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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

What Are Your Fields Telling You About 2027?

harvest gives farmers more than a yield number

As the combine moves across the field, it’s also revealing where disease showed up, which products stood strong, how different acres responded to stress and where management decisions paid off.

Those observations can provide valuable clues for 2027.

Where Did Disease Show Up?

Make note of disease pressure while the evidence is still easy to see.

Did Sudden Death Syndrome appear in certain soybean fields? White mold in others? Did stalk disease affect standability in corn?

Field history matters. Knowing where problems occurred — and how different products handled them — can help guide variety selection, seed treatment decisions and management strategies for next season.

What Stayed Standing?

Yield matters, but so does getting that yield into the combine.

Pay attention to stalk and root strength in corn and standability in soybeans. Which products maintained late-season plant health? Where did lodging occur? Did certain fields or growing conditions create more problems than others?

Those observations can help identify where stronger defensive characteristics may deserve more consideration in 2027.

What Happened on Your Tougher Acres?

Some of the most useful harvest information may come from fields that didn’t have ideal growing conditions.

Look at how products handled drought stress, excess moisture, disease pressure and variable soils. A product that held its own under challenging conditions may tell you just as much as one that topped the yield monitor on your best ground.

Where Did Population and Placement Matter?

Did a flex-ear corn hybrid respond well at a moderate population? Did another product seem better suited to your highest-yielding acres? Were there differences between soil types or management practices?

The goal isn’t simply to identify the highest-yielding product. It’s to understand where each product performs best.

What Would You Do Differently in 2027?

Harvest is a good time to start building that list.

Maybe one field needs stronger disease protection. Another needs a product better suited for stress. Perhaps this season reinforced the value of spreading risk across different genetics, maturities and trait packages.

Every field is different — and every growing season teaches us something new.

Before the details of 2026 fade, take a few notes. Talk through what you’re seeing with your Latham® Dealer. Look beyond the final yield number and consider the story behind it.

Because your fields may already be telling you what they need in 2027.

Team Latham

October 8, 2026

Agronomics, Corn, Corn Silage, Crop, Data, Disease, Emergence, Fall, Fertility, General, Growth Stages, Season, Seed Treatment, Soil, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

What Makes a Great Silage Hybrid?

look beyond yield

When choosing a corn silage hybrid, yield matters. But tons per acre only tell part of the story.

The real value of silage is ultimately measured in the feed bunk. That means selecting the right hybrid requires looking at agronomic performance alongside tonnage, starch digestibility, fiber digestibility and the needs of your livestock operation.

Here are a few factors to consider as you evaluate silage hybrids for next season.

Start with Agronomic Fit

A great silage hybrid still has to perform in the field.

Consider soil type, crop rotation, disease pressure, maturity and the trait package needed for each acre. Strong plant health and standability are also important, particularly because silage hybrids need to maintain plant integrity until the crop reaches the right harvest window.

The goal isn’t simply to select a hybrid with excellent feed characteristics. It’s to find one that combines those characteristics with the agronomic package needed to perform on your farm.

Tonnage Matters — But So Does What’s in It

More tons per acre can certainly add value. But livestock producers also need to consider how efficiently animals can use what’s in those tons.

That’s why Latham evaluates silage hybrids for factors including starch digestibility and fiber digestibility, in addition to tonnage.

Starch makes up a significant portion of corn silage dry matter and provides an important source of energy. Fiber digestibility influences how much feed an animal can consume and use.

Put simply: producing more feed is important. Producing feed that animals can use efficiently is important, too.

Consider Your Options at Harvest

Another factor worth considering is flexibility.

Dual-purpose hybrids can provide growers with the option to harvest a field for silage or take it through to grain, depending on growing conditions, feed needs and other factors at harvest.

That flexibility can be especially valuable in a year when Mother Nature doesn’t follow the plan.

Latham evaluates dual-purpose hybrids for both grain performance and silage characteristics, helping farmers understand where products may offer options without sacrificing agronomic fit.

Look at Performance Across Environments

One plot, one field or one growing season doesn’t tell the entire story.

Growing conditions affect tonnage, plant health and feed characteristics. Evaluating performance across locations and years provides a better picture of how a hybrid may perform under different conditions.

