At Axis Seed – Red Barn, we don’t use test plots, side-by-sides or weigh wagons like most seed companies do because we are committed to doing seed differently.
What we know about the typical plot from our 14 years of experience in the seed business is, “test
plots” don’t conclusively tell you which hybrid will perform on your farm. Differences in grower preferences, soil types, farming practices, and many other factors all lead to a hybrid being “good” or “bad.” As such, every grower – and sometimes every field – needs something a little different.
Enter Hybrid Demonstrations. A Hybrid Demonstration is a tool that we can use to identify characteristics of hybrids that fit your farm. They help showcase the genetic differences between hybrids as well as a critical management consideration, planting population.
The biggest reason we aren’t doing test plots like we have done in the past is because there is NO scientific credibility to the results. What we mean by that is, harvesting results with scientific credibility requires test plots to be set up in a randomized and replicated design with a check hybrid. Final yields are reported as a value that is a percentage of the check and are adjusted based on the yield of the check in replication.
True test plots like I outlined above are best left up to the professionals, the genetic breeders, and that’s just what we are doing. Partnering with Axis Seed gives us direct access to the professionals and genetic breeders of all the major genetic and trait providers in the industry, as well as, access to data from the scientific testing of their hybrids. Each genetics company we are working with is extensively testing hybrids throughout the western Kansas area, and that data is helping us make better decisions as to what hybrids we ultimately place in our demonstrations.
A combination of evaluating the hybrids in our hybrid demonstrations and the providers’ test plots helps us determine what to place in each field on your farm. Selecting only the best hybrids for our local conditions and your management style sets Axis Seed – Red Barn apart!
We look forward to visiting with each of you over the next few weeks, the Dryland Hybrid Demonstration is coming along in maturity and will be ready to take a closer look at in the near future. Be sure to schedule a time with Ryan, Nataile, or myself to take a tour and touch and feel the corn you will be planting on your farm in 2024!
If you’d like us to contact you about scheduling a hybrid demonstration tour, follow the link below and opt in today!
This post was written by Axis Seed – Red Barn Enterprises President and resident corn expert, Matt Long.
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