We need to pay attention to emergence to maximize our yield that will be going into our bins this fall. We like to see everything come up within 24 hours of each other. Many studies have been conducted showing that plants that emerge on Day 2 of emergence can have a 10% yield loss compared to the first plants that emerged. Plants that come up on Day 3, the yield decrease can be close to 40% and those that emerge on Day 4 can have a yield loss of over 80%. The reason behind some of these yield losses is because those bigger brother corn plants will have the opportunity to take more water and nutrients away from the smaller brothers because they were able to get established sooner and they do not leave much for the runts to thrive on.  

It is so crucial that we make sure we are doing everything in our power to allow these corn plants to emerge at the same time. Are we going through our planters well before we hit the fields to make sure the disc openers and scrapers are in optimal condition? Are we making sure we are doing tillage and planting into optimal field conditions and not pushing soil moisture and soil temperature? Are we adding some sort of starter to help those plants get out of the ground easier? Are we looking at the closing systems on our planters to make sure we are closing the seed trench well? These are just a few things to be mindful of when we are thinking about emergence. Let’s get off to a good start and fill our bins with as many bushels as possible this fall.

Make it a great spring and be safe! 

J-Class Soybeans Take Center Stage

One of the most talked-about moments of Latham Dealer Kickoff was the debut of our J-Class Soybeans. Designed to give our dealers and customers an edge on every acre, Latham’s J-Class Soybeans are so good they’re in a class by themselves.

We’re introducing 32 new J-Class varieties for 2026 planting, 12 of which carry our Ironclad protection for superior disease resistance and standability. With yield potential and agronomic strength like this, we’re confident J-Class will be a game-changer for farmers across Latham Country.

Learning from the Experts

Dealer Kickoff also featured an engaging presentation from Dr. Greg Tylka of Iowa State University, a leading authority on soybean cyst nematode (SCN) management. Dr. Tylka shared the latest research on SCN-resistant soybean varieties, how resistance is changing over time and the critical role of field scouting in protecting yields. His insights reinforced the importance of pairing top-tier genetics — like J-Class — with proactive SCN management strategies.

Dr. Greg Tylka, Iowa State University

Raising Money for Cancer Research

Midwesterners mark celebrations with special foods, and Latham Dealer Kickoff is no exception. This year we held a dessert auction to raise money for our Seeds of Hope campaign and raised more than $4,600. Special thanks to Tony Friesen of 2 Pins Bakery in Mankato for working with us to provide 15 different types of delicious cakes and pies including Whopper, Reece’s, Andes Mint, Snickerdoodle, French Silk and more!

During our annual banquet, we feasted on pork loin. Special thanks to Iowa Pork for sharing the following recipe with us! 

Building Momentum for 2026

Dealer Kickoff isn’t just about new products. It’s about building relationships, sharing strategies and setting the tone for the year ahead. From networking with fellow dealers to learning about programs designed to drive early orders, every conversation pointed toward one goal: helping farmers make the most of every field, every season.

With the Freedom of Independence guiding our decisions and the unmatched performance of J-Class Soybeans in our lineup, we’re ready to make the 2026 sales year one for the record books.

Thank you to every dealer who made the trip to Mankato. Your dedication is the reason we can remain independent, innovative and focused on what matters most.

Print

Pork Loin

Prep Time 1 day day

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Equipment

• 1 Bowl
• 1 Large resealable plastic bag
• 1 Roasting pan, rimmed cookie sheet, or 9×13 pan
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 large garlic cloves chopped
• 1 bunch of rosemary 1/2 cup, leaves only, coarsely chopped OR 2 1/2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 pounds center-cut pork loin

