Excitement builds in seed industry

HUDSON – Despite lower commodity prices, 2016 was a good year because of impressive crop yields.
Stone Seed district sales manager Luke Lemenager believes most growers feel good right now and they will feel even better next year with more options available.
“All in all, whether you’re in that Forrest, Fairbury, Lexington or Hudson area, crops were all awfully good,” Lemenager said.
The newer hybrids seemed to excel this year and the biggest shift is in soybeans with growers using more herbicide-tolerant varieties which is changing the market. Lemenager looks forward to the Roundup Ready Extend platform coming next season.
“They were available this year but we didn’t have a real broadly accepted elevator end-user approval. We’ve got that for the next year so we can plant those anywhere.”
Lemenager feels Extend soybeans will have strong yields and will be a wise seed decision for farmers regardless if they want to use the Extend herbicides on them. Growers will have plenty of choices in 2017 and can enjoy another item to keep the cost of broadleaf weed control down.
“Farmers are going to have something else they can use of the price of one versus the other gets out of whack,” Lemenager added.
For more on Stone Seed or to find out about the company’s dealer network, visit www.stoneseed.com.