February 2016 Advantage Newsletter

LEGEND SEEDS

ADVANTAGE

FEB. 2016

YIELD RESULTS

Upcoming Events

By Glen Davis, President, Legend Seeds

Central MN Farm Show February 23-25 • St. Cloud, MN

WITH LEGEND SEEDS As you plan for 2016 planting season there are many things to consider. We encourage you to focus on your 2016 yield goals to provide the best results and profitability in each field.

When we plan with end yields in mind, those goals can guide our input plans and other important management decisions.

Consider setting a yield goal field by field and then evaluate each field’s historic potential. Next, you can begin reviewing what you can add or subtract in the plan to create the most profit per acre.

Eau Claire Farm Show March 8-9 • Eau Claire, WI Hawkeye Farm Show March 1-3 • UNI-Dome North American Farm & Power Show March 17-19 • Owatonna, MN

We recognize that no growing season is the same and this is a different market climate today than we were in four years ago. Your 2016 yield goals may differ from what they were in 2012 – and then again, they may not.

Developing a successful plan is no easy task. Many factors come into play, which is the reason Legend Seeds provides Farmacology™ to our growers at no cost. This total cropping system encompasses the Legend Edge program which is the database that holds all your field information.

By evaluating your field data and based on your yield goals, Farmacology will provide guidance on all input decisions – even providing prescriptive recommendations for all inputs including; seed placement, fertility and multihybrid placement.

If Farmacology™ sounds like a resource you’d like to try, contact your local Legend Seeds representative and they will help you get started.

We all know that proactive plans excel over reactive ones. The Legend Seeds’ team is focused on helping our growers develop a clear plan for 2016 to prevent knee-jerk reactions to environmental changes.

Thank you for making Legend Seeds a partner in your plan for success in the 2016 growing season.

Glen, far right, and Tim Bratland, far left, walk a field with a Legend Seeds Grower.

What’s Inside: PG 2: Results From the Field PG 4 : Farmacology™ Delivers For Farmers of All Sizes PG 5: Results in Our Fields2015 L.E.A.P. & Knowledge Plot™ Review

LEGEND SEEDS ADVANTAGE RESULTS FROM THE FIELD

WHAT GROWERS HAVE TO SAY Since 1990 seed has been Legend Seeds’ only focus - providing the best seed for our customers and their unique growing conditions.

results, and took the time to share were inducted into the Yield Advantage Club – an idea developed by Legend Seeds President, Glen Davis.

Along with superior seed, Legend Seeds provides a team of specialists armed with research-based management practices and tools to help our growers maximize yields and profits on every acre. We call this the Legend Advantage.

“Each harvest we learn a lot from our growers as well as Legend Seeds Knowledge Plot™ and L.E.A.P. plot programs. We can’t keep all these great stories and testimonials to ourselves, we wanted to share some highlights with all our customers,” explains Kristyne Thull, Marketing Coordinator.

Throughout harvest 2015 we reached out to Legend Seeds growers to learn how they experienced the Legend Advantage in their fields. Those growers who yielded exceptional

Read on to learn the stories of three Yield Advantage Club members.

LARRY HOPPE, OSAKIS, MINNESOTA Yield Advantage: LibertyLink® soybeans yielded 75 bushels per acre and where there had been some resistance issues in years past, this year the fields were clean.

Tell us about your farm? I raise corn, soybeans and spring wheat. Most of what I raise I feed to the Holstein feeder steers I buy at 300 pounds and feed to 1500 pounds. I’ve been farming with my brother (who also happens to be a Legend Seeds dealer) Herb Hoppe since 1977. I look forward to one day farming with my youngest son, Aaron, who works as an agronomist. It’s not always been easy – as anyone who farmed in the 80s will attest – but farming is my passion. I also do some custom combining to diversify my farm income. I guess I don’t like to have all my eggs in one basket. I need to add that I wouldn’t be farming if it were not for my wife, Bev’s willingness to work off the farm.

Why do you plant Legend Seeds? Did I mention my brother, Herb is a dealer? I like the family connection and the products work. I also appreciate the information Legend Seeds provides on how to get the best yields. For example, I planted this traited soybean because I was having resistance issues and Herb recommended we try this variety. I also use seed treatments.

OFFERING THE BEST

CASH DISCOUNTS FOR YOUR OPERATION! Contact your Legend Representative to learn more about how you can take advantage of these savings!

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LEGEND SEEDS ADVANTAGE

LONNIE ERBES, COLFAX, NORTH DAKOTA Yield Advantage: Legend Seeds’ conventional corn yielded 182 bushels per acre plus it had excellent standability. We experienced some 50 to 60 mph winds, and there wasn’t any ear droppage or lodging.

