Corn and soybean harvest is getting closer to the homestretch. As of Monday’s Crop Progress Report, 62 percent of corn and 65 percent of soybeans have been harvested in Michigan.
Tom Manney, agronomist for Specialty Hybrids, says their corn trial plots have been harvested and a few varieties have risen to the top.
“Our 27D728 is a 97-day corn—it got second place in the Charlotte trial,” he says. “Another one that continues to do well in new hybrids for us is the 31D921. That one took first place in the Reading first trial on the early corn. Then another tried-and-true 106-day that continues to do well is 36D260—that one winning the Reading Full Season Trial.”
Soybean trials have also been impressive.
“We have our XtendFlex line which continues to do great,” says Manney. “Leading the pack for yield is our 2403—it’s a fantastic bean. We have a whole lineup of beans, especially some new products coming in—the new 3015 and the 3113 XtendFlex bean from Specialty looks incredible. If guys are looking for a full-season bean, I would definitely lean towards those two new varieties.”
Manney says this trial data will help growers make their plans for next year, even though we can’t predict it.
“No two years are the same in agriculture, so getting data in and getting your boots dirty in years like this are really important,” he says. “They’re going to pay dividends to the brand as we move forward into future years. Tar spot was bad in 2018 and 2021, then there’s a few years where it was lighter pressure, so we really need to take advantage of when we have years like this and understand what’s shining, what’s doing well and what isn’t.”
Manney is encouraging all farmers to get their seed orders in as quickly as possible. Specialty Hybrids is still offering its max discounts until the end of November. For more information, contact your local Specialty dealer.
