By Dan Lemke

Farmers across Minnesota and the entire Corn Belt faced numerous production challenges in 2019 because of cool, wet weather, that in some cases, prevented planting at all.

Seed companies weren’t immune from planting problems, which could affect farmers as they plan for 2020.

Bruce Howison, Wyffels Hybrids vice president of sales and marketing, told growers attending the company’s 2019 Corn Strategies event held July 23 in Worthington, Minn., that their company’s seed production process starts well in advance of the actual growing season. However, the best laid plans can fall victim to the whims of the weather.

FULL HOUSE: Hundreds of Minnesota and Iowa farmers packed the Worthington Event Center for the annual Corn Strategies event.

“We had a good plan in place to manage the growth that we anticipated, and then Mother Nature did to our seed production what she’s done to many corn farmers,” Howison said. “In the end, we actually planted more seed production than we’d intended to for 2020 to make sure that we’re in a good position to manage growth.”

Howison said Geneseo, Illinois-based Wyffels Hybrids has been family owned for 74 years. Wyffels started marketing to Minnesota about a decade ago, according to Howison, and has become one of the top three best-selling seed corn brands in the central Corn Belt.

For Wyffels Hybrids as well as other seed brands, striking the proper balance of producing the right amount of seed and the right hybrids is always tricky.

“Seed production is both an art and a science,” Howison said. “Companies are challenged to not over-produce seed. They want to produce the right amount of seed, as do we, but the companies that are facing particular pressures on their costs and delivering value back to their shareholders are saying ‘I can’t take a lot of risk on over-producing or under-producing seed,’ so they’ve tried to manage that carefully. We think one of the results of that is going to be a reasonably tight supply of seed in the marketplace this year.”

Howison suggested that because supplies of some hybrids could be tight, farmers should plan early to get the seed they want.

“Make your commitment to seed early for 2020,” Howison said. “I know farmers are currently hearing from seed salesmen to get their order on the books early. I think this year it’s particularly true. If you want to get the hybrids you want for your farm, I would get them ordered early and get them committed early.”

Seed for a cause

Wyffels Hybrids unveiled a new initiative at its annual event. The Serving Those Who Served program will raise funds to build homes for injured veterans.

FULL HOUSE: Hundreds of Minnesota and Iowa farmers packed the Worthington Event Center for the annual Corn Strategies event.

“We wanted to partner with an organization that we felt shared some of the same values that we have,” said Tim Birkel, Wyffels Hybrid’s communications director. “We’ve selected an organization called Homes for Our Troops that helps soldiers of post-9/11 war who have injuries that make it difficult for them to get around their homes. Homes for our Troops builds new homes for these guys and gives them the opportunity to regain some of the independence that they’ve lost in their time of service to our nation.”

Two dollars of every bag of W5086RIB sold for the 2020 season will be donated to Homes for Our Troops.

Lemke is a freelancer based in Madison Lake, Minn.