2019 was nothing if not a reminder to diversity your risk when picking corn hybrids. Hybrids that were #1 on farms in 2017 and 2018 fell apart in 2019. Maturities that always seemed to “make it” didn’t black layer or were super wet at harvest. Early maturities performed surprisingly well when planted late and way out of their ideal geography. How much of that will repeat in 2020? My guess is not much, but then again, it could be alot.

That’s why picking the right hybrids and spreading risk is important.

Picking corn hybrids is very much like drafting a football team for the NFL.

While it’s great to have Tom Brady throwing passes, the last time I checked he wasn’t very good at running, tackling, or blocking. For those reasons, having 22 Tom Brady’s on your team doesn’t make much sense. With corn hybrids, having a good mix is critical.

If you’re sweet spot for maturities is around 100 day corn for example, I’d likely be planting corn from 95 day to 105 day.  I like the Bell Curve where a smaller percentage of your hybrids are at either extreme.  If you were planting 7 hybrids, it could look like this:

Pick some earlier flowering hybrids that make it to pollination a little quicker for their maturity and also get some that flower later.  If you plant similar maturities in a field with different flowering dates, you ensure a longer window pollen will be flying around your field.

There may be defensive traits that all hybrids on your farm need like Goss’s wilt tolerance, but I’d recommend picking some hybrids with great top-end yield and others with rock solid defense.  This covers a good share of your farm in case of a weather-related issue like green snap.

Finally, there’s planting population.  If you are using variable rate populations on your farm and have a good reference to base off of, like yield by soil type or fertility level, great job!  If not, at least get a range and mix things up.  Maybe 32,000 is your favorite population.  On hybrids with good ear flex, I’d run part of the field at 28,000.  On hybrids that have a more fixed ear, try running 34,000 in the best parts of the field.  Do you think it will make a difference in a drought year or a cool year?  Spreading your risk on all these things should help you sleep better and give you tools to learn and grow on your farm each year.