That’s why Latham continues to collect silage performance information across the Midwest and evaluates more than raw grain yield when assessing silage hybrids.

As you plan for next season, look beyond the biggest yield number. Consider the whole package: agronomic fit, tonnage, digestibility and harvest flexibility.

Because the best silage hybrid isn’t simply the one that produces the most.

It’s the one that delivers the most value for your operation.

Team Latham

September 29, 2026

Agronomics, Corn Silage, Crop, Data, Fall, Season, Uncategorized
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham Research Looks Beyond Yield to Help Farmers Make Better Decisions

On-farm trials and demonstrations Help latham understand how products respond to different environments and management practices

Alexander, Iowa – Yield may be the number that gets the most attention at harvest, but Latham Hi-Tech Seeds says understanding why products perform the way they do can provide even greater value to farmers.

Through research and demonstration trials, Latham studies how genetics interact with different environments and management practices to help farmers make more informed product placement and crop management decisions.

“Yield is always important, but a yield number alone doesn’t tell the whole story,” said John Latham, third-generation seedsman with Latham Hi-Tech Seeds. “We want to understand why products respond differently and use what we learn to help farmers put the right genetics on the right acres.”

Research at Latham’s Premier Agronomy Center has included studies and demonstrations involving hybrid response to population, planting depth, Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), biologicals, planting dates, cover crops, no-till and continuous corn.

Latham also evaluates products across multiple locations and environments to better understand their strengths and determine where they may perform best.

That approach is especially important as farmers manage increasingly complex product and management decisions.

“Different fields have different challenges, and every growing season brings something we can’t predict,” Latham said. “Research helps us better understand those differences so we can provide farmers with more than a product. We can provide information that helps them make decisions with confidence.”

Insights from Latham research are used to refine product placement recommendations, support agronomic education and identify new questions for future trials.

For more information about Latham Hi-Tech Seeds research and agronomic resources, visit LathamSeeds.com.

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Since 1947, Latham Seeds has been committed to delivering seed products in corn, soybeans and alfalfa that are field-tested, proven on the farm and trusted by farmers. By combining localized product research, personal service and a deep passion for rural communities, Latham Seeds helps farmers maximize their yield potential — one field at a time. Learn more at www.lathamseeds.com. Latham and Latham Hi-Tech Seeds are trademarks of M.S. Technologies, L.L.C.

Team Latham

September 14, 2026

Agriculture, Corn, Corn Silage, Crop, General, Herbicide Technology, Industry News, News, Seed Technology, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

“CAN” Nitrogen-Fixation Products Improve Silage Quality?
As quickly as we close the book on the 2022 season, we start the next chapter of 2023.

This is referred to as “Constant and Never-ending Improvement” (CANI) by Tony Robbins — author, coach and motivational speaker. His CANI technique is about making consistent, small changes in your life that are often more effective than trying to change everything at once. I believe most farmers embody this spirit of growth and optimism.

As we sharpen the pencil on our 2023 story, it’s beneficial to review observations from the 2022 growing season. One of the most expensive components in livestock feed is supplemental protein. Because I hope to find ways beyond plant genetics to help improve plant protein, I’m taking a closer look at nitrogen-fixation products.

Forage quality is complex and has a lot to do with a combination of plant genetics x soil fertility x environment. In addition to the seed treatment trials conducted at Latham’s Premier Agronomy Center in Alexander, I did a small experiment with Envita in a small corn silage trial in Ellsworth, Wisc. I’m just learning about these nitrogen-fixation products on corn. I’m sharing my observations because I found them interesting.

I sprayed Envita in a foliar form on healthy plants around tassel time. After spraying, moisture was limited until corn silage harvest time. The following photos help show the harvest results.

Corn Silage Yield Observations

LH 5389 + Envita = 7.7 more harvest tons, and 3 more dry matter (DM) tons versus the check with no difference in quality.

There is clearly a visual difference in ear size, so I’m curious to learn more about these types of nitrogen-fixation products. NOTE: This research was done only one year in one location. It will be interesting to see what type of yield response we see in subsequent years and at different locations. My hypothesis is Envita helped the silage plant better handle stress from dry conditions, but I need to test it further. There is so much to be learned!

