7150 - 4/6/2010 09:02

I don't follow the seed companys' lines of waisting my fertility dollars growing 35,000 plants worth of fodder to produce a little better yield. This also assumes that Mother Nature allows me to grow a perfect stand and increases my apparent seed cost per acre. Correctly selected genetics can display an amazing ability for the plant to adapt to growing conditions (look at the soy bean plant).

I would MUCH prefer to see their agronomists select for variable ear size that adapts to conditions. Shissler Seed Co. (now owned by LG) had a hybrid years ago that ALWAYS put on and retained 2 good ears AND stood well at 18 to 24,000. Even the single-eared varieties can be bred for more flex. It would sure take the pressure off us as growers to have corn hybrids we can count on in the face of the adversity Mother Nature can throw at us year to year.