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• In a small bowl, mix olive oil with the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.
• Rub the mixture all over the pork. Transfer the pork and marinade to a large, resealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
• Spray oil in a roasting pan if you have one. If not, use a rimmed cookie sheet or 9×13 pan. To re-create the roasting rack, place a metal cooling rack in the bottom or use aluminum foil. Tear off approximately 12” of foil; form it into a snake and then into a ring. Make as many rings as you need to keep the pork loin off the bottom of the pan. This promotes circulation of the heat underneath and around your loin, which helps the meat to cook evenly.
• Place your seasoned pork, fat side up, in your prepared pan.
• Add oiled/seasoned vegetables around your pork loin to make it a complete meal. Use vegetables that require longer cook times like potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and carrots.
• Roast in a 400 F oven for 15 minutes. This gives you that nice crispy crust that everyone loves!
• Turn your oven temperature down to 325 F (no need to open the oven) and continue cooking until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 F. The time will vary based on the size of your loin and what you are cooking with it. Check it after 30 minutes with a meat thermometer and add small time increments as needed. Do not exceed 145 F with any pork loin recipe! Pork is very lean, so overcooking it will result in a dry and tough product.
• Once your pork loin has reach 145 F, remove it from the oven and cover it loosely with aluminum foil. A 3-minute rest will redistribute the juices throughout the meat before you cut into it. This is key to succulent pork!

“I decided to become a seed dealer to give our operation another profit center for the boys to work at,” Kevin says. “And I chose Latham because it’s a locally-owned company with great products and forward-thinking leadership.”

Kevin’s journey started on his family’s cow/calf and crop farm. After studying engineering at Iowa State, he took a full-time role with Garst Seed Company, opening a corn breeding research facility in South Dakota before returning home to farm with family. In 2000, he launched his own trucking company, Nagel Farms Inc., growing from a single truck to a 13-truck fleet. Today, his team primarily hauls seed, non-hazmat chemical and specialty corn — along with Kevin’s own grain.

Farming continues to be a full-family affair. Kevin’s sons, Beau and Rhett, are actively involved in the operation, splitting planting responsibilities and learning every part of the business. Tyler Fenner, their trusted hired hand, rounds out the field team. Together, they’re busy year-round — planting, harvesting, hauling and now delivering top-performing Latham products to neighbors, friends and customers.

The seed dealership is the latest evolution of a diversified operation that keeps growing stronger with every season. At the National Corn Growers Association contest last year, Kevin entered Latham’s LH6306, which placed in the top 20 out of roughly 120 entries. He plans to enter two more hybrids at this year’s contest.

He says he couldn’t be happier with the support he’s received from Latham Seeds so far. “I enjoy all the people there. They’re helpful, caring and they make sure to answer any questions — whether agronomic or operational.”

And while time is tight on a working farm, Kevin still finds joy in family vacations with his wife, Megan, and looks forward to the day when his sons take the reins on fun traditions like sled-pulling diesel trucks and riding Harleys. For now, he’s content helping customers grow strong crops — and treating them to a little home-cooked comfort when the opportunity arises.

Kevin is sharing one of his family’s favorite recipes: Surprise Packages. This grilled pork and veggie dish is a showstopper for guests and a satisfying treat after a long day in the field.

“One of my favorite parts of this job was helping a dealer reach his goals,” Ken says. “A seed dealership can help provide the extra income needed to bring the next generation into the family’s farming operation. It might allow someone to remodel their house or set aside money for their children’s education.”

You could always find Ken spending time with his family or enjoying the great outdoors. He has enjoyed upland bird hunting for many years, and, as an avid hunter, he raised Brittany Spaniels. Ken and his wife, Jeannie, were given a Brittany Spaniel with bloodlines from England as a wedding gift from her uncle.  

In his retirement, Ken plans to spend even more time with family. He and Jeannie look forward to attending their grandchildren’s activities, as well as making memories with them in the field or in the kitchen. It isn’t unusual to find one of the grandkids riding along with Ken as he checks the crops. Each Thanksgiving weekend they continue their family’s holiday baking tradition. 

And, about once a month, everyone gathers in their home for spaghetti dinner. Why? Because Ken and Jeannie were raised in Dilworth, Minn., which has a strong Italian influence. Ken says he grew up eating some of the best homemade pasta and sauces in his friends’ home and was lucky enough to learn from some of the best home cooks. He has combined about five different recipes to create one that he and his Norwegian family enjoy eating about once a week.

