Waiting for corn to dry naturally in the field may reduce drying expenses. But leaving a crop standing longer can introduce other costs, especially when stalk integrity, lodging or changing weather conditions become concerns.

So how do you decide when it’s time to roll?

Consider More Than Drying Costs

Harvesting wetter corn typically means additional drying expenses. Those costs depend on grain moisture, fuel prices, drying equipment and the amount of water that needs to be removed.

But delaying harvest isn’t automatically the less expensive option.

Field losses from lodging, dropped ears or deteriorating stalks can quickly change the economics.

Know Your Field Risks

Walk fields before making harvest-order decisions.

Check stalk strength, root condition, disease pressure and lodging potential. A field with compromised standability may deserve priority even if its grain moisture is higher than you’d prefer.

Conversely, a healthy field with strong stalks and roots may provide more flexibility.

Think Ahead to Hybrid Selection

Harvest moisture isn’t just a fall consideration. It’s also something to evaluate when selecting next year’s hybrids.

Relative maturity, drydown characteristics, stalk integrity and harvest timing all influence how a hybrid fits your operation.

That’s why Latham evaluates more than yield when considering product performance. The goal is to help farmers understand how hybrids fit different acres and management systems.

Look at the Whole Equation

The lowest drying bill doesn’t always produce the best financial outcome.

Compare expected drying expenses with the potential risks of leaving corn in the field. Consider the weather forecast, available equipment and the condition of the crop.

Sometimes harvesting a little wetter is the better decision. The key is knowing what waiting could cost you. Talk with your local Latham representative to learn more.

As harvest gets underway across Latham Country, we’re watching more than the numbers flashing across the yield monitor. We’re also paying attention to standability, drydown, ear development and how products finish across different yield environments.

Here are four Latham® corn hybrids we’re especially excited to watch this harvest.

LH 6226 PCE RA: The Yield Trend-Setter

There’s a reason we’re calling LH 6226 PCE RA a Yield Trend-Setter. It’s one of the top hybrids we’ve seen in years, combining strong yield potential with excellent disease resistance and agronomics.

Strong ear flex also makes it a good fit for moderate-to-lower populations, while its dual-purpose potential adds another layer of flexibility.

LH 5626 PCE RA: Yield Meets Drydown

Big yields are great. Big yields that come with excellent drydown are even better.

LH 5626 PCE RA pairs high yield potential with an outstanding yield-to-moisture ratio. Strong agronomics and very good disease tolerance help it perform consistently across yield environments, while efficient drydown can pay dividends when the combine starts rolling.

LH 5976 PCE RA: Big Ears, Big Potential

Sometimes you can see the potential standing in the field.

LH 5976 PCE RA produces large, girthy flex ears with huge top-end yield potential. This exciting PowerCore® hybrid thrives at medium densities and brings excellent greensnap scores to the package.

It’s one we’ll be watching closely as harvest results come in.

LH 5856 PCE RA: Flexibility Through Harvest

Grain or silage? LH 5856 PCE RA gives farmers options.

This 108-day PowerCore hybrid combines high yield potential with excellent late-season plant health and very strong stalks and roots. Its dual-purpose potential gives farmers flexibility at harvest without sacrificing standability.

Follow the Results

Of course, what happens in one field never tells the whole story. Growing conditions, soils and management all play a role in product performance.

That’s why we’ll be watching results from across Latham Country as harvest continues.

Follow Latham on social and watch for John’s Harvest Reports as he hits the road gathering yield results from Latham Dealers and customers.

From proven performers to exciting new genetics, this year’s Latham® soybean lineup offers different combinations of yield potential, disease defense and agronomic strength.

Here are four varieties we’ll be watching as harvest results roll in.

L 1912 E3: The Defensive Beast

We called this one a defensive beast for a reason.

New L 1912 E3 combines huge yield potential with a serious defensive package, including strong defense against Brown Stem Rot, Iron Deficiency Chlorosis, soybean white mold, Sudden Death Syndrome and Phytophthora Root Rot.

Add excellent emergence and extremely strong standability, and this new superstar has plenty to watch at harvest.

L 2337 E3: The Contest Winner

Want a reason to pay attention to L 2337 E3? Start with this one: It’s a yield-contest winner.

But yield isn’t its only calling card. L 2337 E3 also brings strong emergence, the Rps1k gene for Phytophthora Root Rot and PI88788 for Soybean Cyst Nematode protection.

That combination of yield and defensive traits makes it an intriguing package.

