Harvest is the perfect time to assess your fields and adjust your field-by-field crop plans.

As you harvest your 2020 crops, you will learn more about what worked in a given field. Tools like Latham’s Data Forward help collect information. Even if you use another mapping tool, Data Forward can organize your information.

Below are ideas about what data to record now to provide great value next spring.

• Disease. We faced lots of disease pressure in 2020. Be sure to note the diseases you see and where you see them. This is especially important on corn-on-corn acres, as well as on rotated acres. This will help you select products with disease tolerance from the Latham® lineup for greater success in 2021.
• Weed escapes. Use weed ID materials or Google them to confirm what weed escape you see. Documenting weed escapes aides in the type of herbicide tolerance you may need. Most of Latham’s corn hybrids carry tolerance to glyphosate herbicide; a few carry traits that make them tolerant to glufosinate for use with Liberty herbicide.
• Fertility issues. Note areas of the field that show deficiency and sample those soils. Make plans to fertilize according to the requirements for next season’s crop. Very uniform and high fertility fields are in the highly productive class. Fields with uneven fertility may be considered as lower productive fields. You can find some great recommendations in Latham product info sheets.
• Soil conditions. Fields with high residue, like many of the derecho-damaged fields, will require different management and possible product selection. Fields with heavy trash burdens will likely need the strongest emerging products next spring. We strive to provide the best info on emergence scores in our technical data.

Carefully assessing each field and recording notes at a high level about what you see adds the greatest value to any yield map information that you generate. Use the Latham® Hi‑Tech Seeds product guide, website product tools, tech sheets (also found on our website), plus information from your dealer or RSM to find the best product for each of your fields.

We will continue to provide product highlights as harvest data becomes available. Have a safe harvest season!