What types of experiments do you plan to conduct on your farm in 2023?

Check out past articles for tips on conducting small scale, on-farm experiments:
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December 21, 2022

Corn Silage, Crop, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

3 Important Factors to Evaluate Corn Silage
Core Catt, Forage Product Manager

“Price is what you pay, but value is what you get.”

This adage holds true for corn silage research, too. That’s why Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds builds knowledge from previous years of corn silage research.

Latham Seeds has several locations across the Midwest where we evaluate corn silage grain yield plus these three important factors:

1. Economic impact to the livestock producers. Corn silage and alfalfa are more complex than cash grain crops as we look for high value in the fields and at the feed bunk. Research continually refines the impacts on beef and dairy on tonnage, fiber digestibility and starch digestibility.
- Tonnage. Corn silage dry matter is comprised of about 50% grain
  and 50% stover. Modern dual-purpose hybrid genetics tend to have a lot of grain yield capacity, which contributes favorably to overall yield. Additionally, we look for hybrids that are robust in plant structure to provide additional tonnage benefits.
- Economic Benefit to yield. Corn silage price per ton at 65% whole-plant moisture (WPM) is about 10 times the market price of corn. At $6 per bushel for corn, that’s $60 per ton for corn silage. There are many pricing variations. Depending on the growing season and location, tonnage can range from 20 to more than 30 tons per acre. A typical acre will gross $1,200 to $1,800 per
  acre. Truly, every ton counts.
- Starch digestibility. This can be a bit complex, which is why most seed companies don’t consider this factor. This is a high priority at Latham Seeds as starch is 50% of the plant’s dry matter. Indeed, it’s complex. When the plant stores starch in the kernel, there is a relationship between genetics, growing season and fertility. Drought, years with low heat units and soils with low fertility can contribute to lighter test weights, but starch tends to be more digestible vs. heavy test weights. Our goal is to index our hybrids over multiple years and multiple environments to help maximize the energy from every molecule of starch, so it doesn’t pass unused through the animal in manure.
Economic Benefit to Starch Digestibility. There is a lot of research about starch digestibility in beef and dairy. Less than 3% fecal starch is optimum. A study at University of Pennsylvania revealed a 0.72 pounds of milk/day decrease for every 1% increase of fecal starch. This equate to about $65,000 annually for a 1,000-cow dairy.
- Fiber Digestibility. Imagine the structure a corn plant must have to keep the plant upright and stand through high winds. The base of the corn plant contains a high amount of lignin, a structural component that keeps the plant upright. We can measure how much is in the corn silage, as well how much is digestible. The goal is to have as much as the fiber digestible as possible. Generally, a cow that consumes more and uses more of what is consumed is more productive. Some studies show that cows that use more of what is consumed also produce less manure.
Economic Benefit to Fiber Digestibility. Generally, every point increase in fiber digestibility on a feed report is neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD). A dairy cow can produce up to one-half pound more milk per day. When you factor that across 1,000 cows in a dairy for 365 days, having 1 point better digestion can have an economic impact of approximately $45,000 per year!

In review, consider factors beyond raw grain yield when evaluating corn silage hybrids. Selecting hybrids that have demonstrated better digestibility can be helpful to a livestock producer’s bottom line. Feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance as you’re writing early orders.
September 7, 2022

Corn Silage, Crop, From the Field, General, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Harvest Corn Silage at Optimal Milkline to Add to Your Bottom Line

Corn silage season is approaching quickly, so it’s a good time to review basics like how to determine when to harvest.

As the kernel matures from the dented cap, the milkline moves toward the kernel tip where it attaches to the cob. Harvesting at 50% milkline generally achieves approximately 65% whole-plant moisture. Optimal harvest for bunks/bags is 65 to 70% whole-plant moisture, or one-half to one-fourth milkline. Optimal harvest for stave upright silos is 63 to 65% whole-plant moisture, or three-fourths to one-half milkline.

