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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

High Quality Soybean Seed and Record-Setting Yields in 2015

Although I’ve spent my career in agriculture, I don’t remember a harvest season in North Central Iowa where combines rolled almost non-stop for six weeks or more without a single rain day. The hours were long for everyone involved, but it was such a rewarding year.

We saw some of the best yields I’ve ever seen in the 19 years that I’ve worked at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds. An all-time record yield of 77.21 bu/A from a 105-acre production field came in October 7. Two days later, that record was broken when a 137-acre field yielded 81.13 bu/A! Both of these fields were Latham L 2228 R2 brand soybeans.

Not only were yields this fall impressive, but the quality is equally impressive. Once our growers deliver their soybeans to Alexander, our crew places each variety in a bin and takes a composite sample. We take samples from every one of our 50+ bins to check that seed for germination, and the germination percentage of all samples were in upper 90s! Keep in mind that these samples are the raw seed taken directly from the bin, and conditioned lots can be even better since we strive to remove all of the lower quality seeds before we bag them.

You can count on our professionals in the conditioning plant to do their very best to keep with the tradition of producing top quality, Latham® soybean seed. “Hat’s off” to plant manager Greg Jaacks and the crew in Alexander for doing another outstanding job of keeping all the soybeans that came in separated and stored in the best possible condition. They know that quality seed in the bag leads to high yields in the field.

We believe quality seed, combined with industry-leading genetics and geographic selection, are key to Latham Seeds’ standings in the independent F.I.R.S.T. Trials. For the second year in a row, Latham’s L 1858 R2 was the highest yielding product across Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota!

Latham brand soybean products won 36 times in 2014-2015 F.I.R.S.T. Trials, and Latham corn products won 29 times! During this time period, our products earned 289 Top 10 finishes in soybeans and 291 in corn.

Increase the odds of winning on your farm with Latham Seeds! Apply the rule of multiplicity. Contact your local Latham® representative or call 1-877-G0-LATHAM (1.877.465.2842).

December 30, 2015

Crop, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

TIPS FOR INTERPRETING CORN SILAGE DATA
Now that most farmers have finished with harvest and fall tillage, it’s time to head inside and finalize plans for next season’s crop! Similar to corn and soybeans, YIELD IN THE FIELD IS IMPORTANT FOR CORN SILAGE. There are some additional metrics that help us compare corn silage varieties.

Corn silage reports can get complicated, so I’ll try to simplify a few major elements:
- Milk 2006 – an evaluation system that helps provide an energy score from a combination of Fat, Ash, Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD), Protein and Starch.
- Milk/ Ton – The amount of milk or animal response is predicted per ton of corn silage, which directly reflects the quality of the corn silage. Higher numbers indicate better corn silage.
- Milk / Acre – The amount of milk is predicted per acre of corn silage. It’s a combination of dry matter tons harvested and the quality of the corn silage. Higher numbers are better.
Our goal is to provide quality information to help guide you, and your team of agronomy and nutrition professionals to help achieve best return on investment including:
- Excellent Tonnage comes from top yields with top quality.
- Excellent Quality is a result of hybrid selection and management. Corn Silage management practices are the most vital factor to achieving peak quality, from planting to harvest.
- Prime harvest moisture of 65% to 70% whole-plant moisture helps ensure proper packing and fermentation, which helps reduce free oxygen and potential for mold and mycotoxin growth.
Feel free to contact me if you need help discerning starch types or selecting the best trait package for each field. Top performance is a team effort at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds!
November 25, 2015

Agronomics, Corn Silage, Crop, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Order Early as Demand for LibertyLink® Soybeans May Exceed Supply

Throughout the growing season, we’ve talked about how keeping good field notes helps farmers select the best seed for each of their fields. One challenge that many farmers across the Upper Midwest have encountered this season is weed pressure. Waterhemp and ragweed, in particular, are showing resistance to glyphosate. That’s why it’s so important to put a weed management strategy in place.

