Columbus, Ohio, USA
February 13, 2025
Meristem Crop Performance today announced a first-ever $40/A. Replant Protection Program for HOPPER THROTTLE™ MaxStax™ for Soybeans, a revolutionary combination of 16 crop inputs delivered seamlessly through an advanced planter box seed fluency system powered by Meristem’s patented BIO-CAPSULE® Technology.
“We are the only company NOT in the seed business to offer a $40 per acre replant program, and it’s because we want farmers to plant early, go faster, get more bushels, and let us take the risk,” said Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder and CEO in sharing the news. “Why wouldn’t you go after higher yields?” he asks, pointing out that university research shows consistently that planting soybeans earlier creates potential for more bushels.
"Every day you wait can cost you a half-bushel in yield," confirms Connor Sible, PhD, in the Crop Science Department at the University of Illinois. Sible has studied the benefits of early planting over the past three years. "Every season is going to be different, but when we plant earlier, we set more nodes, and more nodes bring more pods, and that means more beans at harvest time."
Adam Conrad, who farms in central Ohio, says he's moved to earlier planting of his soybeans and will do it every year. "It's a no-brainer for us now," he says. "And the replant coverage that Meristem provides just makes it easier to protect that seed with a biocontrol at the planter box. For years, the routine was to plant corn, then beans, but now that we've seen the results, we won't go back. I think that's the way it is with most farmers once they switch."
Conrad says the Meristem replant eliminates any risk of planting early when combined with the seed company program. Last year, he got firsthand experience with the replant coverage when his soybeans were flooded out in April. "It was a simple process. Send in the location of the field and the coordinates, and they took care of the rest." According to Eviston, making the replant protection easy to use was essential from the start of the program. "If you have to replant, you just contact your Meristem dealer, and they will get you your check."
John Torrance, who has raised the highest soybean yields in Illinois in 2022 (113 bu./A.) and again in 2024 (115 bu./A.) says early planting, protecting the seed, and feeding the crop all season long are keys to his success. “When you plant early, you need to wake up that soil biology to activate the nutrient release and get that early root growth,” he says. He’s grateful for the replant protection and a fan of REVLINE® HOPPER THROTTLE. “I wouldn’t skip using HOPPER THROTTLE for anything.”
Torrance says he’s looking forward to using HOPPER THROTTLE MaxStax, with its GUARD C™ bionematicide in 2025. “Nematodes are probably my biggest yield robber, so being able to control that easily through the planter box will be an important advantage.”
Eviston says creating the innovative replant program that adds to a seed company's untreated or "naked" soybean policy gives farmers peace of mind. Meristem is appealing to growers who might be reluctant to try HOPPER THROTTLE MaxStax Soybean or Meristem's other new bio-defense products, such as HOPPER THROTTLE MaxD™ Soybean and REVLINE HOPPER THROTTLE with ETHER™, PREPHYTE™, and METALAXYL. Each of these is covered with replant protection, though the amount varies with the product.
"Today, farmers are spending upwards of $28 per acre with seed treatments to protect soybeans from
insects and diseases like seedcorn maggots, phytophthora, and sudden death syndrome," explains
Eviston. "With MaxStax, they can better protect their seeds from all of those pests while reducing cost and optimizing their crop's genetic potential to go after 6-8 more bushels per acre. We're out to give soybean growers a $45 per acre advantage.”
For more information and to find your local Meristem dealer, visit www.MeristemAg.com.
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