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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Technology Redefines Agriculture
What defines modern agriculture?

It’s a question that I’ve been pondering ever since reading an article Jan. 19 by Terence Loose listing “agriculture” as the most useless college major. More than anything, I believe his article illustrates how little the general public knows about production agriculture. I dare say Loose envisions farming more like it was in the 1950s or 1960s than it is today.

Agriculture has changed dramatically over the years, and it’s become even more technologically advanced in the past 5 to 10 years alone. In fact, agriculture is like lot the car industry. One used to have to custom order power windows. Today power windows come standard on new vehicles just like most technology comes standard today on agricultural products.

Technological advancements in the seed industry is just one example. One hundred percent of Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybean seed is traited, and about 95% of the corn hybrids we sell contain technologies that make crops resistant to insects or certain chemicals.

High-tech seeds means there’s a lot of science in each bag! Think about the highly educated and skilled people it takes to research and create new technologies and genetics, develop them for commercial production, condition the seeds, and then sell them to the farmers, who produce food, clothing and fuel for the world.

New seed technologies – have and will continue to – set new expectations for the yields farmers can achieve. When Roundup® Ready soybeans were introduced in 1996, they set the standard for soybean yields for a decade. Today Latham® soybeans with the Genuity® Roundup Ready® 2 Yield technology are redefining yield expectations. Latham soybeans with the RR2 trait have been out-yielding the competition consistently for the past two harvest seasons. Soon Vistive® Gold soybeans will produce an oil similar to the content of olive oil but much easier and cheaper to produce.

On the corn side of our business, technology is progressing at an equally fast pace. Innovations are making it even simpler to comply with refuge requirements. New for 2012 Latham has introduced Genuity VT2 PRO RIB Complete, as well as Genuity® SmartStax® RIB Complete. Other new technologies coming include a new rootworm trait from Syngenta called Agrisure® Duracade™ and crops resistant to 2-4D chemistry from Dow Agrosciences called Enlist™ just to name a couple.

Seed traits are just one example of how technology has – and continues – to redefine production agriculture. “Technology” obviously has many different meanings within agriculture, and the definition largely depends on what a person does from day-to-day. A quick poll on Facebook and a few e-mails to our friends in the industry produced this list of ag technologies:
- GPS
- Auto-steer tractors
- Smart Phones
- Slow-release fertilizer
- RFID technology for livestock
And the list goes on! How has technology transformed your own operation?
John Latham, President

January 30, 2012

Agronomics, General, Precision Ag
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Make Variable Rate Planting Pay
Peter Bixel, Seed2Soil powered by Sci Max representative

With increasing input costs and strong market prices, many farmers are asking about Variable Rate Planting as a way to make the most efficient use of their seed while increasing their overall yield.

“The complexity of this technology can be intimidating to farmers but variable rate planting can pay off and the research proves it,” said Dustin Blunier of Precision Planting based in Tremont, Ill., in a recent Iowa Farmer Today article.

According to 2009-2010 data from SciMax Solutions, farmers who followed recommendations for Variable Rate Planting saw an 8-bushel yield increase on marginal ground and a 4-bushel per acre increase on better ground of similar soil types.

Variable rate planting has proven successful on Latham® dealer Frank Wyatt’s farm in northeast Iowa. He says they’ve been able to identify ways to save time and money, as well as maximize yields.

“In the spring of 2010, we had a lot of equipment running that was providing lots of information from chemical application records to yield data,” says Frank. “We were challenged by how to organize all of that data and use it to make better decisions on the farm. That’s when we decided to implement variable rate planting through the Seed2Soil program.”

Variable rate planting is a viable option for any farmer with a properly equipped planter. Below are a few steps that can be taken to help ensure your variable rate planting recommendations are as accurate as possible:
1. Conduct Grid Sampling. Taking 2.5-acre grid samples will take your soil sample data and yield data to the next level. The benefits of grid sampling far outweigh the costs, and when managed properly, it can actually make money by increasing yield in certain areas.
2. Organize Data. If you’re like most growers, you already have years of yield data, fertilizer application records and chemical application records. An important step in variable rate planting is to organize years’ worth of yield data, fertilizer application records and chemical application records. This will help you identify “A through D zones,” which allows you to manage areas differently. The A zones typically have better yields and offer a strong return on investment; the C or D zones are very inconsistent and aren’t really strong-producing areas.
3. Form a Partnership. To put variable rate planting to work on your farm, make sure there’s solid communication between your seed advisor, technology advisor, and you! Growers often know their land better than the data does, so it’s important to take a “team approach” to ensure the right steps are being taken to put the most effective plan into action.
For more information about Variable Rate Planting, contact the trusted experts at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds.
Webspec Admin

April 21, 2011

Agronomics, General, Precision Ag, Season, Spring
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Monitor Updates Key to VR Planting

Peter Bixel, Seed2Soil Team Leader

There’s nothing quite like sunshine and the 70-degree temperatures we experienced last weekend to get a farmer thinking about planting! As you prepare for the upcoming planting season, remember to also update your monitors. Monitor updates are especially important for Variable Rate Planting.