Weed specialists like Dr. Mike Owen at Iowa State University say that “diversity of tactics” is key to combatting weeds. One such tactic involves using different modes of action, or switching from glyphosate to glufonsinate herbicides. LibertyLink soybeans are the only non-selective option on the market to combat glyphosate-resistant weeds and break the cycle of continuous glyphosate use.

Liberty is effective for control of many ALS- and glyphosate-resistant weeds, including waterhemp, marestail and common and giant ragweed. Using residual herbicides can reduce weed populations, slow weed growth and provide flexibility in the post-emergence application window. Make sure you apply Liberty post-emergence at the proper time, according to weed size, and use the full recommended rate.

Many of our customers have achieved their best soybean yields ever with Latham’s Liberty soybeans. (Side bar: Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds released its first LibertyLink soybeans in 2009, so there’s no need to worry about yield drag!) Several customers have told us all growing season long that they’re impressed by the weed control they’ve seen this season and are eager to see yield results from #harvest15.

With so much concern about weed resistance, an industry-wide shortage of LibertyLink soybeans is expected. We have seen demand double for LibertyLink Soybeans each of the past two sales years, so we increased production of our LibertyLink soybean brands for 2016 planting.

Another major concern this growing season has been soybean diseases. Latham® IRONCLAD^TM offer the industry’s strongest defensive package to combat Soybean Cyst Nematodes (SCN), Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), Phytopthora Root Rot, Brown Stem Rot (BSR), Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) or White Mold.

Selecting seed is one of the single most important decisions a farmer makes each year. That’s why we work with farmers to get the right seed for each particular field. As an independent, family-owned company, Latham Seeds’ top priority is helping farmers select the best possible products – regardless of whether the traits came from Monsanto, Dow or Syngenta. Contact your local Latham® representative by October 15^th for the best pricing and availability.

September 17, 2015

Crop, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

White Mold? Your Best Offense is a Good Defense!

Weekly “From the Field” crop reports filed by Latham’s regional sales managers show that diseases from Iron Deficiency Chlorosis to Sudden Death Syndrome and White Mold are prevalent this season in soybean fields across the Upper Midwest. What can you do if your crops are suffering?

The best thing you can do now is take good field notes. That way, if you practice a corn-soybean rotation, you’ll remember to plant more defensive soybean products on those fields in the future. Seed selection is key to reducing risk and minimizing damage.

Be sure you note the rating given to each product in a seed catalog before you select it for a particular field. Plant tolerant varieties, or avoid very susceptible varieties, is to manage soybean disease. Also remember the seed treatments are effective insurance policies.

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ signature SoyShield^TM, a fungicide-only package, and SoyShield Plus^TM with fungicide and insecticide, protect seeds from disease and insect damage for up to 30 days. This time frame is longer than many other seed treatments and is typically an adequate window of protection. SoyShield includes an exclusive fungicide combination that provides excellent protection against seed and soil borne diseases including: Pythium, Phytophthora, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia. SoyShield Plus features that same fungicide combination with an imidacloprid insecticide that gives early season control of many seedling insects. In addition, seed treatments can provide health benefits for more rapid and increased germination under certain conditions.

Do what you can now to protect yield in 2016 and order Latham® IRONCLAD soybeans. To make seed selection easier, below is a list of products in our 2016 lineup with the best White Mold tolerance. Contact your local Latham dealer or the Latham Seeds’ office for help choosing the best product for each of your fields. FieldXField^SM Yields!

2016 Latham® Soybeans with the best White Mold tolerance:

*rating score of 2.2 or better

L 0256 R2

L 0683 L

L 0765R 2

L 0836 L

L 1156 R2

L 1328 L

L 1438 R2

L 1548 L

L 1673 R2

L 1848 L
L 1882 R2
L 1968 R2
L 1985 R2
L2083L
L2084R2
L2128R2

L2186L
L2228R2

L2358L
L2482R2

L2558L

L2628L
L2758R2

L2787L
L2884R2

L2978L
L3048R2
L3158L

L3384L

September 3, 2015

Agronomics, Crop, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham® IRONCLAD is Your Best Defense Against IDC

With warmer temperatures, soybean plants across the Upper Midwest are entering a rapid growth phase. It’s no wonder so many of our sales managers, in Wednesday’s #FromtheField crop updates, reported seeing signs of Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC) symptoms now.