Think of the kernel as a sponge. As the milkline develops, the kernel absorbs more moisture from the chopped residue. If you harvest silage corn that is too wet, juicing can occur. Inadequate fermentation and mold development also may result. It is advantageous to do a formal moisture check using a koster crop tester, for example.

One of the biggest drivers for milkline development is weather. Moisture, fertility, heat and plant health are four big drivers affecting milk line movement. When the plant is at full photosynthetic capacity, the corn silage whole-plant moisture can decline daily from 0.5 to one percent. Photosynthetic activity slows when the weather is cold, wet or cloudy, causing the corn plant to mature slower. Look at the forecast as harvest approaches because many changes can occur in five days.

Another way to improve the quality of corn silage is by raising the chopping height as most lignin accumulates in the lower portion of the stalk. Lignin is the structural component that helps plants stand. It’s a tradeoff to find the correct cutting height to maximize forage quality and to capture the most tonnage.

Some forage producers increase cutting height to help reduce moisture, so they can get started earlier. Raising the chop height 12 inches in a Penn State study left about 0.6 ton in the field but forage quality improved. Improved quality produces more milk for dairy farmers!

If you have any questions feel free to reach out at coreyc@lathamseeds.com.

August 25, 2022

Corn Silage, Crop, Fall, General, Season, Summer, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Try Something New!
Precision Agronomy Advisor, Phil Long

A common theme you will hear when listening to national corn/soybean contest winners is they always use a few acres to try something new. Latham’s Forage Products Manager, Corey Catt, has written numerous articles, encouraging growers to use a few acres to experiment on their own farms with products, seeding rates and management practices.

While third-party research plays an important role in helping us choose seed products, it’s also important to conduct your own on-farm research. Here are a few ideas to try this growing season. If you have acres that struggle with Sudden Death Syndrome, try treating a few soybean units with Latham® SoyShield^TM Plus with Saltro and run a side-by-side comparison. Another idea is to apply sulfur to soybeans and measure your results. Experiment on a few corn acres with Xyway® 3D in-furrow fungicide or try a phosphorus-enhancer, such as Encompass from TALC USA.

You could create quite a list of new products, different tillage/planting practices, in furrow fertilizers, or in-season practices that you could try to break your farm’s yield plateau. Here are some tips to make the most of your on-farm research efforts:
1. Use a decent farm, or part of a decent farm, to do your research. Use a farm that has soil types and drainage/topography characteristics that represent a lot of your acres. Don’t pick the less desirable ground in terms of fertility. If pH, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), levels are wacky, you won’t learn much when trying a new in-furrow treatment, biological or fungicide. Basic needs must be taken care of before you can add more yield.
2. Keep it short and simple (K.I.S.S.). Weather and soil types cause enough variation in any research that you don’t need to add complexity. Try one thing at time, so you’re not adding multiple factors into the equation. For example, run a planter pass with Xyway mixed in your starter fertilizer and then shut it off the next pass. Do these two “treatments” at least three more times across your field to reduce the influence of soil types on your results.
3. Garbage in, garbage out. Make sure your monitors/globes/planting equipment have the latest update, so you can capture the data when it’s go time. Layout your research, so your combine can capture it. This is very important! For example, if you harvest with an 8-row head, change “treatments” on 20-foot increments.
Mapping what you do this spring will allow you to analyze it next fall. You will want to look at how that new product did in your heavy soils, lighter soils and whether it is worth expanding on more acres next year. Every year is different, so keep weather in mind as it is usually the #1 influencing factor. Start small to find out what works best on your farm. I am happy to help you figure out what new thing to try on a few acres. Give me a call and we can chat more about it at: 641-692-0370.
Team Latham

April 21, 2022

Agronomics, Alfalfa, Corn, Corn Silage, Cover Crops, Crop, Disease, Emergence, Fertility, Fungicide, General, Precision Ag, Season, Seed Treatment, Soil, Soybeans, Spring
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

More Tonnage on Less Acres… What’s Your Blueprint?

Striving for tonnage and quality has never been more important than now with high cost of inputs and high commodity prices. More tonnage on less acres could mean more #2 yellow at a good price. Additionally, maximizing quality means more protein, more starch, more digestibility and greater feed efficiency.