Through Latham’s hallmark Seed2Soil® program, we can write prescriptions for your planter and seed variety, on an individual field basis. We can write population prescriptions using information about past yield history from a yield monitor, soil types within the field, hybrid variety selection, tillage practices, fertility levels and more, with special consideration.

Even if you’re not interested in or your current equipment isn’t capable of planting variable rates, it’s still important to keep up-to-date on planter technology. Below is a brief summary of updates available to some of the more popular models. Also included are links that will direct you to the Internet sites where you can either download the upgrades yourself or have your dealer assist you.

Ag Leader
In February, Ag Leader Technology released Advanced Seed Monitoring through the SeedCommand™ system. Available on the INTEGRA™ display, Advanced Seed Monitoring provides planter performance monitoring of seed meter singulation, skips/doubles and spacing quality, along with population and spacing information for all rows when planting corn. All of these features are available while the display is simultaneously performing guidance, mapping and autosteer functions.

Case
Case IH on March 17 announced the release of Version 26 (v26) software for the Advanced Farming System (AFS) Pro 600 and new AFS Pro 700 color touchscreen displays. A few changes and new features available in v26 include: autoguidance optimizations for Case IH Patriot self-propelled sprayers; improved user-interface for adjusting overlap control settings; and support for up to 3 clutch ECUs, allowing single-row AFS AccuRow clutch control even on 36-row planters

John Deere
Updates are available for the 1800 Displays and GS2. The new GS3monitor will be shipped with the right display, but there are controller and receiver updates. For additional information, contact a John Deere dealer or visit http://stellarsupport.deere.com/en_US_new/ where you’ll get product information and can participate in on-line forums and discussions.

Webspec Admin

April 6, 2011

Agronomics, General, Precision Ag
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Seed2Soil: Precision Agriculture at its Best

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ Seed2Soil® program helps farmers take precision ag to the next level by planning for variability in their fields. Seed2Soil organizes GPS data and then generates user-friendly information that will allow growers to make better informed decisions and lead to increased overall profitability.

Peter Bixel, Seed2Soil Specialist, and Tom Larson, Latham RSM, discuss how Seed2Soil can help growers make better decisions for hybrid/variety placement that can lead to increased profitability.

The Top Performers Report is a tool that uses real-world fields to select what corn hybrids or soybean varieties will work best on each farmer’s field. A Top Ten report allows farmers to see agronomic trends that can be hidden when looking at printed maps. These reports also help farmers see a correlation between yield and factors like planting speed, CSR rating, organic matter, potassium, magnesium and soil type.

Farmers interested in a Seed2Soil membership must have: GPS yield monitor data, grid soil samples, variety/hybrid information, and basic fertilizer and chemical application records. Membership has several benefits including one-one-one meetings for fertilizer planning, variety placement and VRT planting. For more information, contact Mark Grundmeier at 641-692-3258.

Team Latham

September 13, 2010

Agronomics, General, Precision Ag
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Profitability Calculator for Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture is certainly changing the landscape of modern agriculture. We’ve heard many farmers having online conversations recently about precision agriculture, how it’s changing the way they work in the field and how they’re finding the added benefits of saving on fuel and fertilizer. So when PrecisionAg Works shared this tool with us, we wanted to pass it along in case it proves helpful for anyone considering the adoption or expansion of precision agriculture on their farm.

Kansas State developed a calculator to project the profitability of precision agriculture. Simply click on the link below and type in your information to see how you could benefit.

http://www.precisionag.com/works//profitcalculator/

Team Latham

July 6, 2010

Agronomics, General, Precision Ag
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Top 5 Tips to Maximize Yield

We recently spoke with Mark Grundmeier, Latham Soybean Product Manager, who provided us with 5 tips to maximize your yields this season.

#5 – Planting Date: The trend has been to plant earlier and earlier over the past decade. While this practice has, in general, increased yields, there are some pitfalls to watch for and avoid. Avoid planting into soils that are too wet. This practice ALWAYS causes problems later due to side-wall compaction and/or uneven emergence. When planting soybeans into cool soils, consider the use of a fungicide seed treatment such as Latham® SoyShield to prevent the advent of seedling diseases.