The most common symptom, interveinal chlrosis, is a yellowing of the leaf tissue between the veins while the veins themselves remain green. The yellowed portions eventually turn brown, and the entire leaflet may drop off the plant. If severe, entire plants can be stunted or even die causing major yield loss.

Although not completely understood by researchers, the most likely cause of IDC is a soil pH level above 7.3. Symptoms are severe in soils with pH levels of 7.8. However, soil pH alone may not be the only factor in limiting iron. Other factors are poor drainage, high soluble salt content and excess calcium carbonates.

Research has proven planting IDC-tolerant soybean brands is really the best management practice. To help farmers better identify those soybeans that have high tolerance to IDC, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds has designed a lineup of soybeans as IRONCLAD™.

Only a soybean brand that is Soybean Cyst Nematode resistant with an Iron Deficiency Chlorosis rating of 2.2 or better can earn the IRONCLAD designation. Depending on your specific needs, IRONCLAD brands must also protect against either White Mold or Sudden Death Syndrome with a rating of 2.2 or higher. Furthermore, these products must have strong defensive ratings against Phytophthora Root Rot and Brown Stem Rot.

IRONCLAD soybeans have been especially developed to withstand the high pH, high salt soils in our marketing area. Be assured these Latham brand soybeans have undergone thorough testing and are the best possible choices for fields with a history of severe Iron Chlorosis. Protect yield with Latham® soybean brands proven to have good IDC tolerance.

P.S. Just because these products are selected for their “defensive” characteristics, however, doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing yield. Check out our 2014 F.I.R.S.T. Trial results!

June 25, 2015

Agronomics, Crop, Fertility, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Watch for Early Soybean Insects & Diseases
Guest post by Kilah Hemesath, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds Marketing Intern

With nearly all of the soybeans for the 2015 planting season in the ground, crop scouting becomes a necessity. Early soybean pests and diseases can create issues for newly emerged soybean seedlings. Becoming knowledgeable on what to look for in a field can make identification of these pests and diseases simpler.

As soybeans emerge, the bean leaf beetle may make a presence in your fields. This pest is distinguished by a small black triangle located at the base of the forewings. Adult bean leaf beetles are approximately ¼-inch long. They feed on the cotyledons, stems, unifoliate leaves and emerging trifoliates. Discolored, moldy, shriveled or diseased beans may be the result of bean leaf beetles in your field.

Even if seedlings are emerged, stay on the lookout for Pythium. Pythium can cause post-emergence damping off under wet conditions. This disease commonly occurs during wet and cool conditions, particularly in poorly drained fields with compacted soil. Properly manage soil drainage in your fields to combat this issue.

Septoria leaf blight, more commonly known as brown spot, is a soybean disease that spreads from the soil to the soybean plant by splashing rain. The infection of the soybean plant will leave small, irregular brown spots on the lower leaves. Favorable weather for this disease is warm, wet weather. Brown spot can move up the plant, causing leaves to turn yellow and drop. It is necessary to be aware of this disease and what is going on in your fields.

Not necessarily a disease, iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is described as poor condition between the soil and plant. If your fields have a history of high pH and without enough iron to grow a healthy plant, the best decision is to choose an IDC-resistant seed brand.

At Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, we make it easy to choose such brands by designating them as IRONCLAD^TM. Latham® IRONCLAD Soybeans include exceptional genetics and industry-leading protective traits, battling against yield-robbing threats from pests and diseases. To bear the IRONCLAD distinction, each soybean brand must be Soybean Cyst Nematode resistant and carry an Iron Deficiency Chlorosis rating of 2.2 or better.

