Decisions still need to be made

This is an interesting year in the seed business so far as there is still seed left to be sold and more decisions to be made by growers.

Corey Torrance, business development manager with Rob-See-Co, believes this is different than anything he has seen in the past several years.

“We had an excellent fall and farmers just kept working and kept having the opportunity to catch up on some jobs they may not have been able to get to for the last several years,” Torrance told The Central Illinois Farm Network this week.

With the good weather leading all the way up to the holiday season, growers may have been more reluctant to meet in-person due to the high COVID numbers. There has also been a fair amount of sitting and waiting for many producers.

“We are now seeing some pretty strong markets and there is also still a little bit of uncertainty about what the dicamba labeling situation is going to be,” Torrance said.

Different soybean options for 2021 include Enlist or Xtend, Xtend Flex and dicamba platforms. Many are showing increased interest in corn traits as controlling corn rootworm is a major focus.

“We are seeing an awful lot of interest in our Viptera products,” Torrance explained. “I think we’ve seen some more ear worms and more issues like that the last couple of years.”

Corn is in good supply, according to Torrance, as most seed companies had good production years. He has observed corn running a bit smaller than it was a year ago and urges farmers to be on the lookout for what seems to be an industry issue.

“They may not be able to get that 50 or 55 pound seed they want this year. It may be 38 to 40 pounds,” Torrance added.

With plenty of confusion out there, the soybean supply is not going to get any better as planting nears. Decisions should be finalized as quickly as possible for the 2021 growing season.

For more information, Torrance can be reached at 309-337-4500 or visit www.robseeco.com.