In another year of many ups and down’s, one particular dynamic assisted northwest Indiana farmers coming out of the dry weather late in the growing season.
“As harvest rolled in it stayed extremely dry and decently warm and the grain dried down very fast and we were able to see some pretty decent yields,” said DEKALB Asgrow Technical Agronomist Jason Harmon. “I think many farmers are pretty pleased with what they were able to get out of that field, and for the year that it went through.”
He is excited not only about this year’s impressive finish, but the many new products ahead because of Bayer Crop Science’s innovative pipeline set to offer farmers enhanced benefits in the future.
“It’s so many different things whether it’s Preceon
short stature corn to new seed treatments to different traits to these new genetics, there’s so much that’s fun to just test and learn and see how it’s going to fit. And I’m going to highlight that Preceon corn,” Harmon told HAT. “Northern Indiana has been a testing ground for the last three years and we have grown our footprint tremendously because many growers are seeing the advantages to having a shorter stature core that’s bringing yield potential that’s really shocking them on their soil types. It’s really nice to have a plant type that can handle these winds late in the harvest. We can also see increased potential for yield just by having more plants out there and not worrying about them falling over.”
With the yield potential and easier access to the crop for fungicide applications, Harmon is high on Preceon corn’s future.
“I think it’s tremendous. As an agronomist it’s a dream,” he said. “I mean when we can have such a yield potential out there and not worry about agronomic issues such as sustainability. You throw in the access piece, being able to go across there. In a dry year like this, guys saw the reward of a fungicide upwards of 25 bushels per acre just because we had southern rust come in so late even in the northern area which we don’t see too often. We always are seeing tar spot, we just don’t know when it is. If you can make that decision and go out there with a ground rig, a drone or an airplane and easily get across there, it makes a big difference just having that access and doing a good job with that application.”
Hear more in the season wrap-up interview with Jason Harmon here:
