Starting this week, seed companies and producers will be able to get early results from the Iowa Crop Improvement Association's (ICIA) 2005 corn and soybean crop performance tests.

"I expect to be able to start posting corn results to our Web site late this week," said Jim Rouse, program manager of the ICIA corn and soybean tests. "My goal is to get the results from each test location on the Web within 48 hours of harvesting."

The Web site, http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/varietytesting/ is offering the data in a new, easier to use format. Maps showing testing locations for corn and soybean are available now. As each site is harvested, links to the data from that site will be added.

Changes are being made to the printed reports as well. "For the corn report, we're combining the seven corn district reports into one report. In order to do that, we are focusing on the information that producers use most. All data will be available on the Website. I think farmers will find the format and content easier to use and understand," said Rouse.

Rouse said the soybean report format will change only slightly to allow individual location information to be included. Both reports will be available later this fall.

Forty-seven companies entered 415 hybrids in the corn trials this year. More than 10,000 variety test plots were planted on 57 acres in 21 locations. Soybean trials included 22 companies and Iowa State University (ISU) entering 309 varieties. Nine locations were used to plant the 3,600 variety test plots on 17 acres.

Iowa Crop Improvement Association (ICIA) conducts the Iowa Crop Performance Tests in cooperation with the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station at ISU and ISU Extension. The program offers unbiased, third party, on-farm information to Iowa growers on commercial seed. For more information or to make comments on the changes to the corn and soybean Iowa Crop Performance Tests, contact Jim Rouse at (515) 294-5604 or croptesting@iastate.edu.