#4 – Planting Depth: Ideal planting depth for corn is 2 inches and for soybeans it is 1½ inches. Some may still tell you to “plant to moisture” but this is seldom a good practice. If the soil moisture level is too deep, planting to that depth can cause delayed emergence, uneven stands and possibly even stands that are crusted over if you would receive a hard, pounding rain right after planting. Planting too shallow will often result in poor root development and may affect the crop all the way to harvest.

#3 – Row Spacing: There has been and will continue to be much debate on which row spacing provides the optimum yields for both corn and soybean. In general, soybeans seem to respond most favorably to spacings between 15 inches to 20 inches. If you are planting in rows that are wider or even narrower than this, consider running some side-by-side comparisons on your fields to see which spacing might be best for your farming operation. For corn, 30-inch row spacings is still the most popular, but there are many farmers experimenting with 20-inch rows and also twin-row systems. Again, running trials on your own fields will help determine what is right for you.

#2 – Weed Control: Before planting, always start with a clean field. Even in years when planting might be delayed due to wet conditions, allowing weeds to get ahead of the crop is not a good practice. Remember that the objective of herbicide applications is to save yield, not just to kill weeds!

#1 – Hybrid/Variety Selection: Choosing the right corn hybrid or soybean variety is the most important decision you make year in and year out. Selection should be based on past yield performance (in multiple trials conducted in like field conditions and comparing like maturities), past disease or pest problems that have been identified and taking into consideration farming practices used (e.g. early planting, narrow rows, no-till, etc.). Seed selection should not be based strictly on cost of the seed, seed size or what may have worked well for a neighbor/friend.

If you have any questions we can help answer regarding planting, just type it in to the field below and we’ll reply shortly!

Team Latham

March 31, 2010

Agronomics, Emergence, General, Precision Ag, Weed Control
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Matching Seed to Soil: How it all Works

Plant breeders with whom I work estimate that 75% of seed varieties fall short of their yield potential because they’re planted in the wrong soil. Despite today’s amazing seed technology, a hybrid planted in the wrong soil wastes a good portion of the seed’s value. So when we begin talking with a farmer about using our Seed2Soil consulting program, we make sure he or she knows there are no shortcuts.

First, we clearly explain our consulting program and ask if it fits within our customer’s decision-making process and timetable. Next, we review the customers crop management practices to identify the exact hybrid features providing the best chance for success. Then we identify soil types and how they might impact seed performance. We want to pinpoint the seed features that best match soil characteristics. After than we write a crop recommendation suggesting the specific seed variety for each field. Finally we meet with the farmer again for a pre-planting review, making sure nothing’s been overlooked.

Unfortunately, many farmers don’t have the time needed to invest in developing a plan to place products in each field relative to soil types and crop management practices. Admittedly, if they do make an effort, it’s often done at the last minute with little opportunity for analysis.

Unlike others, Latham’s Seed2Soil program is thorough, detailed and not quick. But in the words of author and artist William A. Foster, “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” My thoughts exactly!

John Latham, President

February 16, 2009

Agronomics, Precision Ag
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Complete The Earnings Equation

Do more with less. It’s the mantra of most businesses these days, including farming. Each week I visit with more and more farmers who are working hard to cut input costs and bolster earnings.

But cost is just half the equation. The other half is revenue. Since many farmers have already locked in input costs this year, the question becomes: how do I grow more bushels per acre to ratchet up revenue earnings?

One way to increase earnings is by taking advantage of Latham Hi‑Tech Hybrids Seed2Soil consulting program. Launched two years ago, the Seed2Soil program has successfully helped increase growers’ yields and revenues, acre by acre. Our seed experts sit down with farmers to understand factors affecting yield. And because factors can vary from field to field, they develop customized recommendations for each farm and field.

Our experience with individual farmers tells the story. Time spent matching seed traits with soil and input qualities makes a difference, sometimes as much as 20-30 bushels per acre. With high input costs such as yield variation is significant.

Farmers have to be good at finding cost savings; however, to effectively improve profit you must consider revenue. The beauty of modern crop farming is that input volumes don’t have to increase to boost yield. Therefore, any extra yield produced within a fixed cost structure goes right to the bottom line.

Let Latham Hi‑Tech Hybrids Seed2Soil help chart the plan to improve the revenue side of the earnings equation.

John Latham, President

January 19, 2009

Agronomics, Precision Ag

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Technology Redefines Agriculture

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Make Variable Rate Planting Pay

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Monitor Updates Key to VR Planting

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Seed2Soil: Precision Agriculture at its Best

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Profitability Calculator for Precision Agriculture

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Top 5 Tips to Maximize Yield

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Matching Seed to Soil: How it all Works

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Complete The Earnings Equation