Thousands of farmers in Indiana and other states attended one of 107 meetings hosted this winter by Beck’s. Seed corn meetings aren’t unusual this time of year. What is unusual are seed corn meetings that don’t discuss corn or soybean products for sale this season.

Jim Schwartz, Beck’s director of Practical Farm Research and Agronomy companywide, took time to explain the theory behind why the company invests heavily in farmer research and educational meetings. He also looks to the future of the Beck’s PFR program. Here’s his interview with Indiana Prairie Farmer.

Why did Beck’s hold so many meetings this winter? We held 107 meetings spread from Ohio to Kentucky and Tennessee to Iowa and even to South Dakota. Each meeting featured one hour of education focused on findings in our PFR plots. We also discussed how events in 2017 played into some of our findings. We wanted to reach as many farmers as possible.

Were the meetings only for customers? No, they were open to anyone. We also did not talk about specific seed products at these meetings.

What is the rationale behind holding meetings that aren’t focused on sales? Scott and Sonny Beck truly want farmers to succeed. They have seen a real need over the years for a source of information about ideas which farmers wonder about, but which aren’t tested anywhere else. That was the basis of starting the PFR program in the first place. Their philosophy is that if they provide farmers with useful information which has value to them, many of them will reward them with their business.

Will PFR continue going forward? Absolutely. We’re adding new trials and focusing on questions we hear from farmers. With the help of cooperators, we built a multi-hybrid, multi-row-width planter in 2017. Several trials will involve that planter. We want to find out if there’s a future for varying multiple inputs across the field.

We’re also including trials to study implications of growing soybeans after soybeans. The market is pushing farmers in that direction. They have questions, and we want to look for answers.

What other new trends can farmers expect to see in PFR trials? We’ve tested several different specific products, such as starter fertilizers or additives, and specific types of equipment, such as different aftermarket starter fertilizer application methods. The next step is comparing combinations of the two and looking for synergies. Does 1 plus 1 equal 3? In other words, if we combine a specific product with a certain application method, will we get better results than using either one by itself?

Where will PFR trials be located this year? We will still have six locations, as we had in 2017. However, one of the locations in Illinois is moving to a different site. We will have PFR trials at Atlanta, Ind.; Henderson, Ky.; London, Ohio; Colfax, Iowa; Effingham, Ill.; and now at El Paso, Ill. The El Paso site is new. We’re moving our PFR trials there from Downs, Ill.

Do you still publish PFR results annually? Yes. We have already distributed tens of thousands of copies of the 2017 PFR book. You don’t have to be a customer to get one. Call 800-937-2325 to request a printed copy, or view studies at beckshybrids.com/pfresearch.