Soybean seed from Pioneer Hi-Bred will be sold by seed count and not by weight for the 2013 planting season. This is a major change for the company that has sold soybean seed by weight. In the future, a unit will be 140,000 soybean seeds instead of 50 lbs. of seed in a unit.

A DuPont business, Pioneer reported the reason for the change in unit measurement is to provide a more accurate means of planting its soybean crop. Soybean seeds can vary in size based on genetics and growing conditions. This will affect the number of seeds per unit. In the future, the number of seeds per unit will be consistent.

"Our customers will benefit because they can more easily calculate the number of units they need based on their desired planting rates because the seed quantity per unit will always be consistent," says Don Schafer, senior marketing manager, soybeans. "This change is in response to customer demand for consistent seed count packaging for more efficient field-by-field planning."

Pioneer soybeans will be sold by count in traditional paper bags, ProBox units and jumbo bags, as well as through ProBulk systems.

For more information about Pioneer soybean varieties, visit www.pioneer.com or contact a local Pioneer sales professional.