By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

GRAND RIDGE, Ill. — FS Seeds hybrid HS30R72 yielded the highest soybean bushels per acre in a Northern Illinois seed test plot in La Salle County about three weeks ago.

The FS Seeds product produced 90.9 bushels per acre worth an estimated $1,135 of gross income, with a moisture level of 7.9 percent.

Conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) at Walter Brothers in Grand Ridge, the test plot’s soil condition was a drummer silty clay loam with a 1.5 percent slope where the field was moderately well drained.
The field was planted at 200,000 seeds per acre on May 15, and harvested on Oct. 6 at 237,400 plants per acre.

“(We had) a 20 bushel average less than last year due to a drier August, with 1.6 inches of rain,” said FIRST manager Jason Beyers, who oversees 72 plots stretching from Chicago to Omaha, lodging in between 16-18 hours in his combine.

Beyers said stands at this test plot location were plenty heavy. “Planter was dropping several thousand more than we anticipated,” he said. “Soybean seeds were very large (2,200 to 2,400 seeds per pound).

“Lodging was a combination of tall plants and high populations,” he added. “There was very little evidence of any insect or disease pressure.”

In addition, FS Seeds had the fifth-best hybrid in this test.
The FS Seeds hybrid produced 83.9 bushels per acre, earning a gross income estimate of $1,048.

FS Seeds hybrids also placed 15th (R08-31, 80.7 bushels per acre, gross income estimate-$1,009); 16th (HS28R72, 80.1 bushels per acre, gross income estimate-$1,000); and 30th (HS29R72, 76.8 bushels per acre, gross income estimate-$960).

The top 30 performers in the early test at this test plot are published in the chart at the right.

Sublette, Illinois corn

SUBLETTE, Ill. — FS Seeds hybrid HS30R72 yielded the highest bushels per acre in a Northern Illinois seed test plot about three weeks ago.

The FS Seeds product produced 248.2 bushels per acre worth an estimated $1,090 of gross income, with a moisture level of 29.3 percent.

Conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) on the Randy Faber farm in Sublette, the test plot’s soil condition was a clay loam with a 1 percent slope where the field was moderately well drained, FIRST manager Jason Beyers said.

The Lee County field was planted at 35,200 seeds per acre on April 23, and harvested on Oct. 2 at 33,300 plants per acre. “(These were) typical yields from year to year,” Beyers said. “And they were slightly dry in August.”

The seeds were planted in “a really low-lying, heavy dark soil,” with “water standing there a couple times for four hours,” added Beyers, who was preparing to harvest a plot in Keystone, Iowa.

Beyers said the Sublette, Ill. location had a really tough beginning.
“When the corn was 4-6 inches tall, an adjacent creek exceeded its banks and allowed water to stand on the plot for about four hours,” he said. “This happened again about three weeks prior to harvest.
“All the corn was standing excellent, and there was no evidence of any disease pressure” he said.

FS Seeds also had the second-best hybrid in this test. FS Seeds hybrid FS55SV3 produced 240.0 bushels per acre, earning a gross income estimate of $1,132.4.

The top 30 performers in the early test at this test plot are published in the chart above.