Latham® Hi-Tech Soybeans are producing record yields this fall. One of our new Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ Soybeans recently topped a plot in Dallas County, Iowa, with record 80.2 bushels per acre (b/A).

“This is the first time that we’ve raised 80-bushel beans,” says Dale Meyers, whose family farms near Redfield. He and his son, Michael, also have a Latham dealership. “I believe the early planting date and good seed bed were key. Fortunately we had good planting conditions and received timely rains throughout the growing season.”

Meyers planted his soybean test plot on May 9 in a field that had previously been planted to corn with minimum tillage. He and Michael chiseled the ground last fall and then field cultivated in the spring after applying Trifluralin. Their plot averaged 71.36 bu/A, which is well above his farm’s average of 66.7 bu/A.

Variety selection is one of the most important factors to producing 80-bushel yields, according to Iowa State University (ISU) Extension agronomist Palle Pedersen. Pedersen says that raising a bumper crop begins with preseason planning including:

1. Planting the right genetics
2. Planting early
3. Planting in narrow rows
4. Protecting the plant from early weed competition

Meyers agrees that seed selection is key.

**Latham® is a registered trademark of Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids, Inc.
Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ soybeans are trademarks of Monsanto Technology Group LLC

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way…

Like the lyrics to Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild,” more than 120 vehicles got their motors runnin’ on Saturday, Aug. 31, and headed out on U.S. Highway 71 from Okoboji, Iowa, for the inaugural Latham Freedom of Independence Ride.

We wanted to celebrate the independent American spirit, and what better way to do so than a road trip featuring motorcycles, cars and trucks?

The first of five groups left Arnold’s Park at 12:30 p.m. and merged onto Highway 9 for a 23-mile trip to Estherville. Just north of town, we made our first field stop where company president John Latham gave a brief recount of his family’s business, started 62-years ago by John’s grandfather, Willard Latham. Willard started it all in 1947 by custom cleaning oats for area farmers. During the 1960s, the business evolved into soybean production. CystX® soybean breeding for resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) began in 1990, and Latham® soybeans with the Roundup Ready technology were introduced in 1996. The company added corn hybrids to its product offering in 2004 and further expanded its product offering in 2008 with hybrid alfalfa.

From a discussion of Latham history, we headed our to learn about the Latham of today and tomorrow. Leg 2 of the Freedom of Independence Ride was a 41-mile trek from Estherville to Whittemore where MaxYield Co-op presented a Latham® Showcase. It was a chance for riders to get up close and personal with many Latham products in the field. Mark Grundmeier, product manager, also talked about the exciting new additions to the 2010 Latham Hi-Tech Soybean lineup: Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ with yields that are 7 to 11% better than the original Roundup Ready soybean technology, which had set the standard for more than a decade. Also at this stop, riders learned about Latham soybeans with the LibertyLink® technology, which is the only nonselective alternative to the Roundup Ready system. LibertyLink beans have no yield drag and are tolerant to the new Ignite® herbicide.

Having covered Latham past, present and future, it was time to put crop talk on hold for Leg 3 of the journey, which took us about 10 miles south to enjoy the serenity of the Grotto of Redemption in West Bend. It’s composed of nine separate grottos, each portraying a scene from the life of Christ. With the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location, the Grotto is truly a miracle in stone. Work on the Grotto began in 1912 and followed for 42 years.

Leg 4 involved a 43-mile route from West Bend to Lost Island Lake in Ruthven where riders heard a brief presentation from Jim Heckman, national sales manager. Heckman told the crowd that Latham Hi-Tech Seeds offers a broader and deeper lineup of traits and technologies than any other company. Our 2010 lineup includes: corn hybrids with YieldGard VT Triple®, Genuity™ SmartStax™, Herculex® XTRA, Agrisure® 3000GT; and soybeans with Roundup® Ready, Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield™, CystX®, Vistive™ and LibertyLink®.

What’s the point of being at the lake without a fishing pole? When corn talk was done, everyone took their best shot at a casting contest. Anyone who could land their cast inside the floating target would win an LCD TV. Congratulations to Scott Heetland, who was the only one to hit the bull’s-eye with one try!

The final leg of the journey, a 26-mile stretch from Ruthven to Arnolds Park, brought us full circle. After an afternoon filled with adventure and cool, fresh air, we were ready for the hog roast. The pork loin, grilled by Scott Nasers of Bigelow, MN, was fork-tender, juicy and succulent. After the roast, Latham Hi-Tech Seeds sponsored a live concert by The Magnificent Board of Directors who took the stage in Preservation Plaza at 7:30 p.m.

“We’re pleased that as an independent, family-owned company we can hold these types of events so our customers can experience the Latham brand difference,” said John Latham. “It was wonderful weather and a great day to be out in rural America. Thank you to everyone who came out and made the event a success.”

Latham^® is a registered trademark of Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids, Inc.Ignite® and LibertyLink^® are registered trademarks of Bayer CropScience AG.
YieldGard VT Triple^®, Genuity^TM SmartStax^TM, Roundup^® Ready, Genuity^TM Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ and Vistive^® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.
Herculex^® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC.
Agrisure^® is a registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.

This is an exciting day. Our company is announcing today the release of four new Latham Hi-Tech Seeds corn hybrids with Genuity SmartStax technology.

