What would you guess caused corn to not grow???

We are getting really sporadic emergence...........in three feet, will have stalks two feet tall down to three inches........or none.

Where there is no plant, digging into the trench produces the germinated seed, with a 2-3 inch root........but what is left of the kernal is just a shell.

We did not plant in wet conditions.
No clods to speak of...........fewest that we have had in years.

Since the seeds are there, it is obviously not a planter problem.

Not restricted to the rows in wheel tracks..........so should not be compaction holding the seed down.

Bad seed?


Thanks.