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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tips to maintain quality in high moisture corn

You’ve heard it a lot this season. Corn quality. According to the USDA Nov. 24 crop report, Iowa still had 22 percent of its corn crop in the field, South Dakota 60 percent, Nebraska 35 percent, Wisconsin 41 percent, and Minnesota 34 percent.

Due to the late harvest, a lot of corn went into the bins wetter than desired, reported Rob Swoboda in the Dec. issue of Wallaces Farmer.

There are three points to remember:

1) Getting corn in the bin is only part of the battle; managing the corn to retain quality is the second part.

2) One can’t expect lower-quality corn to keep well during storage.

3) It will be harder to blend in low-quality corn in 2010.

Read more to learn tips about how to maintain corn quality this season.

Please share tips you use to maintain corn quality.

Team Latham

December 23, 2009

Corn Silage, Crop, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Christmas Cookies without the Calories!

The story of the Little Gingerbread Boy has been a favorite of mine since I was a little shaver, sitting on my grandmother’s lap. It’s also become a favorite of my kids. When they were in preschool, we made little, hand-made puppets that help bring the story to life. Now that they’re older, they enjoy spending an afternoon with my mom, decorating gingerbread men and women in various shapes, sizes and colors.

All of us can enjoy this classic holiday tradition in a whole new way with virtual decorating this year. As the folks at farms.com say, “Enjoy! These cookies have no calories, but they are deliciously fun.” Best of all, there’s no mess in the kitchen!

Decorate your “virtual” gingerbread cookie by clicking here.

Team Latham

December 23, 2009

Desserts, General, Recipes
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Brownfield Network visits Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

We recently hosted a media day at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, and we were so happy to have Jerry Passer with the Brownfield Network attend.

Jerry wrote a wonderful post on the Brownfield blog about his visit to Alexander and what he learned about Latham’s product line offerings:

My purpose on this trip was a media day at Latham High Tech Seeds just south of the village of Alexander. John Latham is President and his wife Shannon is Vice President of this family-owned seed business started by John’s grandfather, Willard Latham in 1947. Latham’s headquarters is located in the Heartland of the Midwest in a farm setting.

John Latham and representatives of Monsanto introduced their new product lineup that combines high performing Latham seed genetics with the latest Genuity brand biotechnology traits from Monsanto Company.

To read the full article, click here.

Team Latham

December 22, 2009

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Visit Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds at the Nebraska Power and Farming Show

We will be attending the Nebraska Power and Farming Show Dec. 9-10 in Lincoln, Neb., at the Lancaster Event Center. We would love to see you there. Visitors to our booth, #317, will have the chance to win prizes, as well as learn more about our new products and high-yielding seed technologies. For more information about the show, visit http://www.nebraskapowershow.com/.

Team Latham

November 25, 2009

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Plan now for land transition

Iowa Farmer Today recently posted an article written by Steven Bohr about the dire need for producers to have a good plan in place for transition of their farmland.

In the article, Bohr provided more than a few frightening statistics about current land ownership and what it could mean for the future of agriculture. Among them were the following:

1) The age of the landowner is the oldest it has been in history. In 2007, people over the age of 55 owned 78 percent of the land in Iowa. Fifty-five percent is owned by people over the age of 65, compared with 29 percent in 1982.

2) In 2008, 73 percent of farms sold were purchased by existing land owners, 3 percent by new owners and 24 percent by off-farm investors.

3) The appraised value of the land is as high as it’s ever been in history.

Bohr urges producers to begin planning for their farm’s inevitable transition now to eliminate the uncertainty of the farm-continuation process.

Team Latham

November 24, 2009

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Giving Thanks

In just a few days, most of us will gather around a table with loved ones. We will laugh at the children in our family who try to sneak a slice of pumpkin pie before the meal. We will take a moment to slow down, in a world that during this time of year in agriculture, often moves on fast forward. And, we will take a moment to say thank you, because although this year may have been a challenging one (we certainly know harvest has been), we still have many things to be thankful for.

At Latham, we’re thankful for many things, but most of all, we’re thankful for you. The American farmer. We’re thankful that you get up in the morning to help feed and fuel our world. We’re thankful that you haven’t shied away from the many challenges that have come your way, and instead, have stood up and found solutions. We’re thankful that every day, we get to work on behalf of you and your farm, because there is no one else we’d rather work for.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, from all of us at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds.

Team Latham

November 23, 2009

Agriculture, Fall, General, Industry News, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham Hi‑Tech Soybeans Top the Charts in Test Plots Across the State

Here is some preliminary soybean yield results that have come in from our test plots this season. Check back for more info as harvest rolls on.

For more info on plot results, visit our website at www.lathamseeds.com.

Gary Geske

November 23, 2009

Crop, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham Hi‑Tech Hybrids Preliminary Harvest Data Yields Excellent Results!

The data is piling in from our Superstrips and Test Plots this harvest season. Here is a breakdown of how each performed across our marketing territory. For more information on individual plots or head to head results, visit our website at www.lathamseeds.com.

Gary Geske

November 20, 2009

Fall, General, Season
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Recipes for the Thanksgiving Table
There’s a lot to be thankful for at Thanksgiving, and on that list is the amazing food we get to enjoy during the holiday. I wanted to share a couple of our family favorites with you.

I love easy-to-make recipes, especially during the holidays. We have enough going on trying to get everyone around the table at the same time, let alone watching a pie to keep the crust from burning. That’s why this Pumpkin Pudding recipe is one of my favorites, because all it takes is a quick mix, and then you can pour it into the crockpot and forget about it until it’s ready to serve.

Another “pour it and forget it recipe” is for cranberry salad. It puts a new twist on a traditional Turkey Day side dish.

What I like about both of these recipes is that, while the food is either warming in the crockpot or cooling in the fridge, it leaves me – and you – time to do exactly what we should be doing on Thanksgiving: enjoying time with family and friends.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Mold

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
- 1½ c. boiling water
- 1 package (8-serving size) or 2 packages (4-serving size) JELL-O® brand Cranberry Flavor Gelatin
- 1½ c. cold water
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 medium apple, chopped
- 1 c. whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1, 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
Directions:
1. Stir the boiling water into gelatin in large bowl for 2 minutes or until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water and cinnamon. Pour 2 cups of the gelatin into medium bowl. Refrigerate about 1½ hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves a definite impression). Reserve remaining 1 cup gelatin at room temperature.
2. Stir apple and cranberry sauce into thickened gelatin. Spoon into 6-cup mold. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set but not firm (should stick to finger when touched and should mound).
3. Stir reserved 1 cup gelatin gradually into cream cheese in small bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Pour over gelatin layer in mold.
4. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.
5. Unmold.
Team Latham

November 19, 2009

General, Recipes
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

University of Minnesota provides great resources for challenging harvest

The University of Minnesota has developed a website with multiple resources devoted to dealing with the challenges associated with this cold, wet harvest season. The site provides information on what to watch for in moldy corn; tips for staying safe around moldy crops; advice for storing, drying and handling wet soybeans; as well as post-harvest crop handling.

To visit the site, click here.

Team Latham

November 18, 2009

Fall, General, Season

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tips to maintain quality in high moisture corn

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Christmas Cookies without the Calories!

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Brownfield Network visits Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Visit Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds at the Nebraska Power and Farming Show

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Plan now for land transition

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Giving Thanks

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham Hi‑Tech Soybeans Top the Charts in Test Plots Across the State

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham Hi‑Tech Hybrids Preliminary Harvest Data Yields Excellent Results!

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Recipes for the Thanksgiving Table

Cranberry Cream Cheese Mold

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

University of Minnesota provides great resources for challenging harvest