Every year, you have the chance to pick the best seed varieties for your farm, keeping in mind high quality and yield, pests and diseases, weed pressure and more. This decision determines your profitability and customer satisfaction.
Your seed representatives are there to answer your questions about the seed varieties available in your area. The checkoff is challenging you to challenge your seed providers and find out the best varieties available in your areas that meet your desires – and your customers, too.
“Challenge your seed representatives to know your acres and know what kinds of disease packages fit best with your farm,” advises Hannah Riddle, a seed sales representative for Mycogen Seed from Kearney, Nebraska. “If you know what specific factors to ask about, your seed representative can help you find the best varieties to grow.”
Here are four important desires to keep in mind when selecting seed:
- High-quality varieties with high protein and oil content — Growing varieties that produce higher protein and oil levels is simple. Just ask your seed provider or visit www.GrowSoybeanValue.com to use the soy checkoff’s Soybean Quality Toolbox to help you find varieties that will produce more protein and oil without sacrificing yield. Keeping the quality of U.S. soybeans high is crucial to keeping your customers coming back for more.
- High oleic varieties — High oleic soybean varieties produce oil with increased functionality, which has benefits for food and industrial users and could increase the value of all U.S. soybeans. Consider giving high oleic a try on your farm and check with your seed representative to see if it is available in your area.
- Soybean-cyst-nematode (SCN)-resistant varieties — According to Riddle, taking soil samples to identify any SCN races present in your fields is important for selecting the correct SCN-resistant variety for your farm.
- Keep a “total-systems” approach in mind — Considering all factors, such as soil type and quality on your farm, pests and diseases you have encountered in the past, weed pressures and local weather, is important during seed selection.
Source : unitedsoybean.org