Tell us about your farm? I grew up on this farm and never left. I raise corn, soybeans and barley. I guess farming is just something that got into my blood and I can’t get rid of it!

Although I won’t get rich farming, it is very rewarding. Every season I enjoy watching the results of my hard work grow and yield.

Why do you plant Legend Seeds? I like the fact that Legend Seeds is a family-owned regional company and it’s not owned by a big chemical company or an overseas corporation. They also have a great selection of conventional seed.

Tell us about why you planted this corn hybrid? I have had some resistance problems – to me it doesn’t make sense to plant Round-up corn if I am going to use conventional herbicides. Plus, with the commodity prices what they are, by purchasing conventional corn I can save on inputs without impacting my outcomes.

BRUCE HOFFMAN, ROCKHAM, SOUTH DAKOTA Yield Advantage: Legend Seeds’ doublepro corn hybrid yielded 191 bushels. I typically get 100-110 bushels per acre. The Legend alfalfa I planted was also excellent – excelling in total pounds and quality.

Tell us about your farm? Ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper, I knew farming was what I wanted to do. I enjoy livestock and being outdoors in the open country. I’m a fourth generation farmer, my dad, Willard, 87, still farms with me. We run a commercial cow/calf herd and a flock of registered Corriedale sheep. My dad got into raising a registered flock in 1958 and my daughter, Lacie, is actively involved. Last year our ram was named national champion at the North Dakota State Fair and a few other shows. In 2013 we won the national champion ram title in Louisville. I am a small farmer and feed most everything I raise to my livestock. I raise corn, oats, wheat and a little hay millet, a lot of alfalfa and other prairie hay.

Why do you plant Legend Seeds? Glen and I are fraternity brothers. We were in Alpha Gamma Rho together at South Dakota State University. So, when he asked if I would try some of his corn 20 years ago, I did. I have been impressed by the product and the company. I only plant Legend Seeds.

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LEGEND SEEDS ADVANTAGE FARMACOLOGY™ DELIVERS

FOR FARMERS OF ALL SIZES The Legend Seeds team is focused on providing the information and knowledge necessary for Legend growers to make the best management decisions to maximize yield potential in their fields. To support this initiative, Legend Seeds provides Farmacology™, a proactive cropping system designed to help make management decisions with increased accuracy and efficiency, to growers at no cost.

Because Legend Edge is accessible via web browser, Arlyn’s field data can be accessed by whomever he provides his login to, allowing both he and his brother to input data and review information.

“The Legend Edge program really helps streamline management operations. Whether you have multiple family members or employees working together, everyone can input and access data, which keeps all involved on the same page,” Josh says. “Anyone with the login can track which fields have been sprayed and where. It’s not tied to a PC, so all another person has to do is login and see what was entered to track progress and finish the job.”

“Through precision services, field-specific data collection and use of an online interface for information that can be accessed anytime and anywhere, Farmacology offers tools which farming operations of all sizes can use to streamline overall farm management,” explains Legend Sales Agronomist, Josh Lamecker.

These tools range from basic field management, field mapping, keeping track of which hybrids are planted where, soil sampling data, input data, spray dates, calculating growing degree units and determining maturity dates to providing variable rate prescriptions, writing dual hybrid prescriptions and interfacing with drone technology.

With so many resources available to you, where do you begin?

Josh suggests beginning with a challenge or problem you want to overcome. “Our team is here to help solve problems so in the end, growers can increase profits when they plant Legend Seeds.”

“Unlike many other precision ag software platforms, with the Legend Edge, the farmer retains ownership of his data,” Josh says. He adds that another great feature – for farmers of all sizes – is the fact that Farmacology is color blind. The technology works with all equipment. “It doesn’t care if a grower has John Deere or CASE equipment, or both; this technology has the ability to read data from multiple software formats.”

For Sisseton, S.D. farmer Arlyn Ceroll, the issue was getting a handle on his fields’ fertility. “We didn’t know what was out there as far as our nutrients went. We just had the co-op apply a flat rate,” explains Arlyn. Describing his farm as average-sized, Arlyn raises corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa and operates a cow/calf herd and raises registered Gelbvieh cattle with his dad, Art, and brother, Aaron.

User friendly Arlyn says he was able to learn to navigate the program in one training session. As he expands his usage of Legend Edge and other Farmacology tools, he knows that Legend Seeds will provide him with the support he needs.

For Arlyn, the cloud-based Farmacology program Legend Edge provided the perfect solution. To get started, Josh worked with Arlyn to have his fields grid sampled. As expected, Arlyn was over-applying nutrients on some areas of some fields and other areas were at a deficit.

