When Mother Nature turns against you, you need all the help you can get. Corn farmers throughout the Midwest are certainly finding that out this year. During the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event at the Harmon Farm in Vincent, Iowa, those in attendance got a lot of information to help them overcome the challenges the drought has thrown at …
Wyffels Hybrids Expands into Western Iowa
The success of Wyffels Hybrids has been demonstrated in how many more farmers are using the Illinois-based seed company and how rapidly it is expanding. “As we’ve moved forward, we’re kind of calling this year a revolution. We’re expanding into western Iowa with more focus,” Bill Backhaus the new Region Manager with Wyffels in Southwest Iowa told Chuck during the …
Agvocating With Kenny Wallace
Illinois Corn Growers got to hang out with “The Agvocate” Kenny Wallace at Chicagoland Speedway today. It’s NASCAR racing weekend and Kenny will be driving in tomorrow’s Nationwide STP 300 race. Kenny attracted a big crowd to the exhibit area outside the grandstands this afternoon. He talked to them and signed autographs for an hour. I heard one fan say …
NASCAR and Ethanol at Chicagoland Speedway
It’s NASCAR race weekend in Joliet, IL at Chicagoland Speedway. My home today and tomorrow. I’m joining the Illinois Corn Growers and Family Farmers for two races. First up will be tonight’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 225. Then on Sunday we’ve got the second annual STP 300 which is part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The Sprint …
Drop in USDA Estimates Talk of Wyffels Event
Some significant drops in USDA’s expected corn and soybean yields due to the drought have been the talk of the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event. “USDA took 20 bushels off of its yield, end of July, and dropping the soybean yield down to 40 and a half bushels… that makes a huge statement, and USDA probably thinks it’s smaller …
Ag Leader Technology Good Fit with Wyffels
Over the past few days, we’ve been talking a lot about how the seeds from Wyffels Hybrids are important for producers to get the most out of their land. With a high-quality product like Wyffels, you also need to combine it with the right kind of technology that helps make sure you are getting the right amount of corn in …
Below: 300-Bushel Corn is No Accident
Getting 300 bushels an acre out of corn takes careful planning and doesn’t happen by accident. That was the message from Dr. Fred Below of the University of Illinois gave to those attending the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event in Vincent, Iowa heard this year. “[Farmers] have to select the best hybrids; they have to feed those hybrids with the …
Corn Growers Heading to Hill With Message
Corn growers are heading to Capitol Hill this week with a message – they want a farm bill NOW! “All of the NCGA corn farmers, 127 delegates are in Washington DC, and we’re going to present our message that we want a farm bill now,” said National Corn Growers Association president Garry Niemeyer of Illinois. “And hopefully we’re going to …
Corn Crop is in Worst Condition Since 1988
Drought conditions in the Midwest are “almost historic” with 38 percent of the nation’s corn crop now rated poor to very poor, according to USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey. “That 38% represents the highest amount of U.S. corn rated poor to very poor since the end of the 1988 growing season,” said Rippey. “We now see in 13 of the 18 …
Wyffels Hybrids Ready for Tale of Two Seasons
If you look at the last two summers in the upper Midwest, you couldn’t find a sharper contrast: plenty of rain, too much of it in many cases last year, and bone dry and hot across much of the corn growing areas this year. That’s part of what the folks at the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event in Vincent, Iowa …