Producers Blog
Visiting Producers Hybrids Country :: A Week in Kansas
This week brought more diversity and learning opportunities than I could have imagined. Kansas is a state with a variety of soil types, crops and livestock; and I was lucky enough to experience nearly all of it in one day.
The day began at 6:30 a.m. when I took off to meet Brandon Pechneac, the Kansas and Missouri sales intern, so we could put in a P3 trial near Grainfield, Kansas. Naturally, however, days in the ag field never quite go exactly how you expect them to.
Not long after we left, we received a call that planting the P3 trial was being pushed back to 3:00 that afternoon. The DSM gave us some additional tasks to complete before that, but we knew we would have extra time on our hands now. As usual, we improvised. Brandon and I quickly adjusted our plan and made our way to various P3 trials to take soil samples and stand counts.
Now, you’ve read in my previous posts that I’m an eastern Iowa native, meaning I grew up on some of the richest soil in the nation. Keeping that in mind, my eyes are continually being opened to the diversity of soil types throughout the Midwest. Kansas, in particular, seemed to have one field that looked like a sandbox and then the next field down the road had beautiful silt-loam soil.
One particular corn field we went to was especially sandy. Brandon assured me that not all of Kansas was that way, but I couldn’t help being amazed that corn could even grow in that! I remembered trying to transplant my mom’s flowers from her landscaping to my sandbox when I was a kid (sorry, mom) and let me tell you, those flowers did not grow in the sand. Maybe it was the lack of agronomy knowledge I had when I was six years old, but I was convinced nothing could grow in what looked like a children’s playground.
But sure enough, here we were looking at a sandy field full of corn with great stand counts and impressive vigor. Granted, the field was under a pivot irrigation system and had the attention of sales people, an agronomist, interns and the farmer himself, which is more than I can say about my sandbox full of flowers. This field made me recognize and appreciate the work that agronomists and farmers put into making their fields productive. There is something to be said about the amount of knowledge and stewardship that goes into farming, and this field was proof that farming isn’t easy, but if you are determined you can be successful.
After we finished making the rounds to test plots and picking up various seed returns, it was finally time to plant the P3 trial we had originally set out to do. Brandon and I worked with a Premier Partner and a father-son farming duo to plant the trial. It was refreshing to see father and son working hand-in-hand to make the job go as smoothly as possible. After the trial was planted and properly labeled, we headed to Iowa for the next intern adventure.
Boone, Iowa is home to AgReliant’s newest research and breeding station. All ten Producers Hybrids interns had the opportunity to tour the facility and learn about the latest in genetics research from Idris Amusan, the lead breeder and station manager.
Idris walked us through the facility showing us the state-of-the-art equipment and technology they use to produce corn genetics that will eventually hit the commercial market. I was amazed to learn that it can take up to 30,000 new lines to produce just one new corn hybrid that will be commercialized. Idris said that 99.9% of the new corn hybrids can fail, but if you get just that 0.1% that is successful, the work has been worth it.
Many of the interns joked that Idris might be the only person in the ag sector that doesn’t complain about the weather because no matter what the climate conditions are, it is beneficial to research. If a research plot gets a hail storm, the best hail-resistant genetics will be evident. If a research plot gets flooded out, the most flood-resistant hybrid will stand out. Idris agreed that he is lucky to be able to be productive regardless of the conditions.
All-in-all, I had a great week that consisted of new environments, new soil types, and especially new knowledge. I am looking forward to continuing my learning experience next week and, as always, I am #ready4more!
Read more of Laura’s summer travels through Producers Hybrids country!
