SPRING FARM 2023

New varieties for 2023 include short stature corn; tar spot resistance ratings available

By KRISTIN

DANLEY-GREINER

Seed companies roll out new technology and traits often, with one emerging this season that could be of interest to Iowa growers.

Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension field pathologist, said some companies will have ratings for tar spot resistance that will offer growers more information. All commercially available corn hybrids are susceptible to tar spot, but some are more tolerant than others. In fact, in just 10 to 14 days, a crop can be completely wiped out by tar spot.

Ratings are set by seed company agronomists who study the hybrids at research plots across the Corn Belt where tar spot is

Clare, Iowa

Owner / Operator

Joe Martin

prevalent. Based on their findings, the hybrids then are rated accordingly.

Mark Licht, Iowa State University Extension cropping systems specialist, said there are companies working on nitrogen use efficiency and drought tolerance in seed varieties.

“The biggest thing coming out is short stature corn from Bayer. I haven’t worked with this yet but have a couple trials slated for this summer,” Licht said.

Short stature corn hybrids have been developed to be shorter than standard-height corn hybrids — one-third shorter to be exact.

According to Bayer, short stature corn has been genetically altered to have stronger stalks due to the reduced height, which are less likely to break or fall over in high winds. The shorter plants also make corn fields more accessible to standard ground equipment longer into the season.

Other benefits of short stature corn as part of the “smart corn system,” according to Bayer, include fewer growing risks, the use of more precise inputs and the ability to grow more corn from the same size acreage.

Brian Leake, spokesperson for Bayer, noted that the emerging technology is “critically needed for our ability to feed 10 billion people on the planet by 2050.”

Soybean cyst nematodes could become a thing of the past with BASF’s new Bt soybean trait.

However, growers will have to wait until the end of the decade to see it materialize. The trait, GMB151, could become the first Bt soybean in the U.S. market and the first BT protein to target SCN.

Soybean cyst nematode infestations can cause poor stands, stunted plants, yellow foliage and low soybean yields. Losses can range from 5 to 90 percent of the yield potential.

For the 2023 growing season, NK Seeds unveiled 64 products that span maturity groups and trait packages, including 29 NK corn hybrids, 28 NK soybean varieties and seven Enogen hybrids.

The DEKALB brand launched 29 new products spanning the 75 to 120 relative maturity geographies. AgriGold will bring 15 new corn hybrids with 21 new trait additions on new and proven hybrids as well as 35 new soybean varieties to the market in 2023.

LG Seeds will deliver 19 new corn hybrids and 23 new soybean varieties to the market in 2023.

The 2023 class from Pioneer includes 44 new exclusive corn products and 36 new soybean varieties.

-Photo courtesy of Bayer

ACCORDING

TO BAYER, short stature corn has been genetically altered to have stronger stalks due to the reduced height, which are less likely to break or fall over in high winds. The shorter plants also make corn fields more accessible to standard ground equipment longer into the season.

By KRISTIN DANLEY-GREINER

The U.S. cow herd size likely will shrink in 2023 due in part to a loss of pasture ground from drought conditions, while the pig herd may bump up slightly.

According to Chad Hart, Iowa State University ag economist, the cow herd has been growing smaller the last couple of years with producers taking a lot of heifers to town instead of keeping them on the farm.

The breeding herd has dropped in size, too, and will continue to shrink through 2023, he noted.

On the hog side, the industry isn’t growing or shrinking, but rather treading water, Hart said.

“Right now, cattle prices are marching higher as we move through 2023 because of the smaller herd size. We won’t see the hog herd start rebuilding until pasture and range land in the Great Plains are ready to support that,” Hart said. “So we’ll see stronger prices across the board looking at feeder and fed cattle. But when it comes to the hog producers, they’re likely going to see lower prices.”

Domestic demand still seems strong even with some issues internationally. There was a sizable drop in export sales last year for pork compared to 2021, but sales were on par with last year.

“I wouldn’t call it bad, but I wouldn’t call it great. The problem is we built up the hog herd based on increased exports of 2020 to 2021 that’s leading to downward price pressure in the hog industry,” Hart said. “Cattle has had a strong export demand through 2022, but that weakened at the end of the year, falling back toward the average. We’re seeing a little bit of weakness given export demand for cattle, and that’s not really hurting cattle prices nearly as much.”

While high feed costs likely will subside slightly, other input costs are still going up with inflation.

“We are seeing some of the highest costs on the livestock side the industry has ever faced,” Hart said. “They will get some feed price release, especially as we move into 2023. But it’s still going to be a higher cost industry now than ever before,” Hart said.

Andrew Wheeler with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation added that live cattle prices have been trending upward for the past nine months and are trading near the highest levels seen in the past ,five years. In fact, beef production in January and February of 2023 was 7.6 percent below year-ago levels, and the January cattle inventory report indicated that beef cow numbers in the U.S. were down 4 percent from yearago levels. As grain prices work their way lower, feeder cattle prices are moving higher and this could stimulate some increased retention of heifers for next year’s breeding herd, but in the shortterm that reduces beef supplies even more, Wheeler noted.