UBLY, Mich. — Changes in seed corn technology is the topic of “Corn Hybrid Technologies: Reflections and Where We’re Going” during Thumb Ag Day on Dec. 14.

Presented by Jeff Leipprandt, retired account manager with Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc., the program will explore the history of corn hybrids and their role in today’s marketplace. Leipprandt, who spent 25 years as a field salesman, began his career at Pioneer before transgenics were introduced to the marketplace.

“Bts didn’t exist at that time. Roundup Readies weren’t thought of,” he said. “We weren’t seeing any of those technologies embedded in the hybrids.”

At that time, he said the lifespan of a hybrid was much longer, which allowed farmers to identify a variety that worked well for their conditions and to plant it for a longer number of years. In addition, seed salespeople had the advantage of looking at a hybrid over several seasons in their geographic area to evaluate its performance under many different conditions.

At the time, Leipprandt said hybrids would stay in a lineup for 7-10 years. “We had maybe four or five hybrids that we had to know about,” he said. “Our job was more about making certain we had the supplies and were getting it out there.”

Today’s marketplace has changed dramatically from 25 years ago.

“We are looking at an entire lineup of genetic technologies,” he said. “The return of the production lifecycle is very tight now – three to five years at best.

“That has confounded a lot of producers. They get frustrated by that. It depends on how quickly that new product is introduced to that producer.”

He explained with only a three- to five-year shelf life, by the time producers identify a variety that works for them, it often is replaced by the next new variety. “A lot of times I have heard, ‘What is the seed company thinking? They are taking something away,’” he said.

Leipprandt said seed companies strive to offer the best technological advances in their products and when introducing new technologies, they simply are trying to ensure better-performing seed for producers.

“Introducing a new variety is a very deliberate and thought-out process. We are not taking something away, but bringing something new on,” he said. “Research is moving at fast pace. The new product is better.”

An advantage, he said, is to help growers continue to be successful in the ever-changing marketplace. “It is helping our customers manage risk to a greater degree,” he said.

Leipprandt also will discuss intellectual property issues. In the past, university breeding programs were the source of many new developments in corn hybrids. Today, it takes about $2 million to bring a new corn variety to the marketplace, which is largely accomplished by research fueled by major seed companies.

Wheat, for example, has not seen an investment in research by large seed companies because of the difficulty in protecting intellectual property. Leipprandt said this is evidenced by very little increase in wheat yields over several decades.

 “Wheat is probably the one crop where a lot of producers in the entire industry are befuddled,” he said. “Why aren’t we moving forward? Because there’s no investment into it. We come from a culture where producers save their wheat to plant next year.”

Other issues Leipprandt will touch on include considering a farm’s bottom line and how overall production success plays a role in the farmer’s ability to purchase or rent land and buy or maintain equipment.

“If one farmer is consistently getting better yields, he may be in a position to pay more for land rents or buy more land, where another may not be able to,” he said.

Thumb Ag Day is Dec. 14 at Ubly Heights Country Club, 2409 E. Atwater Road. Leipprandt’s program will begin at 10:45 a.m., with time at the end for questions from the audience. Admission is free.