Minnesota Ag Connection - MCGA Variety Plot Online is a Great Resource for Farmers

Minnesota Ag News Headlines

MCGA Variety Plot Online is a Great Resource for Farmers
By: Jonathan Eisenthal, MN Corn Growers Assoc. - 11/21/2006

With corn prices at their highest level in a decade because of continued demand from ethanol, animal feed and export markets, the seed decisions farmers make in the next month or two become that much more critical to their future profitability. The MCGA variety plot online database offers a quick and easy-to-access source of independent information on corn hybrid performance.

"Our on-line variety plot database is a great resource for farmers in their decision-making process," said Curt Watson, a corn, soybean and sugarbeet farmer in Renville County who serves as president of Minnesota Corn Growers Association. "This is a fast way to get information that's very current."

For several years Minnesota Corn Growers Association has provided the online database to help farm operators sort out what varieties will perform best on their own farms. Visitors to the MCGA variety plot database page can generate personalized reports based on a number of factors. One can select plots where plot cooperators planted RoundUp ready varieties, for instance, or those where only early- or only late-maturing varieties went in. A number of plots across the state used manure-producers can see how different hybrids performed with the additional nutrient value. Users can also select only plots where corn followed corn. Many visitors to the page generate a report based on plots in their own county and surrounding counties-to get a read on what varieties are performing best in their geographic region.

The program-one of the few variety data information systems run independently by farmers in the U.S.-would not be possible without the help of the many plot cooperators. The Lewiston/Altura FFA operates one plot in Winona County. Others represent the dedicated labor of farmers like Doug Hankerson, who chairs the variety plot program for Faribault County, and operates one of its plots himself.

Hankerson has run a test plot for about ten years, and he hopes more farmers become cooperators because the greater the number of plots the more comprehensive the information will be. Hankerson feels it was a real step forward when MCGA began posting test plot results on the web.

"I like the test plot reports a lot better on line," said Hankerson. "You can do so much more with it, and you get it so much quicker. With the book, a lot of times farmers had already made their seed purchases by the time it came out in February or March. And the seed dealers had booked most of their sales. Having in online means you can use it right away...I base almost all my seed decisions on the MCGA test plot reports, though I do go through some of the other test plot reports, just to make sure the numbers I'm looking at haven't done really badly somewhere."

In addition to listing the yield of individual plots, the MCGA data includes an "index" which can be an even stronger indicator of baseline performance across a range of conditions. The index rates the performance of a hybrid against the other varieties it was planted with. An index of 100 means the hybrid yielded the same as the average of all the varieties in its plot. Above 100 indicates above average performance. "I go by the index -it's far more relevant when you are trying to compare one variety in one plot against another variety in another plot," said Hankerson.

Hankerson also likes the on-line format because of the accuracy and speed with which information becomes available. "Sherrie (Graves, the MCGA staffer responsible for plot data entry) deserves a lot of thanks for getting the information up on the database quickly and accurately. There are times when I've had to make changes to some piece of information, and I look and she's got it corrected within five minutes of when I call-you can really rely on the accuracy of the information."

To date, 19 counties have submitted data from their variety plots-about 70 individual plots across the corn-growing regions of the state. This year for the first time, the MCGA online database includes performance data on soybean varieties. At this point, 12 counties have submitted soybean data. A handful more counties are expected to upload their results for corn and soybeans.

"We began receiving requests to post soybean data almost from the moment we started the online database-that's been three or four years," said Warren Formo, program manager for MCGA.

"Plot chairs like Doug have been very helpful with suggestions about the way we present the data, to make it as useful as possible to corn producers," said Formo. "Input from plot chairs and users of the program helped us refine the soybean information we collected this year for the first time. We're very thankful for the time and effort Doug and all the other cooperators put into the variety plot program-we couldn't do it without them."