L 1181 E3: The Superstar

L 1181 E3 came into the lineup with “superstar” attached to its name — and there’s plenty behind the nickname.

This variety combines high yield potential with Peking-source SCN resistance, excellent standability and exceptional tolerance to IDC and Phytophthora Root Rot. It has also delivered consistent performance across yield environments.

In other words, there’s more than one reason we’ll be watching the numbers.

L 1558 E3: The Proven Performer

Not every variety we’re watching is the newest kid on the block.

L 1558 E3 has delivered multiple years of strong yield performance across Latham Country. Strong emergence and standability combine with the Rps3a gene for Phytophthora Root Rot and resistance to Brown Stem Rot.

Sometimes the most exciting harvest result is seeing a proven performer do it again.

Follow Along This Harvest

Individual fields and plots provide valuable information, but the bigger picture develops as results come in across different soils, environments and management systems.

We’ll be following that bigger picture throughout harvest.

Follow Latham on social for John’s Harvest Reports and more results straight from fields across Latham Country.

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.

There’s weather coming. Another field is ready. Trucks are waiting. Daylight is disappearing. And after a long day in the cab, it’s tempting to save a minute wherever you can.

But some minutes aren’t worth saving.

As National Farm Safety and Health Week comes to a close, it’s a good reminder that safety doesn’t end with Safety Week. It matters every day of harvest.

Slow Down Around Equipment

Before clearing a plug, making an adjustment or working around moving parts, shut equipment down completely. Keep guards and shields in place and take the extra few seconds to walk around equipment rather than stepping over moving components.

Those few seconds are always worth it.

Don’t Let Fatigue Make Decisions for You

Harvest means long days and late nights. Fatigue can affect concentration and reaction time, so build in breaks, stay hydrated and recognize when you’re too tired to safely keep pushing.

The crop will still be there after you rest.

Stay Visible on the Road

Harvest puts more combines, tractors, grain carts and trucks on rural roads — often early in the morning or after dark.

Before heading out, make sure lights, signals, reflectors and slow-moving vehicle emblems are clean and visible. Give other drivers plenty of warning when turning and remember that large equipment comes with large blind spots.

And for everyone sharing the road this fall: slow down, be patient and give farm equipment room.

Keep Everyone in the Loop

Whether you’re harvesting alone or with a crew, make sure someone knows where you’re working. Communicate when equipment is moving between fields and take extra care when children and family members are around the operation.

Harvest is one of the most rewarding times of the year. It can also be one of the busiest.

So take the extra minute. Shut it down. Look twice. Get some rest.

Because no bushel is worth risking the people who make harvest possible.

From all of us at Latham Seeds, have a safe and successful harvest.

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.

When the combine rolls into a field, you’re harvesting more than corn or soybeans. You’re also
collecting some of the best information you’ll have for planning next year’s crop.

Yield data matters. But the number flashing across the monitor is only part of the story.

This harvest, take time to consider what your fields are telling you — and how those
observations can help build a stronger plan for 2027.

Look Beyond the Yield Monitor

Accurate yield data can help identify variability within a field, compare performance over time
and evaluate the return on different management practices.

But don’t stop there.

Think back over the entire growing season. Where did disease pressure show up? Which
products handled stress well? Where did standability become a concern? Did certain soil types
or field conditions expose differences between products?

Sometimes the most useful information isn’t simply which product yielded the most. It’s
understanding why a product performed the way it did — and where it fits best next season.
Take notes while those observations are still fresh.

One Field Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

It’s tempting to crown a winner based on one field, one plot or one especially impressive
number on the yield monitor.

But farming rarely works that way.

Weather, soils, planting dates, disease pressure and other factors can affect product
performance from one field to the next. That’s why Latham evaluates products across multiple
locations and environments before making placement recommendations.

The goal isn’t necessarily to find one hybrid or soybean variety to plant everywhere. It’s to build
a package of products with different strengths that fit the individual fields across your
operation.

That diversity can help spread risk while giving each acre a better opportunity to perform.

Turn Observations into Better Decisions

Put those harvest observations to work as you begin planning for 2027. Consider what you
learned alongside field history, product characteristics and performance data from multiple
locations and environments.

At Latham, that’s how we approach product placement, too. The goal isn’t simply to identify the
highest-yielding product. It’s to understand where each product performs best — and help
farmers put the right genetics on the right acres.

Maybe a hybrid impressed you with its standability. A soybean variety handled disease pressure
particularly well. Perhaps one field struggled in a way you didn’t expect.

