John, Shannon and Chris Latham are now the proud owners of Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds. We’ve purchased the soybean business from other Latham family members and combined it with our Latham Hi‑Tech Hybrids seed corn and alfalfa company.

We’re thrilled to offer the best seed technologies from multiple trait developers in corn, beans and alfalfa to our customers through our “best in the business” staff of technical, marketing and consulting personnel. Click here to read the news release.

Stay tuned as Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds evolves!

No, this is not a text message from your kid’s cell phone or your nephew’s Twitter page. We’re simply asking if you are ready. Ready to participate in the most significant soybean yield improvement technology to emerge in over a decade.

Latham Seeds L3184R2 and L2958R2 (for Maturity Zones III and II), featuring the highly anticipated Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ technology, will be available in limited release this year.

One big achievement of this product is the observed increase in the number of beans per pod. Farmers who planted RR2Y in last fall’s field trials reported seeing more 3- and 4-bean pods on their plants than with earlier Roundup Ready beans.

What difference can an extra bean or two per pod make? According to Monsanto’s calculations, four extra beans per plant could mean nearly two extra bushels per acre when planted at 85,000 plants per acre. At 185,000 plants per acre, the increase could be more than 4 Bu/a. At a hypothetical $10 per bushel, that’s an extra $20,000 to $40,000 for a 1000-acre planting.

With an extra six to ten beans per plant, which is entirely feasible, the difference is even more dramatic.

See how Latham Seeds’ new brands with Roundup Ready 2 Yield could increase your profitability. Give your Latham dealer a call.  And while you’re at it give our new radio ad (click soybeans in the right panel to locate) on RR2Y a listen.  Hearing is believing!

Editor’s note: Latham’s own Bob Collins give his account below of this month’s confirmation hearing of Tom Vilsack. We’re proud to have Bob as a member of the Iowa contingent that was on hand to support our former governor for this important appointment.

On Wednesday, January 14, I traveled to Washington D.C. on behalf of Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) to attend a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.  The purpose of the hearing was to consider the nomination of Tom Vilsack to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and it was an opportunity for members of the Senate Agriculture Committee to question the nominee.  I was among a small handful of Iowans in the audience to show support for our former Governor.

The hearing lasted approximately two and a half hours and covered a wide range of agricultural topics.  Each Senator was allowed five minutes to question Vilsack.  Many of them spent that time conveying to him the issues they found most important in the Farm Bill or within the Department of Agriculture.  Senator Harkin presided over the hearing as Chair of the Ag Committee and Senator Grassley provided additional comments as well, coming from the home state of the nominee.  Each of the senators present for the hearing expressed support for Vilsack’s nomination and many were complimentary of both Vilsack and his wife, Christie.

The hearing included discussion of agriculture subsidies, conservation programs, renewable energy, forest management, food safety and security, organic foods, biotechnology, revitalization of rural communities, dairy policies, Farm Bill re-authorization, civil rights cases within the Department and a host of other issues.  It was clear there is still strong support from members of the Ag Committee for the consensus policies reflected in the current Farm Bill as well as a feeling that the Department is not implementing it the way they intended.  Vilsack talked in broad terms about his vision for agriculture and a desire to represent all sectors of agriculture.  One theme Vilsack reiterated was his intention to bring updated technology to the Department so they could function more efficiently and provide policy makers the data they need and deserve to make good policy decisions.

Attending the hearing provided an opportunity for me to see and talk with Senator Harkin, Senator Grassley, Senator Chambliss, Governor Vilsack, and a number of other Ag Committee staffers.  I was interviewed by Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register about my reaction to the hearing and was mentioned in his story covering the event.

Bill Latham of Latham Seeds was interviewed by SeedWorld, a major agricultural and commercial seed media company. Bill shared his thoughts on a variety of topics, from students entering the seed business to shifts in the demand for and roles of genetics and traits.

Click here to take a look at one of the interview installments.

To view the entire six-part series, Giant Views of the Seed Industry, click here.

Bill may have giant views, but Latham Seeds and Latham-Hi‑Tech Hybrids are committed to being anything but giants. We just want to keep doing what we’re doing: being a trusted, independent, innovative partner with Midwestern farmers every day, every year.

A great story of neighbors helping neighbors reached our mailbox this past week from our friends in South Dakota. Bad luck had struck hard this past fall for one of our own Latham customers. Early in the harvest season, the family’s combine motor blew up after the very first round in the first field of soybeans. With wet conditions following, they were forced to leave the beans and switch to corn.

Due to minor medical complications, the father, who held the role of main farm manager was hospitalized a couple weeks ago. This left only the son to bring in the harvest and maintain the rest of the operation.

On October 31, friends and neighbors gathered to form a harvest bee of 10 combines, 5 grain carts, several trucks and semis. Together they brought in 600 acres of crop in a single day. Bill Eichacker, Latham RSM from the South Dakota region, would like to give a shout out to all those farmers who lent a hand to bring in the crop this fall. “It’s great to have close friends to rely on when we were in such a bind” he commented, without them we never would’ve been able to finish harvest on time.”

If you have a great harvest story to share, send us an email with your story and any photos you would like to include to shannonl@lathamseeds.com. We’d love to hear from you!