Seed Company Enjoying a Good 2014 Season
Seed companies are enjoying a good 2014 season with strong demand for both corn and soybeans. Brian Barker, general manager of US seeds for Dow AgroSciences, says it has been a good growing season on both the corn and soybean fronts, “Our Smartstax did very well, especially in areas where rootworm control is an issue. Our Refuge Advanced, our refuge in a bag technology, is still selling extremely well.” He added the roughest area was parts of the north where there was a good deal of switching from corn to soybeans, “We have a fast growing soybean business with our Mycogen brand and had solid growth in our soybean business.”
This year over 90 million acres of corn and 85 million acres of soybeans were planted in the US; despite widely varying weather conditions, the crops are up and, for the most part, doing well. Barker says continued improvements in genetics are helping crops handle weather extremes and advances in technology is helping farmers to a better job of crop management, “We are offering in this coming season a new tool called ‘My Farm.’ It will help our agronomy team and our sales team use agronomic information to better place products in the field and increase yields for the grower.”
Going forward, Barker says it will be a combination of genetics and technology that will continue to improve the yield potential for both corn and soybeans, “All the seed companies, including Dow AgroSciences, are continuing to invest in biotechnology along with the next generation of herbicide and insect control, and in systems to manage these products better.” He told HAT continued advances will allow farmers to be more productive on each acre they farm.