You can read the entire announcement here.

We’ve been working with Monsanto a long time, incorporating their leading-edge technologies into our seed production. The Genuity/ SmartStax launch looks to be a new threshold in seed technology benefits and innovation. Above- and below-ground pest control, plus RR2 and LibertyLink tolerance, all in one seed. It’s amazing what crop science has achieved, especially in just the past 15 years or so.

Please give us a call in Alexander if we can answer any further questions about our new products or any other Latham offerings. We’re always here to help.

Latham® and “bringing world-class technology home” are trademarks of Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids, Inc. SmartStax^TM multi-event technology developed by Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto. SmartStax, the SmartStax Logo, Genuity, YieldGard VT PRO,YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2, VT Triple PRO and Roundup Ready are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.

®HERCULEX is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC.
®Liberty Link is a registered trademark of Bayer CropScience.

This article on the formation of Latham Hi-Tech Seeds and our mission of remaining independent was published yesterday in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

The second sentence of the story makes the case for our entire business: “…representatives with the small north-central Iowa seed company say they’re armed with unbiased information to help make customers money.” Feel free to forward this link to anyone who might benefit from knowing the independence story.

Latham is a partner in the Iowa State University Extension Corn and Soybean Initiative. That means we get timely alerts when any farming condition emerges that could impact a number of growers.

We recently received an alert about possible emergence of black cutworm in Iowa. The alert is reproduced below. Also, we have a simple spreadsheet calculator available for estimating stand-loss threshold of black cutworm as insecticide is applied.

Just give me a call at 1-800-798-3258 or email me at mark@lathamhybrids.com and I’ll be glad to send you the calculator document and explain it to you. For example, one simple calculation on the spreadsheet shows a corn stand planted at 32K plants per acre with an expected yield of 200 bu/acre at a market price of $6 per bushel and receiving insecticide application at a cost of $15/acre could realize an estimated loss of 400 plants per acre, or 1.25%.

Black cutworm to start cutting May 24: scouting is advised

From Iowa State University Extension Corn and Soybean Initiative

Black cutworms could start cutting corn May 24-26 in the southern two-thirds of Iowa, and the first week of June in the northern three tiers of counties. Growers should scout for cutworms as soon as corn emerges, paying special attention to late-planted or weedy fields.

Most at-risk fields:

• Late-planted
• Reduced tillage
• High weed populations – especially of winter annuals
• Near natural vegetation areas
• Poorly drained or low-lying, such as in the floodplain of a stream or river.

Damage signs
• Small, irregular holes in leaves (from young, above-ground larvae feeding)
• Cut stems or clipped leaves (from older larvae, in 4-6 instar – usually feed underground at night)

When scouting

• Examine 250 plants (50 plants in five locations) weekly until corn reaches V5.
• Check for wilted, discolored or damaged leaves and missing plants.
• If damaged leaves are found: dig around the base of the plant and look for larvae. If soils are dry or crusted, larvae  may burrow to moist soil and move to new plants.
• Flag suspected “hot spots” and monitor larval feeding (or lack of it) for a few days.

Economic Threshold & Treatment Options
•Economic thresholds for black cutworm were adjusted last year due to higher crop value and corn stands.
•A tool to calculate treatment thresholds for stand loss will be published in ICM News next week.

To tell black from dingy cutworm larvae

Both feed on corn, but dingy cutworms rarely cut leaves. Black cutworms have two prominent tubercles (dark bumps) of differing sizes on each body segment; dingy cutworms have two of the same size.

Long story short: Black cutworms may start cutting corn May 24 in the southern two-thirds of Iowa. Scout for corn as soon as it emerges, especially in late-planted, weedy or reduced tillage fields. Use the attached threshold calculator to determine the best treatment for your fields.

Source: Erin Hodgson and Jon Tollefson, ISU Department of Entomology

In between showers, our research team has been getting our corn showcase plots planted. These pictures show Bill Latham and Gary Bennett planting our Latham® corn showcase plot near Alta, Iowa. True to the season, this photo was taken after Bill and Gary got wet from a brief shower.

Latham Hi-Tech Seeds planted six corn showcase plots between May 4-6. Four more plots were planted between May 11-13. The seeds were planted with the company’s new corn plot air planter, complete with computer equipment that controls the drop rate and length of row per plot.

At a motorcycle dealership, of course!  But not just any dealership. This session happened at the Big Barn Harley Davidson store in Des Moines. This is a premiere dealership within the Harley network, and the barn theme is perfect for a company in the agriculture business. Plus, the Harley spirit of freedom that’s so much a part of that iconic brand is also the cornerstone of the Latham Hi-Tech Seeds brand:  The freedom of being an independent company that can offer up an array of world-class technology and trait options to farm customers.

Stay tuned for more “Freedom” updates. The ride is just getting started.

It’s part of the itinerary for a sweet road trip coming up this summer. Guess where it is and what it is.

Here’s a little teaser about a totally different field tour that’s in the works.

Check it out here. We’re posting preliminary material for an upcoming summer event that promises to be a great time for all who take part. If you’re not already on Facebook, make sure you sign up as a Facebook user so you can become a “fan” of this page.