At his recent retirement party, he joked about how he felt to hang up his career: “The only person who can tell me what to do now is my wife,” he says with a laugh.

Jerry grew up on a cattle, hog and grain farm 30 miles from DeWitt, Iowa. He helped his dad farm until the early 1980s, when the farm crisis forced foreclosures at unprecedented and devasting rates. He went to work for Pioneer at an animal research station, evaluating silage and hybrids, and stayed with the company nearly 20 years in various capacities. His last role was with the optimal quality grains group at a time when Dupont was buying out Pioneer. His territory was “I-35 to the Pacific Ocean,” Jerry says.

Crisscrossing half the country every week soon got old, and after his dad passed away, Jerry decided to move back to Iowa to be closer to his mom. He took a job with Kruger Seed, where he worked until 2013. That’s when he got a call from Tom Lizer, an old friend and former Kruger colleague who was the general manager at Latham Seeds.

Jerry says it was because of their history and the respect he had for Tom that he agreed to join Latham’s sales team. But there was one caveat.

“I told him I’d give him 10 years and then I wanted to retire,” Jerry says. “I ended up staying 10 years and 8 months.”

Though much of his career was spent on the corporate side of the industry, Jerry says he appreciated the change in pace at Latham. He enjoyed working for a family-owned company that isn’t beholden to one brand and is more interested in solving problems.

“I have always liked being able to provide answers and solutions,” he says. “It’s important to be able to help farmers make good decisions that are best for their own circumstances.”

Jerry says he will most miss working with dealers and customers — some of whom have been with him for 25 years and followed him to Latham Seeds.

“They’re like family to me, just really good people,” he says. “I’ve always treated people honestly and fairly, because when you get down to it, the only thing I can stand on is my reputation. I’m going to miss the relationships I’ve built.”

Jerry and his wife, Kimberly, live in DeWitt. They have two grown sons, Zach and Matt. Here is one of their family’s favorite appetizers: Dried Beef Dip!

When soybean farmers say their “real” customers are pigs, they truly mean it.

That reference to the importance of swine rations in driving demand for soy, however, is in no way a slight to other important markets.

That includes those with fins, scales and gills.

As developing countries strive to feed their growing populations more protein, fish is increasingly on the menu . . . and not just species harvested from streams, rivers and oceans.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, global average consumption of fish and other seafood reached a record high of 20.5 kilograms per person in 2019. That amount is expected to increase as the quality and affordability of fish improves.

Enter Iowa and U.S. soybean farmers.

To meet the growing demand and taste for quality, farm-raised fish, professional feed using ingredients other than fishmeal and fish oil are coming into vogue. Soy is the most-used protein source in aquafeeds worldwide. According to the Global Seafood Alliance, soybean meal, soy protein concentrates, and soybean oil are increasingly go-to feed ingredients required for many farmed species.

Research funded by soybean farmers has played a key role in developing this win-win demand driver. More appetite for sustainably produced and healthy fish is a boon to soybean demand.

In addition to developing soy-based feeds ideally suited for hungry fish and shrimp, soybean farmers have also played a key role in developing new ways to produce farm-raised fish. They are advancing educational activities carried out by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) to train people in developing countries on how to manufacture professional feed using soy.

Iowa soybean farmers take great pride in the role they’ve played in developing better methods and feed for producing fish.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Soy Excellence Centers (SECs) were launched by USSEC in 2019. They offer professional training in a variety of curriculums including feed milling, soybean processing and refining and poultry, dairy, swine and fish production.

More than 6,500 trainees have participated in SECs. One such center operates in Egypt – a facility I was able to see firsthand during a trade mission to the country of 110 million earlier this year. Better training, fish feed and production methods have had a profound impact. The metric tonnage of farm-raised fish production has increased from 600,000 in 2005 to nearly 1.5 million in 2019. Production is projected to surpass 2 million metric tons by 2030.

