One of the people I met before leaving the Syngenta Learning Centers field day in Milford, IA was Tracy Mader, District Sales Manager for Syngenta Crop Protection. Tracy provided an update on Syngenta’s Agrisure corn traits. He first of all explains that AgriSure is a family of traits for corn. Besides some of the current products under the Agrisure brand …
Yield Barrier Breaker
When it comes to breaking the yield barrier Virgil Sparks, Soybean Product Development, Syngenta Seeds is the man. His talk at the Syngenta Learning Centers event in Iowa this week was titled, “Breaking the Yield Barrier With Genetics and Technology.” He says that one of the main things he wants people to know is that Syngenta is very serious about …
Remember The 6 Inch Rule
When it comes to growing corn Mike Leetch, Technical Services Representative, Syngenta says remember the soda can rule. That is that you don’t want your corn to be full of weeds when it gets to about 6 inches high. He also says you can use a beer can too. The reason for this is that studies show that yield will …
John Deere Applies Force to Corn Rootworm
Syngenta wasn’t the only company on hand at their Learning Centers program in Milford, IA. So was John Deere and their Central Insecticide System. Here’s Ron DeFauw, John Deere Seeding Group, talking about a brand new way to apply Force Insecticide. Think of the box version of wine that you put in your refrigerator and you’ll have a pretty good …
Pfizer’s Looking For the 3 Millionth
Last week Pfizer made two announcements involving their SelectVAC preconditioning program. Although he wasn’t at the media event I attended, Cindy got to interview Pierre Bertrand, Pfizer, Senior Marketing Manager for Bios and SelectVAC by phone. He talks about the fact that Superior Livestock Auction has chosen SelectVAC as the preferred health program for calves sold through their auction and …
New Soybean Varieties
We talked a lot about corn at the Syngenta Learning Center program in Iowa but soybeans were also a major topic of discussion. One of the presenters was Gene Kassmeyer, Head of Soybeans, Syngenta Seeds. Gene says that soybeans are a crop that’s changing rapidly. For one thing he says there are a number of new pest problems to deal …
Growing Fuel For Indy Cars
Growers attending the Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA might have wished they could drive this car but they were content to grow the fuel that’s powering it around the track this season. The #17 Rahal Letterman show car was accompanied by Al Jentz, Amaizing Energy. Al is also on the board of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council which …
Corn After Corn Ideas From Dr. Fred Below
One of the more entertaining presenters at today’s Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA was Dr. Fred Below. He’s a professor of crop physiology at the University of Illinois. The main focus of his comments was mitigating the effect of yield loss when planting corn after corn. His research offers a number of suggestions for growers and you can hear …
Learning On Bruce Johnson’s Farm
The Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA was located on a farm just south of town. The owner of that farm is Bruce Johnson. Right after lunch today I got to talk with Bruce about his farm and why he decided to work with Syngenta to hold this major event on his property. He says that about 59 acres is …
Syngenta’s Science of Corn
One of the presenters at the Syngenta Learning Centers media briefing is Bruce Battles, Agronomy Marketing Manager, Syngenta Seeds. He talked about the science of corn from the standpoint of what Syngenta is working on with new varieties. He says that there are a lot of options and challenges for growers. For example he says they’re working on solutions to …