“Two-thousand-twenty will go down as an interesting year,” says Jed Norman, technical team agronomist for LG Seeds in north central Iowa.
Iowa farmers will remember the challenges, which ranged from severe drought conditions to an intense, widespread, and fast-moving windstorm. However, Norman sees 2020 as a learning opportunity.
“Through it all, we’re seeing a lot of good come from it,” Norman says. “We’re seeing certain hybrids handling stress a little better than others, and may be shining the light on farming practices that are working and some that are not. Coming out (of) this year, if we don’t learn something, that’s on us.”
Norman feels certain hybrids and varieties handled the stress well. However, Norman particularly looks forward to LG Seeds new lineup.
“There are a bunch of hybrids in the pipeline that have cutting edge, unique characteristics that are going to be able to handle drought, heat, and stress,” Norman says. “On the wind side of things, I don’t know (if) we’ll be throwing in derecho scores anytime soon. Hopefully that’s going to be a one-time deal.”
LG Seeds is excited to offer Fast Track products for the first time, ahead of the 2021 crop season. Norman shares how this will benefit growers across LG Seeds’ footprint.
“Fast Tracks is advancing products faster than we ever have, getting leading genetics into growers’ hands much quicker,” Norman says. “Through all of that, we have five conventional hybrids that are going to be anywhere from 97-day to 113-day maturity, (and) all of them unique to LG.”
For more information on LG Seeds, visit lgseeds.com.
