If you are looking for help in deciding which corn hybrids and soybean varieties to plant on your farm in 2017, look no further. Final results of Iowa’s official variety trials for corn and soybeans for 2016 are now available to the public at croptesting.iastate.edu.

The annual Iowa Crop Performance Tests are managed and conducted on more than 20,000 plots at 30 locations across the state of Iowa, with more than 35 seed companies participating in the tests. You can find yield averages not only for 2016, but for the past two or three years for many of these hybrids and varieties.

Iowa Crop Performance Tests offer unbiased results
Online users of the test results and information can view all entrants, the hybrids or varieties entered and the districts and tests in which the entries were placed. Users can also filter the information by district, GMO traits or maturity. All data tables in the reports are also available to download as Microsoft Excel files on the website.

The Iowa Crop Performance Tests are the top-ranked provider of unbiased performance data among all Midwestern, self-supported public testing programs for both corn and soybeans. The testing program continues to provide growers information they need to make informed variety selection decisions. Quick access to harvest data is commonly cited as the most appreciated feature of the yield tests. Data reports also include two-year averages when applicable.

Published results are available to anyone who is interested
Published results can be requested from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach county offices, the Iowa Crop Improvement Association at 515-294-6921 and the Extension Store at 515-294-5247. The Iowa Crop Improvement Association (ICIA) conducts these annual Iowa Crop Performance Tests in cooperation with the ISU Department of Agronomy. The program offers unbiased, third party, on-farm information to Iowa growers.

The old joke is the most important traits are yield, yield and yield. But there’s far more to it than that, when it comes to selecting the right corn hybrids and soybean varieties for your fields, says Mark Licht, ISU Extension cropping systems agronomist. When profitability is almost non-existent and margins are tight, it’s especially important to consider the source of the information and how the yield tests are conducted.

These ICIA trials are conducted in many different environments
“On our website you will find information about our testing policies and procedures, data from the current and prior testing seasons, and links to related crop testing programs,” says Jim Rouse, who oversees management of the trials as executive director of ICIA. “Iowa Crop Performance Tests provide direct, unbiased comparisons among a large number of corn hybrids and soybean varieties, in many different environments across the state of Iowa.”

Data are posted online within 48 hours of harvest, giving farmers and anyone who is interested an early look at the test results. “There is no other way to get this type of high quality plot management, statistical integrity, and timely access to information,” says Rouse. “Our program is backed by an 80-year history of testing, and the credibility of Iowa Crop Improvement Association, ISU Extension and Iowa State University.”