No farmer has a clue what the growing season will bring as they are putting the seed in the ground in spring.
The 2009 season is a perfect example of that — June presented pretty good growing conditions for most of the state, then in parts of the state things dried up when we needed the rain most ... and then we all know about October.
Some areas did receive too much rain early on, while other areas also took the brunt of hail.
The one thing that farmers can rely on is what they load up their planters with in the spring.
Regardless of your brand loyalty, you would be hard-pressed not to find a genetic package that will take of most of whatever Mother Nature can throw your way.
Listening to old-timers talk about modern inventions, they usually talk about the big advancements in technology — from the horse to the tractor, from the desk-sized calculator to one that will fit on your phone along with a camera, web capabilities and the whole thing will fit into your shirt pocket.
But what seed geneticists have been doing for years is equally, if not more, impressive. Most of the work done privately and publicly is generally unseen. Oh, sure, you see the benefits when you need to build a larger bin to hold the added yield, but the work that these minds are doing is so minuscule that it is even hard to believe.
Today, hybridization is an afterthought, because scientists have moved so far beyond simply combining two good seed parents to make a better seed offspring for merely top yields.
Top yields are still the key, but seed researchers are also adding traits that will benefit the producer and the environment.
Herbicide, disease and pest resistances are being “built” in to the seed.
In addition to making seed resistant to the evils of the fields, researchers are manufacturing a seed more beneficial to the end-user, be that the farmer or the processor.
Corn that will provide drought tolerance, make better use of nitrogen and have improved ethanol and feed value are in the pipeline. As are soybeans that provide more and healthier oils, as well as improved feed qualities.
When a farmer plants their seed in the spring, they know they are planting to feed their family. But with what seed researchers are putting in those seed bags, today’s farmers truly are feeding the world’s population, its cars and its cows.
Kevin Schulz is the editor of The Land. He may be reached at editor@thelandonline.com.
