Corn growers in Nebraska will soon start the decision-making process for next year's growing season. Chief among them is hybrid selection. When growers pick their corn hybrids for the coming year, they traditionally tend to focus on yield. However, at a time when margins are tight, it's also important to consider how you manage the acres those hybrids are planted on.

"The old joke is the most important traits are yield, yield and yield. But there's far more to it than that," says Roger Elmore, University of Nebraska agronomy professor.

PLACEMENT MATTERS: While it's easy to simply pick the highest-yielding hybrid, agronomist Roger Elmore notes it's important to weigh your options and identify which hybrid works best and where. "There's a huge range in performance among hybrids. It's easy to see a 40- to 50-bushel split between some of the higher-performing hybrids out there.”

When margins are tight, it's especially important to consider factors like performance on specific fields, population and crop rotation, Elmore adds. "In times of tight margins, the old rules of integrated pest management carry even more weight," he says. "That goes for various hybrid traits, too. Do you really need what you're paying for in terms of the performance of that hybrid or all the traits stacked with it? If not, why are you paying for them? That's one place growers could probably cut some costs."

This also means matching up the hybrid with a tillage system and crop rotation. For example, soils in no-till systems are typically cooler. When growers are planting earlier into no-till systems, it's probably best to pick a hybrid with more cold tolerance. The same is true for crop rotation. Growers in a continuous corn rotation likely have more disease pressure to contend with than those in a corn-soybean rotation. When growers change their tillage system or crop rotation, they're also changing things like herbicide programs, which adds another level of complexity to the decision.

"If you're in a continuous corn rotation where you're at greater risk of diseases like stalk rots, gray leaf spot or Goss's wilt, resistance ratings become more of a factor," adds Nathan Mueller, Extension cropping systems educator. "If you're continuous corn and doing no-till, then you're planting into high residue earlier in the year when it's colder; cold tolerance is a factor."

Planting population is another factor — and it all depends on the hybrid and the location. Certain hybrids need higher populations to realize their full potential. Likewise, it's important to consider soil types and the corn yield potential on those acres. The best way to match these categories up is several years of yield history and knowledge of the field, combined with seed dealer input and third-party trial data.

One of the biggest things to consider is using a diverse range of different hybrids and not putting all your eggs in one basket. Elmore notes diversifying corn hybrids helps spread out risk.

"We have a tendency to plant the highest-yielding hybrid out there. And there are tradeoffs for that, including some of the ear deformity issues we're seeing this year. We have figured out almost all these hybrids expressing these strange deformities are racehorse hybrids," Elmore says. "You shouldn't ignore these high-yield potential hybrids, but you probably don't want to put your whole farm in the same hybrid. You want a diversity of genetics across your farm, across your fields."

It takes time to identify which hybrids work best and where to place them, but it pays off in the end, especially in corn. "When it comes to corn, there can be a huge difference in the price per bag or unit; it could be $50 to $60 per bag easily," says Mueller. "Don't just pick these couple hybrids and go. I would hope growers would trust but verify: Trust the dealer you work with, but it doesn’t hurt to verify or spend a little time doing some research."

"There's a huge range in performance among hybrids. It's easy to see a 40- to 50-bushel split between some of the higher-performing hybrids out there," Elmore says. "That's one reason to do your homework carefully. Seed companies all provide a sizable amount of data for people to leaf through. Yield and performance over multiple locations and multiple years is very important to consider in selecting that hybrid."