Four corn hybrids in Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids’ lineup will be available with the second-generation rootworm control technology, YieldGard VT™ for spring 2007 planting. 

Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids is offering YieldGard VT Triple™, which was developed through Vector-Stack Transformation or “VecTran” technology.  The YieldGard VT Triple is a stacked combination of YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2™ with the YieldGard Corn Borer trait added via conventional breeding.  

“During the 2006 Farm Progress Show, Monsanto announced that YieldGard VT will have limited commercial availability for the 2007 growing season.  We’re extremely proud to be one of the first seed companies to offer it,” John Latham, president, Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids.  “Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids is committed to bringing world-class technology home™ faster than our competition, and YieldGard VT is a prime example of how we’re doing that.”

Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids is releasing two 98-day hybrids called LH 4849RRBTRW and LH 4899RRBTRW.  The company is also releasing a 110-day hybrid called LH 6068RRBTRW plus a 112-day offering called LH 6278RRBTRW.

Eighty percent of Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids sold in 2006 were double- and triple-stack hybrids with a combination of YieldGard Corn Borer and YieldGard® Plus with the Roundup Ready® Corn 2 System. 

“The popularity of hybrids with YieldGard technology increases each season as farmers see the benefits throughout the growing season and especially at harvest time,” says Latham.  “YieldGard VT, the second-generation rootworm control technology, is designed to provide farmers with even more consistent insect control and yield potential than current YieldGard products, which have set the standard for maximum insect protect for more than a decade.”

Hybrids protected with the YieldGard Plus corn technology resulted in an average 10.9 bushel-per-acre yield advantage over conventional hybrids with soil insecticides across the Midwest last season, says Latham.  Under severe drought conditions last season, corn growers in Illinois achieved an average 16.6-bushel yield advantage with YieldGard Plus as compared to corn protected with soil insecticides. 

“With the first-generation of YieldGard products achieving these types of results, we’re especially eager to see how the second-generation of technology performs,” says Latham.

Latham Hybrids, LLC is an independent, family-owned seed corn company that brings world-class technology homeTM to rural communities through local dealers in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.  The company was founded in 2004 by third-generation seedsman John Latham and his wife, Shannon, and John’s brother, Chris Latham.  Latham Hybrids’ founders draw on more than 60 years of Latham family involvement in the seed business.  With its headquarters in Sheffield, Iowa, Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids is located in the heart of the nation’s most productive agricultural ground.  Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids partners with global seed technology companies to give thousands of independent, family farmers access to the latest advancement in seed corn genetics.
 
*YieldGard Corn Borer, YieldGard Plus and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 System are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology, LLC.