Also remember to watch for aphids, too. Latham Product Manager Mark Grundmeier stresses the importance of crop scouting regularly from within the field, not just a drive-by. To inquire about soybean pests or diseases in your area, contact your local Latham® representative by calling 1.877.GO.LATHAM (1.877.465.2842)

Sources:
bonnie-harris

June 12, 2015

Agronomics, Crop, Disease, General, Insects, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Calculating Stand Counts

As crops emerge across Latham territory, the time has arrived to evaluate planting results. Here’s a quick how-to on taking stand counts in your fields.

May 28, 2015

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Uneven Corn Stands: The Why and How
Lots of seed corn got planted early when temperatures were cool and moisture was abundant. As a result, I’m hearing reports of uneven corn emergence. Some farmers are asking how to remedy the situation. Others are questioning whether they should replant portions of their fields.

Let’s begin by explaining what causes uneven corn stands and then address whether or not anything should be done. Uneven corn stands most often are the result of these four circumstances:
1. Improper equipment calibration/maintenance;
2. Soil conditions at and after planting;
3. Pests; and
4. Poor management practices.
At this point in the growing season, I’m going to focus on uneven stands that are a result of conditions at planting time including equipment calibration and soil conditions. Most farmers do a very good job and problems arising from equipment calibration or maintenance are few and far between.

Problems are more often to arise when conditions for doing fieldwork and planting are good for an extended period of time. Farmers tend to keep working until they get rained out, so they may not take time for regular equipment maintenance and calibrations if the sun shines for extended periods of time.

Remember to check your equipment, especially your planter, before you head to the next field! Failure to maintain your planter can result in skips and doubles. University studies have found that skips are more limiting to overall yield in most situations but both can have a negative effect.

In addition to having your equipment properly calibrated, it’s important to plant in fit soil conditions. Uneven emergence may result from soils that are either too wet or too dry. Soil moisture can differ because of varying soil types, topography and tillage practices. The difference can be seen across whole fields, in certain areas of a field, or even from one row to the next.

Rainfall patterns leading up to planting are critical to emergence. Seeds placed in dry soil will not germinate without rainfall. Rains that are spotty may cause uneven stands.

Planting in soils that are too wet can cause lower germination, uneven emergence and growth, restricted root growth (as pictured), and stunted seedlings.

On the other hand, working fields that are too wet also causes problems. Soil that is too wet will cause cloddy seedbeds, resulting in poor seed-to-soil contact and uneven emergence.

Another concern, especially in continuous corn and no-till fields, is how residue from the previous crop will affect the current crop. Uneven distribution of residue can result in differing soil temperatures across the field, which causes plants to germinate irregularly.

In addition, soil temperature may lead to uneven emergence. This spring a cold front caused soil temperatures to decrease after many acres of corn were planted. Look at planting when soil temps are consistently above 50° F and are expected to rise! The ideal soil temperature for planting corn is 60° F.

To minimize the risk of uneven stands due to soil conditions, carefully monitor each field. Check the moisture at different levels. I like to see corn planted at 2 inches deep when conditions are optimal, but I have seen corn planted as deep as 3” without very many emergence problems. Keep in mind, the deeper you plant, the greater chance there is the seed “running out of gas” before it emerges, especially when there’s a heavy rainfall and the soil surface crusts over.

There are many factors that can contribute to delayed emergence. So what should you do about uneven emergence? Assess if the problem really warrants remediation. Check with a trusted agronomist if you’d like another opinion.

Rather than trying to fill in the gaps, it’s usually best to till up a field or a portion of a field prior before replanting. Click below for additional replanting resources:
- Corn Replanting Decisions
- Soybean Replanting Decisions
Mark Grundmeier, Product Manager

May 21, 2015

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, Season, Spring, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Battle Weed Resistance with Herbicides from Different Groups

Weed resistance continues to be a topic of discussion during winter meetings with farmers and others in the ag industry. Many are anxiously awaiting full global approval of herbicide traits like Enlist™, Xtend™ and Balance GT,™ but remember, herbicides alone will not remedy weed resistance.

