Corey Stevens,
NK Seeds Sales Representative
The 2021 farming season was pretty typical in southern Ohio, according to NK Seeds sales representative, Corey Stevens — yet even in a “typical” crop season, farmers’ resiliency is often tested by weather, agronomic challenges or market volatility. The Amplifier caught up with Stevens as harvest in his area was in full swing — 50%-60% combined in early October, by his estimations. He looked back and shared his takeaways from the 2021 growing season.
Takeaways from the 2021 Growing Season in Southern Ohio
- Fungicide applications paid off.
“We had a lot of challenges this year, from a disease standpoint, but the guys who put fungicide on their crops are seeing it pay off, big time,” says Stevens. “They are pleasantly surprised. Farmers in my area have told me that fungicide applications are really paying off for them. One farmer I support told me he saw a yield of 60 Bu/A, and several others have told me they’ve seen 10 Bu/A advantages.” - Northern Corn Leaf Blight was a problem.
Farmers in southern Ohio were largely unaffected by the Tar Spot issues that some farmers in the Corn Belt battled, but many did face severe Northern Corn Leaf Blight pressure, according to Stevens. - Rising input costs caused some farmers to rotate corn acres to beans.
“Rising input costs were a big challenge this year, especially on the fertilizer side,” says Stevens. “A lot of farmers are contemplating switching their corn acres to beans, but with that being said, many farmers in my area are seeing their corn acres really taking off and have been pleasantly surprised by the ROI on them. So, despite the rise of input costs, I think there will be a substantial number of acres still planted to corn.” - Several NK products have proven to be standouts for southern Ohio farmers.
“With its excellent yield potential and broad adaptability, NK1082 is proving itself to be a standout product on many farms, and NK1188 really proved itself from a disease standpoint – it handles disease pressure really well,” Stevens shares. “NK0760 is another tried-and-true NK product with excellent stalk strength and late-season standability. It’s been a consistent hybrid that we can place on any acre.” - Farmers have many reasons to be confident in NK.
“We are certainly growing year-to-year in this area,” Stevens says. “An exciting thing on our radar right now is our proprietary Enlist® soybeans, featuring the leading trait lineup on our own, exclusive genetics. Farmers who plant them will see that we have really differentiated ourselves on the farm from other brands.”
Corey Stevens shared images of the 2021 harvest in Southern Ohio — including NK corn standing tall and ready to harvest, farmers taking stock of their 2021 yields and yield monitors and trial plot data showing NK’s high yields — all reasons why NK is taking over harvest in Ohio and across the Corn Belt.
Fastest growing seed brand statement based on the percentage increase in combined corn and soy acres for the top 12 seed companies in the U.S. (by acres planted) from 2019-2021 (2021 corn acres are projected), according to third-party proprietary data.
All photos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.
© 2021 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label and bag tag instructions; only those labeled as tolerant to glufosinate may be sprayed with glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides. LibertyLink®, Liberty® and the Water Droplet logo are registered trademarks of BASF. HERCULEX® and the HERCULEX Shield are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences LLC. HERCULEX Insect Protection technology by Dow AgroSciences. Under federal and local laws, only dicamba-containing herbicides registered for use on dicamba-tolerant varieties may be applied. See product labels for details and tank mix partners. Golden Harvest® and NK® soybean varieties are protected under granted or pending U.S. variety patents and other intellectual property rights, regardless of the trait(s) within the seed. The Enlist E3® soybean, LibertyLink®, LibertyLink® GT27®, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield® and XtendFlex® soybean traits may be protected under numerous United States patents. It is unlawful to save soybeans containing these traits for planting or transfer to others for use as a planting seed. Only dicamba formulations that employ VaporGrip® Technology are approved for use with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® and XtendFlex® soybeans. Only 2,4-D choline formulations with Colex-D® Technology are approved for use with Enlist E3® soybeans. The trademarks or service marks displayed or otherwise used herein are the property of a Syngenta Group Company. ENLIST E3® soybean technology is jointly developed with Dow AgroSciences LLC and MS Technologies LLC. The ENLIST trait and ENLIST Weed Control System are technologies owned and developed by Dow AgroSciences LLC. ENLIST® and ENLIST E3® are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences LLC. GT27® is a trademark of MS Technologies and BASF. Roundup Ready 2 Xtend®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, XtendFlex® and YieldGard VT Pro® are registered trademarks used under license from the Bayer Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. More information about Agrisure Duracade® is available at www.biotradestatus.com.