What’s your blueprint to success for 2022? Here are a few things to consider:

Hybrid Selection for Corn Silage: Review of Latham’s 2021 Wisconsin corn silage trials results = WOW. This summary reveals the incredible tonnage some of our hybrids showed in the trials, blowing past the competition. We have many winning dual-purpose hybrids highlighted in our product guide, as well as our silage specific leafy hybrids. Check out these top-performing Latham® hybrid product numbers: 4937, 5245, 5742, 5965, 6285, 6477. Access to tonnage starts with hybrids that have historically had evidence of strong, known performance. Using trusted genetics has never been more important.

Seed Placement: Latham Seeds’ product guide provides specific placement details to help you achieve the best performance. Key in on the plant population for soil type, especially with the leafy hybrids. Leafy hybrids are massive plants, so they require a lot of in-row room to grow. To maximize leafy tonnage and starch, ensure proper seed depth. It’s important to promote the development of a superior nodal root system to hold up the large plant, as well as to bring in essential water and nutrients.

Nutrients: With a high premium on nitrogen, use in-season tissue and soil testing to determine whether the plant needs supplemental nutrition. Additionally, think about booking fungicides early to make sure you have them. High input investment coupled with high value commodity means many farmers will protect the plant with fungicides, so book early to ensure you have access to them! It seems a lot of helpful inputs are short supply, and fungicides like Headline AMP® have shown to produce 2 to 3 more tons/acre average. This is a very valuable consideration. When corn is $6/bushel, corn silage is about $60/ton. Adding 2 or 3 tons is about $120-$160/acre. A healthy corn plant adds more quality, as well as helps mitigate the expensive risk of mold and mycotoxins.

Know and Maximize Manure and Alfalfa Credits: The adage “think outside the box” recommends that we think freely and openly, so that we’re not bound by old, nonfunctional, or limiting rules or practices. While I believe there is a time and a place for this type of thinking, today I’m suggesting that we think “inside the box.” We can leverage what we already have.

What do you have on hand that can help reduce your expenses and minimize financial exposure?

Because the 2022 crop cycle is likely to set a record for the highest input investment crop, many farmers are scrutinizing every input. They’re leveraging what is on hand or readily available, so manure has become a highly sought-after resource. Manure also is proving to be effective. These manure credit charts give an idea of some “inside the box” considerations of nitrogen sources.

Additionally, corn planted on rotated alfalfa crop can yield as much as 20% more, especially in combination with manure. Applying manure requires some extra work and planning, here’s an online calculator to help you decide what manure is worth to your farm. Remember the intangibles. Manure provides the soil with needed nutrients, plus it unfolds a world of the living microbes.

Every growing season starts with a custom tailored blueprint. Consider how powerful genetics and some “inside the box” thinking can help you create more tons from less acres this season!

March 16, 2022

Agronomics, Corn Silage, Crop, Fungicide, General, Seed Treatment, Soil, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Start the Season Right by Planting the Right Genetics
With the 2022 planting season right around the corner, it’s time to focus on the one thing that will help you capture the most ROI in each field.

Field-by-field product placement is key to maximizing yield – and in turn – profit. Research shows plant genetics account for a 20% difference in yield. This means you could raise 12 more bushels of soybeans and 40 more bushels of corn PER ACRE simply by paying closer attention to your crop placement.

Below are three factors to consider when double-checking your crop placement for 2022:
- Study Field x Field® Ratings. Look at the Field x Field Ratings in the Latham® Product Guide for corn and soybeans. These charts simplify where you should place hybrids and varieties. A “1” rating means it’s a great fit for a particular environment; a “3” rating means you should not plant that product if your field conditions match that description. Your Latham Dealer has seen most of our products in environments, so call him or her if you have additional questions about where to place a particular product.
- Stick to the plan. If your seed dealer has provided you with a Field x Field plan, organize your seed shed so you can stick to the plan. Subscribers to Latham Seeds’ Data Forward® program receive a crop plan book, which you can keep in your planter tractor. It’s a good practice to double check that the right seed gets in the planter. If planting conditions change in a particular field, then take the time to move products. It will be worth an hour of your time to capture the extra $150 to 200 per acre in profit potential.
- Match Genetics to Management. If a certain corn product is described as “likes high management,” then you should not place that product in a field with poor fertility levels. Your seed dealer may not know your fields’ fertility levels unless you share it. That information is critical for accurate product placement as some genetics can handle tough fertility situations and others will fall apart in those environments. Also make sure you aren’t overplanting or underplanting each hybrid. Look at the “suggested populations” in our Product Guide, as well as the “Ear Type” rating and our stress wheel poster. We want to help you capture yield!
If you’re planting soybeans early or at the same time your planting corn, treat the seed with SoyShield® to protect it from early season fungal diseases. Seed treatment also gives seedings an early advantage. Even when using a quality seed treatment, plant fields with the heavy soils that remain wet and cold last or at least the soils have warmed. This will help your soybeans better ward off root diseases all season long.

