Note: You can listen to my conversation with Darren Goebel by clicking on the SoundCloud link above.

Most farmers are aware of seed singulation and spacing, and the impact that singulation and spacing errors can have on corn yields. However, it's something that can be easily overlooked when it's time to get ready for planting season in spring.

In the latest Down in the Weeds, we visit with Darren Goebel, global director of agronomy and farm solutions at Agco, on a singulation and spacing study the company is conducting in several plots across the U.S. Corn Belt, including in one field near Fremont, Neb.

"Hybrids have changed over time. What's really changed is seed companies have been trying to really improve hybrids so that they can last in drought-type conditions, [and] so they can very consistently put on an ear no matter what the stress," Goebel says. "Seed companies have come a long way with their hybrids. Now because we have this very fixed ear hybrid that's putting on a very similar-sized ear no matter what the situation is with its neighbors, we have to be much more careful to space those seeds out."