Bloomington, Illinois
August 5, 2003

Since 1983 Golden Harvest member companies have been providing unique agronomic information to their customers through their Agronomy Up Front^® research. Golden Harvest member companies have expanded their research programs for 2003 with exciting new studies that will push the “Yieldability” of Golden Harvest brand hybrids.

Each year Golden Harvest member companies invest more into research in order to assist producers in achieving a profitable harvest.  This year, two new studies, which are designed to reach new heights of “yieldability”, have been added to the Agronomy Up Front research program.

The 2003 growing season is the first year for an intensive study entitled “Cropping Systems for High Yields”. This long-term study examines production processes including plant populations, fertility programs, crop rotation, and tillage practices in order to identify strategies that optimize grain of corn yield while maximizing profitability.

The second study is “Plant Populations for Corn in Fifteen Inch Rows”.  This study evaluates the response of twelve hybrids to harvest populations of 30,000, 35,000, 40,000, and 45,000 plants per acre planted in fifteen-inch rows.  The study is aimed at determining what harvest population is needed to maximize the yields of corn grown in fifteen-inch rows.   In addition, the ideal Golden Harvest brand hybrids for production in fifteen-inch rows will be identified.

Other new studies for 2003 include:

·         Time of Day Herbicide Applications – Determining if certain herbicide modes of action are more likely to injure corn at a certain time of day.  

·         Response of Method of Corn Rootworm Control to Planting Date – To document the effect date of planting has on the performance of soil-and-seed applied insecticides compared to YieldGard® Rootworm hybrids.

·         Rotational Cropping Sequence and Methods of Corn Rootworm Control – To evaluate the effect rotational cropping sequence has on the performance of two YieldGard Rootworm hybrids compared to their conventional isolines.  The performance of soil-and seed-applied insecticides also is evaluated under cropping sequences of corn following corn following soybeans. 

·         Insecticide and Fungicide Application Timing on Soybeans – Testing the response of soybeans to foliar applications of insecticides and a fungicide applied with Roundup WeatherMax™ at early Vegetative and early reproductive growth stages.

In addition to pushing the limits of “yieldability”, Golden Harvest member companies continue to study and advance the Consistent Silage Analysis® by adding three new studies. These studies are the “Effect of YieldGard® Corn Borer corn on Lignin Concentration and Digestibility of Corn Silage”, “Corn Silage Rate of Digestion”, and “Kernel Texture at Time of Silage Harvest vs. Grain Harvest.” 

The Agronomy Up Front program was initiated in Nebraska in 1983.  In 2003, research is being conducted at 9 locations in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. Golden Harvest member companies are committed to advancing the success of their customers by providing them with the information they need to make sound business decisions.  Results from in Agronomy Up Front research are published annually in a research summary, at www.goldenharvestseeds.com, through newsletters, as well as at agronomy meetings throughout the Midwest.  For more information on Agronomy Up Front, contact your local Golden Harvest dealer or call 800/610-7333.

The Golden Harvest brand of hybrid corn, soybeans, sorghum and alfalfa is produced and marketed by five family-owned and managed seed companies serving farmers throughout the U.S. Corn Belt, Europe, South America and Canada. These five companies share research and marketing resources nationally, while continuing to offer the nearby service that is the heart of the seed industry.

Golden Harvest, Agronomy Up Front, and Consistent Silage Analysis are registered trademarks of Golden Harvest Seeds, Inc.  YieldGard is a registered trademark and Roundup WeatherMax is a trademark of Monsanto Company.