“The Legend Edge program, along with our other Farmacology resources, is very easy to use. The toughest thing about Farmacology is helping growers understand that it is a portfolio of precision ag tools,” Josh explains.

Josh showed Arlyn how Legend Edge could take the grid sampling results and provide his local cooperative with a variable rate fertility prescription to use when custom applying.

To learn how Legend Seeds’ powerful Farmacology resources can help you maximize yields, increase profits and overall better manage your farming operation, contact your Legend Seeds representative. ADVANTAGE

“This Farmacology tool allowed us to make better use of the money we spend on fertilizer,” Arlyn said.

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LEGEND SEEDS ADVANTAGE RESULTS IN OUR FIELDS:

2015 L.E.A.P. & KNOWLEDGE PLOT™ REVIEW Results are in from 2015 Legend Elite Advancement Project or (L.E.A.P.) and Knowledge Plots™ and the data has been compiled. Legend’s Director of Research, Mike Knight and Director of Product Development, Matt Raml say based on results, growers can look forward to yet another generation of Legend Seeds’ hybrids and varieties to amp up yield goals.

advantage, but provides significant agronomic advantage as well,” Mike says. “There are some older hybrids in our product guide which continue to yield exceptional results year after year.”

Tried and True

Matt Raml echoes Mike’s comments and adds that as an independent regional seed company, Legend Seeds’ connection to superior germ plasm, from all providers in the industry, results in a cutting edge product portfolio.

The research, trials and vetting process Legend Seeds’ hybrids and varieties undergo prior to release, is intense.

“We gather more than yield data on the more than 30,000 replicated plots which make up L.E.A.P. We also review each genetic line’s ability to withstand pest and disease pressure as well as agronomic traits like lodging, root scores and ear size and their response to numerous management techniques,” Mike explains.

Because of this process, Legends Seeds growers can confidently plant based on the recommendations of their Legend Seeds representative, knowing seed is developed to excel in their fields’ growing conditions.

With a nod to our company name, Mike calls these “legendary.”

“It’s our goal that growers who plant Legend Seeds will increase their return on investment on every acre,” Matt explains. “Overall our corn and soybean portfolios are positioned well throughout the marketplace – this goes back to the common theme of Legend Seeds having access to germ plasm from every corn, soybean and alfalfa provider so that we are able to provide the best new traits to our growers.”

When a grower has a product that meets or exceeds their yield goals, Mike encourages them to sit down with their Legend Seeds representative and visit before making any changes.

He adds that if you’ve been a Legend Seeds grower for a while and do not see your favorite hybrid or variety in the product guide, it’s because something better has replaced it.

“We made some changes this year because we saw a lot of advantages exhibited by some new hybrids and varieties.”

“Before we introduce a new hybrid or variety to our product lineup, we want to make sure that it not only provides a yield

To learn more, visit with your local Legend Seeds representative. ADVANTAGE

NOW OFFERING ROUNDUP READY 2 XTEND™ SOYBEANS Legend Seeds is dedicated to providing high yielding, consistent producing, top quality products. That is why we are excited to announce our 2016 Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybean lineup. Contact a Legend Representative to learn more about how you can get your Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans today.

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LEGEND SEEDS ADVANTAGE DEALER SPOTLIGHT:

DICK BIRCHMEIER, NEW LOTHROP, MI Dick Birchmeier has worked for the same farm family since he was 14. “They had milk cows and I heard they needed help. I’ve been here ever since,” explains the 55-year-old Legend Seeds/Lemke Seeds dealer.

Growing up on a farm just a mile away, Dick has always loved farm life. His older brothers took over farming his family’s operation after his dad passed away when he was only 10 – so when the Gross family needed help, it became Dick’s way to stay connected to the land and way of life he enjoys. “I like working outside and doing something different every day.”

It was through his employer, Fred Gross, that Dick became a seed dealer 20 years ago. “Fred suggested that we partner and sell seed together.”

From the start Dick has enjoyed the seed business. “I like getting to meet other farmers and learn about their operations and seed needs. I’m not a pressure person, I let the product do the work. The customers keep coming back,” he explains.

Dick’s product offerings have increased over the years as the independent seed company he sold for changed hands.

Lemke Seed bought Bayside and recently, Legend Seeds and Lemke merged. “My customers like the wide range of nonGMO products because they raise livestock feed and these products perform,” he says, noting that one particular hybrid yielded 237 bpa in his test plot this summer.

Along with his seed dealership, Dick continues to farm for his late employer’s wife, Peggy Gross. They raise corn, soybeans and a cattle finishing operation.

A few years back, Dick had an opportunity to honor Fred Gross, who he considered a second father, by naming a corn hybrid for the date Fred passed away 15 years ago.

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