Martin: Variability could be 'drastic'

CHATSWORTH – We all know yields will likely be variable this fall but the Stone Seed business manager for northern Illinois predicts this will be some of the most drastic variability we have seen around here.

“It won’t surprise me to see farm averages below 100 bushels an acre and see some that may push as high as the mid-200’s,” said John Martin during a dealer appreciation event in Chatsworth this month.

Much of this will depend on which fields caught the right amount of rain at the right time. Stone Seed saw an unprecedented amount of maturity shifting by growers as the calendar transitioned from May to June. With such a maturity difference, farmers could see one field at 35 percent moisture with a field right across the road at 20 percent.

“I think we’ll see wild things like that all fall long,” added Martin.

Martin cautions growers against basing all of next year’s decisions on what happened in 2019. He notes the company had success with a few “race horse” hybrids the past couple of years and feels Stone’s leading products will once again have a successful year. The company has a large network of dealers and sales reps around the state.

“We are the local company – we live here, we farm here, we know Illinois,” said Martin.

Stone Seed went through plenty of buckets at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur last month. Martin said they originally had 7,500 buckets to give away and were already through over 6,000 halfway through day two. After calling in the reserves from Springfield, they gave away close to 10,000 total buckets at this year’s show.

This month’s Stone Seed appreciation dinner in Chatsworth was hosted by local dealers Shorty Stork and Matt Kilgus.