And now for the Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds Wrap-Up Show…

It feels like I’ve been giving a play-by-play account of growing conditions across Latham Country for the past six months.  We’ve covered everything from seed bed prep to SDS detection and fall harvest results.  Most farmers across our six-state marketing area are finishing fieldwork and, now that temperatures have dropped, are applying anhydrous.(http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/press/cropAndWeather.asp)

The time is also right to focus one’s attention on next year’s seed needs.  The following reports by Latham’s regional sales managers offer tips and insights on product performance in their areas.  To view yield results in your area, visit www.lathamseeds.com.

Northwest Iowa

With harvest complete and most field work and fertilizer applications done, the only thing left is anhydrous ammonia application in Northwest Iowa.  Applicators will be in full force this week as the weather continues to be favorable.  Now it’s time to turn your attention to next year’s seed needs.  Genuity® Roundup® Ready 2 Yield Soybeans jumped ahead of the pack, proving themselves as “the bean” to plant next year.  There are many different corn hybrid options to fit your farming operation with equaled success.  Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids with Genuity® VT3 TriplePro^TM provide an excellent package with late-season insect control.  Latham hybrids with Agrisure® 3000GT have come on strong as well, offering Ignite® as an option for weed control.  Visit www.lathamseeds.com to review yield data in your area.

Central Iowa

Bart Peterson says field work is nearly complete across North Central Iowa and anhydrous applications will be complete by the middle of next week.  Field work is about 50% done in West Central Iowa and farmers are just starting to apply anhydrous there.  Now is a great time to get your seed ordered for 2011.  Many Latham® products will be in demand, so order now while quantities are strong.  Below are Bart’s “top picks” for hybrid seed corn and soybeans in his territory.

North Central Iowa

• “Super Six Picks” on hybrid seed corn: Latham® LH5033 3000GT, LH5228 VT3, LH5376 VT3, LH5494 3000GT, LH5585 SS, and LH5877 VT3.
• “Super Six Picks” on soybeans: Latham® L2084R2, L2085R, L2182R2, L2285R, L2440R2, and L2658R.

West Central Iowa

• “Super Six Picks” on hybrid seed corn: Latham® LH5376 VT3, LH5896 VT3, LH5877 VT3Pro, LH6032 RR, LH6057 SS, and LH6167 VT3Pro.
• “Super Six Picks” on soybeans:  Latham® L2440R2, L2560R, L2658R, L2767R2, L2875R, and L3157R.

South Central Iowa

Harvest is pretty much complete in the northern and central parts of Travis Slusher’s area with some corn left to be harvested in the southern part.  The fall weather has provided many producers great conditions for fall tillage, along with a lot of tiling and terrace and waterway work being done.  Much of the fall fertilizer has been applied.  Farmers are beginning to apply NH3 as temperatures have dropped.

Central Iowa

Harvest, for the most part, is complete across Kevin Meyer’s area.  Producers have taken advantage of one of the nicest falls in recent memory by catching up with some items that didn’t get done a year ago. Now is a good time to study crop notes and finish building a crop plan for 2011.  Strong performance and a diverse line-up of Latham® products offer some great options for next year’s plan.

Wisconsin

A few soil samples are being pulled to see what nutrients will be needed for next year, and Wisconsin farmers are now applying fall fertilizer.  They’re also cleaning up the equipment used during harvest, says Steve Bailie.  Last week’s winds, reaching 50 miles per hour, caused problems for fields of corn that had not yet been harvested. Many growers who have corn remaining in their fields will have a few problems getting the corn fed into the heads of their combine.

South Dakota

Bill Eichacker says corn harvest in South Dakota should rap up this week.  Many farmers are completing field tillage and fertilizer application is going strong.