Farm-raised fish account for almost 80% of Egypt’s seafood market, up from 50% in 2012. Tilapia is the choice of 80% of Egyptians. Other fish species include catfish, sea bass, mullet and carp. Shrimp production is gaining in popularity as farmers seek to diversify and capture greater premiums and profits.

Give the people of a country a fish, and they’ll eat for a day. Teach them how to produce fish (and poultry and milk), and they’ll eat for a lifetime.

That’s the power of soy and Iowa’s soybean farmers.

Aaron serves as Chief Officer of Strategy and Brand Management for Iowa Soybean Association. You can reach Aaron at 515-975-4168 or aputze@iasoybeans.com.

All this talk of fish made us hungry for a yummy Friday recipe! Check out this Lemony Shrimp Scampi Linguine from The Iowa Food and Family Project.

Multiplex gene editing turns up the volume on regular gene editing by implementing multiple types of edits to plant genomes. For example, vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and kale all started from different parts of the same wild mustard plant — but didn’t fully develop into their own varieties until breeders chose to amplify certain traits. Today’s corn is no different, having been bred from a plant that looks nothing like corn looks to us now.

Farmers recognize benefits from multiplex gene editing more quickly because no government agencies are involved. Additional benefits include:

• More uniform seed size, which increases planting efficiency.
• Increased water utilization.
• Changing the leaf shape, which allows for better light interception and photosynthesis to improve yields.

With a high-performing lineup designed specifically for your field, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is well-positioned to increase yields — year after year.

Contact Latham’s product team or your RSM/DSM for more details on multiplex gene editing and other pioneering advancements that we’re working on for your future!

Unlike traditional methods, “Dihaploid Breeding” (DH) creates homozygous (genetically fixed) male or female corn inbreds quickly. What once took five generations of manual self-pollination can now be created in just two or three generations. Not only do DH’s speed the creation of new inbreds but because they are uniform, they improve and speed field testing required to identify performance. DH delivers inbreds faster (commonly called “instant inbreds”), with near-perfect genetic uniformity at a moderate cost.

Sorting all those new inbreds can become a bottleneck in finding commercially viable candidates. Similar to trying to find NFL players among thousands of college athletes, corn breeding also requires a large pool of candidate inbreds — as quickly as possible. Thankfully, selecting for inbreds with “Favorable DNA” (genes with proven performance) has never been easier or cheaper. Breeders used to spend thousands of dollars to identify a few genetic markers on a single inbred to make associations with key traits such as yield or disease tolerance. Today, we are fast approaching a capability to sequence an entire corn inbred genome (all genes) for less than a dollar. Considering that corn has more genes than humans (on fewer chromosomes), detailed genetic data can enable breeders to quickly select best “candidate” inbreds.

To speed development even further, “Predictive Breeding” can now use genetic data to now simulate some field performance prior to testing in the field. While this will never replace actual field testing predictions, it enables breeders to discard the “chaff” from the wheat — inbreds with low probability of good performance before they’re ever field tested.

Lastly, once commercial lines are identified, “Embryo Rescue” can cycle four generations of trait conversion in the lab and greenhouse in a single year, to deliver trait conversions in two years instead of what used to take four to five years.

None of these tools stand alone, but when paired together they create a powerful process to speed development, improve uniformity and reduce developmental cost of delivering improved Latham genetics to your farm.

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We’re proud to participate in the largest agricultural career fair in the nation, which is held annually at Iowa State University. Every year we are blown away by the caliber of students that we get to visit with from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). But this year, it was a whole new game: ISU’s career fair broke its own record for the largest number of businesses and organizations present! How many? 289 to be exact. We know, because we were there.

The CALS career fair boasts at least a 98% placement rate for student internships and full-time jobs. If that’s not impressive enough, consider this: students from 61 different majors at ISU were drawn to this event on a mid-October day. That’s 1,600 students passing by our booth, which means the competition is fierce – and not just for them. As a company, we must compete. And we do because we always want the best of the best on our team.

You can learn more about Iowa State’s CALS career fair here.