Never would I have imagined record acres and a record crop in the same year. The 2007 corn season started off a little rocky in places with the Easter freeze and subsequent replants, but the crop finished strong. The crop maintained good health due to excellent fertility, fungicide application and excellent irrigation practices. Good health all the way thru harvest allowed us to harvest standing corn with very few lodging issues. We have had more 200 plus bushel corn this year than I can ever remember. What an exciting year this has been.
Belle Hybrid Performance
This entry is primarily for agronomic information, but I’ve got to brag a little. Belle hybrids performed exceptionally well this year. From small plot testing to farmers fields, Belle corn is getting the job done. Here are the results from our commercial strip trial evaluation this year:
Early Hybrids
DK C61-45 179
Belle 1040RY 183
Belle 1147RY 194
Mid-Season Hybrids
Pioneer 33M53 194
Belle 1545RY 190
Belle 1646RY 201
Full Season Hybrids
Pioneer 31N26 189
Belle 1722R 191
Belle 1844RY 194
We have been working on our corn hybrid package for several year and we now have one of the best lineups in the South. There will be a single trait RR version of Belle 1646RY, Belle 1626R, available for sale in 2008.
What About 2008?
Growers across the South finally have cropping options that will make the bottom line black instead of red. For the last several years, nothing looked very good as a crop system but now commodity prices are improving. Corn, soybeans and wheat are leading the way. This year soybeans are setting the pace. This creates a challenge for corn to continue to meet the market demand. Corn acres need to go over 100 million acres. (93 million acres in 2007) to meet anticipated corn demand for 2008. Initial market information projects corn acres to be off 10 million acres and beans to be up that same amount. The corn market price will have to increase to buy acres from soybeans. A bidding war for acres…what a nice change!
2008 Corn Production Begins Now
Your 2008 corn production planning begins now. Field rotations, ground preparation and bedding, marketing plans, seed selection, grain storage and drying arrangements, equipment upgrades, changes and additions all begin NOW. Take advantage of the market opportunities to improve your corn production systems each year. Think about the things that went well and the things that could have been better. Address them now and be ready to take advantage of those improvements in your 2008 corn crop.
Call me at 877-822-SEED or email me at jeffpangle@cullumseeds.com, if I can help on any of your corn questions.
Here’s to 2008!
Jeff Pangle