“Diversity of tactics is key to consistent weed management and high crop yields,” said Iowa State Extension Weed Specialist Dr. Micheal Owen while presenting at Latham’s field day in September 2011. He pointed out that rotating crops, rotating traits and rotating pesticides is the best way to slow down the very natural process whereby pests develop resistance to products that mankind uses to protect crops.

Herbicide products kill plants by binding to specific proteins and inhibiting the functions of those proteins. This is commonly referred to as the site (mode) of action. Check the numbering system, usually printed on the first page of the manufacturer’s label, to categorize each herbicide by its site of action.

“Weeds will adapt, so you must know your herbicide action group,” Dr. Owen during a recent Crop Advantage Series jointly presented by Iowa State University and the Iowa Soybean Association.

For example, say a farmer has been using Prowl® and FirstRate® pre-emergence on Roundup-Ready® Soybeans followed by Roundup® and FlexStar® post-emerge. He wants to rotate chemicals for better weed management. Next year he’s planning to use Treflan® plus Raptor®, followed by Roundup and Resource®. The problem? Prowl and Treflan are both classified as group 3 herbicides. FlexStar and Resource are group 14, and Raptor and FirstRate are in group 2. He might see some improved weed control simply because the herbicides have slightly different active ingredients, but his rotation will not help prevent weed resistance.

A better plan would be to use Dual® (group 15) plus Sencor® (group 5) pre-emergence followed by Roundup plus Basagran® (group 6). And the BEST plan would be to plant LibertyLink™ Soybeans instead of Roundup-Ready and then switch Liberty® herbicide (group 10) in that plan for the Roundup (group 9) and the Basagran!

Using multiple products with different sites of action, however, is not enough. Farmers must also make certain the herbicides are effective against the weeds they are trying to manage. Mechanical methods of weed control including cultivation even hand-weeding must be considered, as well as crop rotation and other cultural practices.

More information on which herbicides belong to which site-of-action group is available at http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/HerbicideChart.pdf. This website also gives information on many of the premix herbicide combinations and the groups to which they belong.

January 28, 2015

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, General, Herbicide Technology, Industry News, Soybeans, Weed Control
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ Soybeans Get Closer to Commercialization

One week after Latham Product Manager Mark Grundmeier posted an update on new soybean traits and technologies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the deregulatation of Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans. Soybeans with this Dicamba-resistant trait from Monsanto will provide farmers with another option for managing tough broadleaf weeds.

“This announcement marks an important milestone for farmers around the world,” said Robb Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto’s chief technology officer in a news release. “Weeds represent a key pest to agriculture operations around the world and limit crops of much-needed nutrients, sunlight and access to available water resources.”

Weeds are the most economically damaging pests that Iowa corn and soybean farmers face every year, according to Iowa State University Extension Weed Specialist Dr. Mike Owen. The best management practice for achieving weed control is still a diversity of tactics: cultural, mechanical and herbicide. Soybean growers should use products from as many herbicide groups, or families, as possible.

Using one family of herbicides is not a sustainable choice, so weed management specialists like Dr. Owen continue to recommend multiple sites of action herbicide programs as part of Best Management Practices. Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans can help preserve the effectiveness of glyphosate by providing one more important and much needed tool to fight weed resistance.

USDA approval is a major step forward in the process toward full-scale commercialization of this technology. Now with de-regulation, this spring we’re planning to plant production fields of 12 Latham® Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. This will allow us to make Xtend soybeans available for 2016 planting should full global approval happen.

Chinese approval will be the last step before full-scale commercialization of Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. With China’s recent approval of the Agrisure Viptera® corn trait, I’m hopeful this bodes well for future trait approvals.

John Latham, President

January 21, 2015

Crop, General, Industry News, Seed Technology, Soybeans