by Casey Carlson  CaseyC@agpartners.net

Do you want your corn to average an extra 3-5 bushels per acre for free? If yes, then answer this question. When you load seed in your planter do you plant a specific variety per field or do you load the planter up with the variety that’s closest to the shed doors?

Correct hybrid placement is an easy way pick up free bushels by placing a hybrid in a scenario in which it will perform the best.  Some hybrids perform well in corn on corn rotations while others don’t.  A racehorse type hybrid can excel in highly productive soils and high management and greatly underperform in more variable soils.   The opposite is also true. A work horse type hybrid will outperform on tougher, variable farms, but its top end yield can disappoint on better farms.  Having a hybrid placement plan will also allow you to better define your fields variable rate seeding recommendation rates.  Some hybrids will profitably respond to pushing plant populations to 38,000 to 40,000 while others don’t want to be planted over 35,000! The integrated approach maximizes profitability by maximizing yield via the correct planting rates by hybrid.

Today via our seed supplier data, Answer Plot data, and A.Y.S. datasets we have more data and more insights from data available on specific hybrids then we have ever had before.  We have seeding rate data, fungicide response data, fertility data, soil data, and rotational response data on the key hybrids we and our competitors sell.  Without acting from the insights the data provides, it’s just data! By using the data to make a better hybrid placement plan or a hybrid placement plan period you can reduce risks, eliminate mistakes and pick up those free extra bushels that mean everything in the lean economic times we are in.  Let us help you make the best decisions for your fields.