Savvy Seed Decisions - 5

23 Oct 2024

EDITOR'S NOTE: Row-crop farmers make dozens of decisions that affect the crops they grow, but perhaps none is more important than the seed they select. In a special series called Savvy Seed Decisions, DTN/Progressive Farmer examined often unseen facets of the seed industry that affect what farmers put in their planters.

Today, in our fifth story of the series, we review the latest in the development of short-stature corn hybrids and what future potential benefits it holds for farmers.

CHICAGO (DTN) -- They're not being shy with the language at Bayer when it comes to one of the next big things the company is rolling out.

"If we say we want to transform the corn production system, what are we actually talking about?" asked Elzandi Oosthuizen, Bayer's head of crop technology corn, soy and cotton, in June while looking out on a room packed with international ag journalists at a downtown Chicago office.

She continued with an answer: the Preceon Smart Corn System, i.e., short-stature corn.

"It is literally changing how growers grow corn around the globe," she said. "This system is very, very different and has a lot of benefits that we're still learning and figuring out with the help of farmers."

It's no small promise to "change how growers grow corn around the world," and the big language is all about what is coming in a smaller package. Bayer's been pushing development on short-stature corn for a decade and a half and is nearing the point of releasing it wide after a limited commercial release in 2024.

The company had about 300 farmers experimenting with short corn in 2023, accounting for 32,000 acres in North America and Europe, then bumped that up to 390 farmers and 35,000 acres in 2024.

It said the returns were positive.

"More than 80% of the farmers who participated told us they'd plan to participate again if they had the opportunity," Oosthuizen said.

GET LOW

So, what's the lowdown on lowering the crop?

Bayer is one of several companies working on such products, with Corteva and Stine Seed Co. also pursuing shorter crop options.

The plant grows to about 7 feet tall or less instead of the 9 feet to 12 feet of traditional varieties. The main goal of shaving more than a third of the height off corn as farmers have known it is to reduce weather risk during the growing season.

At the top of the list is standability. Short corn has been shown to weather the wind better. Bayer reports an 80% reduction in greensnap and a 50% reduction in lodging compared to traditional hybrids in the United States. Meanwhile, Bayer said the shorter corn retains the same appeal as silage, packing a regular plant's nutrition in its 7-foot frame.

But the anticipated benefits aren't limited to how the corn grows. Shorter corn can also change how producers manage it. Shorter corn means more crop access by traditional machinery.

"We see this as an opportunity to open up in-season field management like growers have never experienced before," said Brian Naber, president of Bayer Crop Science North America. "We've yet to truly discover what the true potential of year-round infield access is. This concept of really getting to prescription nutrition and precision placement infield is now possible because you can get ground rigs through that field year-round. It's the same with protection. That key late-season protection is all about disease and disease control.

This isn't a route to ever-shrinking plants, Bayer said, insisting that 7-foot-tall corn seems just about right.

"It's a sweet spot between reducing the risk from a standability viewpoint versus still having the ear in a place where your ground equipment can easily manage the crop, and you don't need new machinery," Oosthuizen said. "If you went lower, it would become harder to pick up that ear."

GO SHORTY

The appeal is easy for some farmers to see.

"We have a higher elevation and a lot of wind," said Kelly Nieuwenhuis, who farms with his two brothers in O'Brien County, in far northwest Iowa. "We have the largest number of wind turbines of any county in Iowa because the wind is always blowing."

Nieuwenhuis spoke at the Bayer event in Chicago, touting the positives of short corn on his operation.

"The wind's always blowing and, too often, blowing down corn.

"We've always kind of looked for shorter-stature corn products to put in our lineup," he said. "I'm 6-foot-2, and when I'm looking up at the ears at 40,000 population in a windy area, that's a recipe for disaster."

Nieuwenhuis said his biggest concern after planting short corn was yield, but that fear was allayed not long after pulling into the first field for harvest.

"My brothers said if we could plant our whole operation to short corn, we should," he said.

LOW RIDER

That opportunity to plant more of it may be forthcoming.

After planting about 30,000 acres of short corn a year ago (initial launch is non-GMO), Bayer is hoping to have as many as 100,000 acres in 2025 as it broadens its commercial rollout and continues to work to get regulatory approval for transgenic traits. And, if the company's vision is realized, that's just the start. Even at 100,000 acres, that accounts for just a tenth of 1% of corn acres in the United States, and the company has its eyes on much, much more.

Combined with similar efforts from competitors, shorter corn could be a trend coming to many American farms.

"This is super exciting," Oosthuizen said. "I've been around the world working with corn farmers on all the continents, and yes, according to me, this is the future of corn. This is transformational. It is phenomenal to see it in the field."

Savvy Seed Decisions - 5

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