Johnston, Iowa, USA
December 14, 2023
Farmers across the nation who planted Pioneer® brand corn hybrids from Corteva Agriscience have seen field-proven performance with winning results in this year’s annual National Corn Growers Association yield contest. David Hula of Charles City, Virginia, set a new world record of 623.84 bushels per acre with Pioneer brand corn product P14830VYHR. Hula crushed his previous world record of 616 bushels per acre set in 2019 with the Pioneer brand P1197 family of products.
“Congratulations to David and to all of the winning farmers in this year’s contest,” said Judd O’Connor, President, North America Business, Corteva Agriscience. “Your results reflect the incredible goals farmers across the nation aspire to achieve. This is why we continue to invest in R&D advancements to provide farmers with the latest corn seed technology and top-tier genetics they need to be successful on their farms.”
This milestone yield was achieved with a new hybrid from the freshman class of corn products from Pioneer. To bring new high-yielding hybrids to the market faster, Andy Ross, Corteva Agriscience Corn Breeder, explains the power behind the company’s breeding program and how new Pioneer brand leader products advance to the market.
“We know what our customers think of a leader hybrid and different traits come into play,” said Ross. “By having our germplasm and our people in different environments across the Corn Belt, we couple that knowledge and accountability to refine the lineup of our corn pipeline for traits that are important to our customers. As we do that, it changes the overall dynamics of our germplasm because we’re constantly improving our germplasm for what all of our growers need.”
This win marks Hula’s fifth time setting a new world record with Pioneer brand corn products.
“As we think about where our success has come from, we have relationships with a lot of seed providers, but that relationship we have with Pioneer and the agronomic team is far superior to any other relationship we have,” said Hula. “Not only do we have a proven track record but Pioneer clearly has a proven track record, and they have the genetics there.”
When selecting next year’s hybrids, Hula encouraged farmers not to be afraid of the freshman class from the new Pioneer and Corteva breeding programs. With the P14830 platform, he achieved a yield of 623 bu/A and a yield of 590 bu/A with the P10811 platform — it was both hybrids’ first year in the market. Hula also provided his top two considerations when making seed decisions.
“When you’re trying to select a hybrid, clearly, we look for yield. But then No. 2, what is the next step that one has to overcome, whether it’s disease, standability, grain quality, drydown or just maturity?” said Hula. “When we look for hybrids, we’re looking for yield and standability, and then we can control most of the other things. If a grower can’t control some of the other struggles, then they have to select a hybrid that can give them that strength that they need.”
Pioneer strives to offer farmers a powerful portfolio of products that meet their needs and achieve their highest yields yet. Farmers from 41 states had first-, second- and third-place yield wins with 81 unique Pioneer brand corn hybrids, resulting in more state wins and more unique products placed than any other seed company. These yield results highlight the consistent performance from Pioneer brand products across multiple environments. For more complete results from this year’s yield contest, visit Pioneer.com/NCGA.
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