A successful 2022 crop year begins with having a plan and sticking to it! Take the time now to double-check that you properly matched plant genetics with soil conditions. Our dealers are also happy to talk through field placement as well. If you have further questions or want to chat with our agronomists call: 1.877.GO.LATHAM (1.877.465.2842).
Team Latham

February 9, 2022

Agronomics, Alfalfa, Corn, Corn Silage, Cover Crops, Crop, Disease, Emergence, Fertility, General, Precision Ag, Seed Technology, Seed Treatment, Soil, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

What’s in a Feed Sample Report?
Post-harvest is a time we find ourselves digging into the data. Harvest data that is! Corn silage data has several factors, and each livestock producer or nutritionist is different in which of those factors are most important. My main goal is to provide information needed to confidently compare hybrids for your spring crop plan.

I have a Feed Report from one of our 2020 test plots with details on what each factor is telling us and how to apply that to product selections. For me, the top factors are: 1. Yield, 2. Starch Digestibility and 3. Fiber Digestibility. I’ve also appended the average ranges as typically reported by Dairyland Labs to help better understand the data.
1. Yield: Yield from Latham® plots are measured in tons/acre and then adjusted to 70% whole plant moisture to remove the variability in results. Our goal here of course is higher, but there is a trade off on quantity per acre and quality per acre. This is where additional measures can come into play when making a final decision.
2. Starch Digestibility: When it comes to starch content, high values are most desirable. Low prolamin zein aids in starch digestibility. An animal that absorbs more tends to result in less fecal starch (discarded nutrients). Research suggests a loss of .72 pounds of milk per head per day for every 1% of fecal starch. While I don’t have a standard set of results on the beef side, but the concept of unused nutrition can be thought of similarly in a beef operation. To optimize digestibility, choose the best hybrids, harvest at the correct time and ensile with good inoculant. Dairyland Labs reports averages of 32.61 for a starch metric.
3. Fiber Digestibility: Fiber digestibility relates to how much the animal can consume. The lower the number, the more animals consume and the more output they produce. Ways to influence this metric include selecting flex ear hybrids, increasing chopping height and planting at the lower population range suggested for the hybrid. Dairyland Lab reports averages of 39.68, with the 90% range falling between 33.43 and 49.2.
The rest of the feed sample report provides evidence to help further form an accurate comparison. Secondary factors I focus on include: Milk/Ton, Beef/Ton and Milk/Acre.
1. Milk/Ton: Milk per ton is an estimate of the milk production from a ton of silage. It’s reported as an index that combines Crude Protein, Neutral-Detergent Fiber (and NDFD30), Starch, Ash and Fat. The goal is a higher number and Dairyland Labs reports averages of 3415.
2. Beef/Ton: is an estimate of beef yield per ton of feedstuff. It’s reported as an Index combining NDFD30, Starch, CP, Neutral-Detergent Fiber, Fat and Ash.
3. Milk/Acre: Milk per acre simply multiplies the milk per ton by the yield per acre. It’s reported as an index combining Crude Protein, Neutral-Detergent Fiber, NDFD30, Starch, Ash, Fat and Dry Matter Tons
Your Latham representative is ready to work together to achieve more yield in the field for better production at the bunk next season. Call them today to place your order for high-performance corn silage options from Latham Seeds.
December 7, 2021

Corn Silage, Tech Tuesday