait, Trecepta is a stack with VT Double Pro (multiple corn borer Bt’s) plus Viptera (earworm, western bean cutworm, and more). Not only did farmers need the insect protection this year from Trecepta, but the yield data on many of these hybrids was compelling enough to choose them for next year even where the insect pressure was low. A couple to highlight would include the new H6145, which is a really high-yielding 111 day hybrid with a broad-acre fit. One of the most beautiful hybrids you’ll ever see is H6525, our 115 day yield monster.
MORE DEPTH
Another thing that really stands out to me with corn hybrids for 2021 is the depth at every maturity. Take for example the 75 to 85 day corn market. There are a bunch of great hybrids that stand well and actually yield 200 bushels or more. You don’t have to accept junky hybrids that fall apart in the field. Plant things like H2922 at 79 day or H3442 at 84 day. They look like something you’d see in Iowa or Illinois!
SEED TREATMENT
We continue to innovate with the best seed treatment in the industry, Hefty Complete Corn Seed Treatment. The difference in 2020 was once again very noticeable at emergence and throughout the season. Corn with Hefty Complete is out of the ground faster and has much more early vigor than anything else we’ve ever seen. We have even more advancements in the pipeline for Hefty Complete, so while we currently have 35 different products we put together on the seed, that number will be much higher in the future, and so will your yields.