Farm Futures logo

The seed company already did that, right?

Kyle Stackhouse 2

February 18, 2022

3 Min Read
Closeup of treated corn seed. Corn seed treatment for insect, pest control and disease management
Getty/iStockphoto

To be honest, I wasn’t very productive in the shop this week. When February comes, it usually means circling back to the plans we made in December. There are always changes and tweaks to be done. Plus there are usually a few items that we need to finish up. This year is no different.

After our first round of seed germination results came back, we were left scrambling to get some more corn seed headed our way. Some of the quality was just bad. We are anxious to get the next group of samples sent out, and hope it comes back better. It takes two weeks for the sample to be tested and with shipping delays (which have now spilled over into seed delivery) we will be pushing the window for getting more testing done if it is necessary.

I’m sure some are wondering: why get seed tested? The seed company already did that, right? True. They did, and stamped right there on the tag what the minimum warm germination percentage was. Well, farmers tend to push the window of planting. Sometimes it isn’t very warm, sometimes warming sunlight is absent for several days, sometimes a cold rain comes, sometimes we try to put too much fertility too close to the seed. That is why we do additional testing, at least a cold saturated test and pericarp damage test on every lot we intend to plant.

Results determine whether the seed gets returned, we delay planting to wait for better weather, turn down in-furrow salt content (fertility), or if it is okay to plant that seed anytime. The objective is to give ourselves the best opportunity of a good start and stand establishment.

Biologicals, anyone?

We held off making our micronutrient and biology plans in December. We wanted to do some more investigating. This week that piece of the puzzle started to come together. After some delays, we received a couple of plans from agronomists for us to review. We also spent time with those agronomists and worked through what the goal is and tried to wrap our minds around what they are promoting.

Parts of the program made perfect sense, but other portions were as if they were written in Greek. For many farmers, biologicals are outside the N, P, K macronutrient box. They aren’t anything your dad or grandpa did. It is hard to fathom how a few ounces of this and that could make a real difference.

I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you we have some skepticism, but at the same time we know farmers who have been successful with these products

Our plan is to do some side-by-side tests - program A, our standard program, and program B. It’s easy to sit in the office during the winter and say we’re going to do it. In reality, it is hard in May, June and July to actually follow through with work.

With more labor available this year, we are resigned to making it happen. Likely this will have to be a multi-year test as it can take some time to get biology cranked up again. The ultimate goal is to be more efficient with our resources and increase ROI.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress. 

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like