Those observations all add another piece to the puzzle as you evaluate next year’s seed
decisions.

Because the best decisions aren’t made from a single number.

They’re made by understanding the whole field.

As you harvest this fall, don’t just collect the crop.

Harvest the information that can help make next season even stronger.

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.

That’s exactly what Latham Seeds Dealers and customers had the opportunity to do during our annual Premier Agronomy Day in Alexander, Iowa.

The event brings growers together with Latham’s sales and agronomy teams for an up-close look at corn and soybean products growing in our plots. It’s a chance to see product performance firsthand, ask questions and hear what our team is seeing across Latham Country.

Seeing Performance in the Field

Throughout the day, John Latham and members of the Latham sales and agronomy teams led groups through the plots, sharing observations about products in the current lineup and discussing considerations for the seasons ahead.

Regional Sales Managers Daniel and Jacob highlighted soybean varieties showing strong potential — including a few they jokingly described as “yield hogs.”

Justin took the conversation below ground with a discussion about seed treatments. Growers can easily see what’s happening above the soil, but many of the threats facing a young plant are hidden underground. That makes choosing the right seed treatment an important part of protecting yield potential from the very beginning.

And in the corn plots, John highlighted one of Latham’s longtime “big gun” hybrids — a proven product that has continued to earn its place in the lineup through consistent performance.

More Than a Plot Tour

Premier Agronomy Day is about more than looking at individual products. It gives Dealers and customers an opportunity to talk directly with the people who evaluate, select and recommend Latham products — and to learn from one another.

Those conversations become especially valuable as harvest approaches and growers begin thinking about product decisions for another season.

After the plot tours wrapped up, attendees gathered for lunch and more conversation — an annual tradition that reflects something important about how Latham does business.

As a third-generation seed company, we believe strong relationships and local knowledge matter. Getting together in the field gives us another opportunity to listen, learn and share what we’re seeing so Latham Dealers can help growers put the right products on the right acres.

Because sometimes the best place to prepare for next season is standing in this season’s field.

White mold has an annoying habit of making itself obvious when there’s not much you can do about it.

By the time its telltale white, cottony growth appears on soybean stems, infection has already occurred. And because the sclerotia that carry the fungus can survive in the soil for years, a field with a history of white mold deserves extra attention long before symptoms appear.

That’s why managing white mold isn’t just about reacting to what you see in the field. It’s about building a plan before the next crop goes in.

Know Where You’re at Risk

Cool, wet conditions and moisture within a dense soybean canopy can create favorable conditions for white mold development. Fields with a history of the disease deserve particular attention when planning for the next growing season.

Good field notes are a great place to start. Record where white mold appeared, how severely different varieties were affected and the field conditions where pressure was greatest.

Then use that information when making next year’s seed decisions.

Build Defense into Your Seed Selection

Variety selection is one of the most important tools farmers have for managing white mold risk.

Look closely at white mold ratings and other defensive characteristics when selecting soybeans for fields with a known history of disease. Latham’s 2027 soybean lineup includes varieties with strong white mold tolerance, including new K-Class products that combine top-end yield potential with the defensive characteristics needed across Latham Country.

Your Latham® Dealer can help evaluate options and match soybean products to the disease history, soils and management practices of each field.

Add Another Layer with SoyShield Ultra

Seed treatment provides another opportunity to build protection into your plan before planting.

Latham SoyShield Ultra brings several components together in one treatment package, including HeadsUp® for Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and soybean white mold suppression. It also includes an increased rate of mefenoxam compared to SoyShield Plus, BIOST for nematode and insect protection, and Amplifyr to support early-season plant growth.

In other words, SoyShield Ultra isn’t just about white mold. It’s designed to give soybeans broader protection against several of the disease and pest pressures farmers face across the Upper Midwest.

And that’s an important distinction: there isn’t one silver bullet for white mold.

The better approach is to layer management decisions — knowing your field history, selecting varieties with the right defensive package, using appropriate seed treatment and continuing to scout throughout the season.

Start Planning Now

If you’re seeing white mold in your fields this season, don’t just make a mental note and move on.

Document it. Talk about it with your Latham Dealer. And use what you’re seeing today to make a stronger plan for 2027.

You can’t control what Mother Nature delivers next season. But you can make decisions now that help your soybeans stand up to the pressure.

Talk with your local Latham Dealer about soybean selection and whether SoyShield Ultra is a good fit for your acres.