When it comes to choosing the right corn hybrids for 2022, Bob Marquette, Federated agronomist at the Albertville location, said, “Start with picking what’s right for your farm, your soil type, and your farming practices.”

Every Federated Agronomist will start with those factors to make good recommendations, and then move to other considerations. It’s not always about the biggest and best. “The ‘big dog’ out there might not work for your farm,” said Marquette, adding that “you have to compare apples to apples.”

“If you find something good, stick with it until the variety isn’t available,” he said. But “at the same time, try some kind of new hybrid every year, just a little bit of the new and improved varieties” to see how they stack up to hybrids that have worked in the past. (That will also provide valuable info for the day your preferred hybrid is no longer available.)

When it comes to choosing trait packages in corn, pick a maturity range and whittle it down from there. “Insect protection is one of the first things I think about,” said Marquette. “We saw both corn borers and corn rootworm in 2021.”

Of course, herbicide availability and weed management plans should be weighed into seed choices. Choosing the best corn hybrid should take into account many of the same factors used in selecting soybean varieties (see Oct. 12 Agronomy Update article).

Marquette noted that “the breeding programs are pretty good with the seed companies … and [Federated] deals with a nice bunch … we can pick the best from each seed company” and make strong recommendations accordingly. Federated “deals with all the seed companies – Bayer®/DeKalb®, Croplan®, NK®, Legend®, Renk, and Asgrow® (beans).”

For the 2022 growing season – as much or more so than in recent years due to supply issues – order seed early “to get the varieties you want,” said Marquette. Plus, “our best price on seed is available if it’s paid for by January 7, 2022.”

As always, talk to your Federated Agronomist to get seed recommendations tailored to meet your farming operation.