This year’s harvest is starting to wind down, the weekly weather and crop conditions survey released October 25 shows 86% of Iowa corn acres have been harvested, 35 days ahead of last year and 25 days ahead of the 5-year average. Soybean acres harvested are 97% complete, 24 days ahead of last year and 19 days ahead of the 5-year average. (Source: Wallaces Farmer)

South Central Iowa

Harvest is winding up across South Central Iowa, so many producers are doing fall tillage, tiling and fertilizing. Travis Slusher says gale-force winds this week will put corn that is still in the field under an extreme stand-ability test.  Corn yields have been variable to say the least, but there have been some very good performances.  Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids that did well in this area include LH 5645 3000GT, LH 6003 3000GT, LH 6032 RR, LH 6056 VT3, LH 6394 3000GT and LH 6598 VT3.  Some of the standout soybean varieties in this area are L2735R2V, L2984R2, L3186R2, L3268R2 and L2987L. 

Central Iowa

Kevin Meyer reports harvest is almost complete in his territory. Fall fertilizer and tillage is underway with fall anhydrous application set for the end of this week. Soybeans had a very good year, even with a strong presence of SDS in the area. Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybeans L2182R2 and L2440R2 performed very well against the competition with a 6 to 10-bushel advantage.  New products in our soybean lineup, along with proven performance of the Roundup Ready brands, offers some great yield opportunities on soybean acres in 2011. Kevin’s customers saw strong performances from Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids LH 5228 VT3, LH 5376 VT3 and LH 5494 3000GT; LH 5896 VT3 and LH 5877 VT3 PRO rounded out the season with great stalk strength and grain quality in the 108-day maturity.  There was a big improvement in dry down and test weight from the 2010 as compared to 2009 crop.

Wisconsin

Steve Bailie reports most growers in his territory have finished their 2010 harvest of corn and beans. With higher yields, this year many bins are full so growers have had to take the remaining crop to the local elevator or to the river. It’s an inconvenience, but it’s not a bad problem to have, especially considering market price has been above average this fall. Corn yields this year were higher than in the past years.  Steve was amazed by yields on hybrids with the Roundup Ready® trait next to the stacked hybrids. One hybrid that did particularly well in Wisconsin is Latham® LH 4999 RR, which has been pulling yields above 200 bu/A in many locations across the state. Latham LH 4999 RR is an amazing refuge corn choice for growers here. With wet, windy weather in the forecast this week, it’s a great time to finish crop planning and finalizing your 2011 seed purchases.

West Central Iowa

The northern region of Bart Peterson’s territory is done combing corn and soybeans.  Field work is mostly done there, as well.  Anhydrous is being applied.  The western half of Bart’s territory has finished soybean harvest and 10 to 15% of the corn has yet to be combined. 

Northwest Iowa

Big yields require replacement of fertilizer to ensure big yield opportunity for next year, says Tom Larson.  Potash is the most over looked product when going from corn to soybeans.  Consult with your fertilizer specialist about soybeans.

Northern Missouri

Rick Foster reports harvest is still moving along and was slowed a little this weekend with 1 inch of rain.

I’ve always enjoyed harvest and its promise of yield results, but this year has been especially exciting.  More customers than ever have called from the field to share personal stories about incredible product performance.

A customer in northeast Iowa called and thanked his Latham representative for adding $200,000 to his bottom line recently because Latham® LH 5426 VT3 PRO produced 30 bu/A more than the competition. A customer in South Central Iowa reported yields of 70 to 100 bu/A with Latham® L2984R2, and I personally saw this same soybean brand average 72 bu/A across 142 acres near Adel, Iowa.

Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybeans with Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® technology are truly having a break-through year. We’re seeing more customers than ever harvest soybeans in the 70s and 80s – numbers that are beating the competition because our independence allows us to scan the globe for the world’s best genetics.

For a sneak peek at yield results, click here. To see a state-by-state yield report, click on the states below:

Iowa
Nebraska
Minnesota
South Dakota
Wisconsin

More yield results will be posted as they become available, so be sure to check our Website again soon for more exciting news about Latham® performance.