You can have the best precision farming technology that exists, but without the right seed matched to the right field and to your farming practices, you won’t realize optimum yield.

Selecting seed genetics is the most important task growers face every fall and winter, because as you know it has a tremendous impact on profitability. And that decision has become much more complex because it involves weeds, disease and insect protection decisions, too.

Pioneer does a good job encouraging growers to select products with the correct agronomic and technology traits that fit each field.

“The most important thing for growers is to know the products,” says Chris Doud, Pioneer agronomist covering northwest Iowa. “Every hybrid and variety has strengths, but growers, along with their seed sales professional, need to decide if the strengths are right for their individual operations and if the weaknesses can be properly managed by matching information on the product profile sheets with their own management practices.

“Growers need to evaluate how the product has done in their area,” says Brent Wilson, Pioneer technical services manager. “Pioneer focuses on localized testing over several years to help growers select the right product for the right acre.”

When choosing products with insect protection, evaluate the pest pressures present in specific locations.

“Sometimes triple-stack products aren’t the best choice for growers,” Doud says. “If a particular insect pressure isn’t at a level that could potentially lower yield for that area, it may not be in the farmer’s best interest to select that specific trait. Growers should choose the proper traits to help protect themselves from potential yield loss. The goal should be to match genetics to the correct environment and manage risks by including key traits to provide added insurance.”

WIth these sound decisions behind you, then you can focus on preparing your planting and spraying technology to help save the most genetic potential from every seed.