Welcome to the February edition of our information exchange platform. This month we discuss what we're up to, new trends in agriculture, and specialty corns.

Missed last month's E-Newsletter? Catch up in the News section of our website

In January, we faced icy roads and frigid temperatures to attend the 2022 Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference in Ames. Last year’s conference was a virtual event. We wanted to showcase our lineup of specialty corns to attendees. We were positioned in a good spot. We were where people passed by on their way to and from presentations that were offered on all sorts of subjects. Ample time was set aside for the 680 registrants to stop by and visit at the 65 booths.

On our table, we had an ear display of our corn hybrids along with flyers of each. One reoccurring comment was, “What beautiful corn!”, “I don’t grow corn, but thank you for what you are doing!”.



We had our conventional non-GMO hybrid, GEI 9700, and our organic hybrid, GEI 9010 ORG. Next on the table were our two color corn hybrids, GEI 1132C and GEI 5121C. Down the line was our high carotene corn hybrid, GEI 2312; this is the one that attracted the most attention because of its very orange color. Besides the orange corn, were our two high lysine corn hybrids, GEI 9816 lys and GEI 9887 lys. The display also had ears of our two popcorn hybrids. GEI 201 POP is used for popped corn like is served at a movie concession stand. GEI 202M is for mushroom popcorn. When popped, it forms a ball shape that is perfect for making caramel corn or other coated popcorns. We also had ears of our white waxy corn, GEI 9584wwx.

• Commercial production of corn and beans continues at the same trend as before.
• High grain prices have contributed to the increase in land prices and speculative land investments. 
• Agricultural research supporting commercial production continuous to grow; new technologies like gene editing are being applied to develop new products.
• Sustainable agriculture to support production of healthier products and soil conservation is increasing.
• Organic production is growing, and it is contributing to soil health and improvement.
• Population growth of 2.75 billion new people projected by 2050 are new mouths to feed. This will require changes in food production. 

Soybeans, field peas, field beans, rice, corn, wheat, oats, barley, quinoa, amaranth. 

There is a big question about what needs to be done to feed this population increase.  Food production based on increased animal production could be unsustainable.  A food system based on vegetable proteins seems to be a more efficient way to produce large amounts of food.

Investors are paying attention to the concern of consumers that want to know what and where their food is produced.

There has been a lot of research done on the creation of new products to replace animal proteins. There are new meat-like products available in the market.  There are new products made from grains and vegetables in the supermarkets and local family farms. 

Field beans are growing rapidly.  Field beans have an excellent panel of proteins and other nutrients that make them an important component in the food system. Field peas, oats, wheat, rice , quinoa, amaranth are other grains with excellent panels of amino acids that can be produced on our farms and that can be processed by millers to develop new products. There is already a developing industry that is responding to this new food trend and is expanding their current business to incorporate these new products. One example of this expansion is Hayden Flour Mills, an Arizona company, that works primarily with specialty wheats. This company has developed new flour mixes with wheat and corn, wheat and quinoa, and new wheat specialty mixtures. Other food processors are developing new products with other nutritious grains.

In the field bean industry, there is an integration of grain dealers and processors that are developing networks of grain producers and bean experts that are developing recipes to promote the use of the grains in consumer’s kitchens for food or baking products. These companies market the grains locally or export the grain to other countries to be offered in local supermarkets. Field bean production is being done across the Corn Belt from Michigan to Colorado and also in California. In Iowa, I have seen one or two farmers that produce field beans. Field bean production is going to grow.

Quinoa head, grain, and flour

Corn Specialty Products

How do we see GEI specialty corns contributing to the food industry?  GEI corns belong to several categories of specialty products.

High lysine corn

GEI 9887 lys RM 95-10

GEI 9816 lys RM 95-105

Quality protein corn with modified proteins have a complete panel of essential amino acids and low zein protein content. These hybrids are called high lysine corn or high quality protein corn. The protein level of this corn is 8.00-10.0 %. These corns are biologically twice as nutritious as normal corn. Because of the quality of the protein these corns can be increased in protein concentration by decreasing the starch content in the endosperm by fermentation or protein separation. There are several wheat and corn products that can be improved nutritionally with this corn.

Lysine corn ears and tortilla chips

Tamale dinner with tortilla chips

High Carotene corn 

GEI 2312 high provitamin A corn

This corn has 2-3 times more carotenoids than normal corn. The nutritional value of this corn is due to the content of Provitamin A  in the endosperm. The carotenoids prevent loss of night vision and macular degeneration. They also contribute to general health. The grain of this hybrid is hard texture flint that has excellent milling qualities.  The milling has a good breakout of grits than can be used for making polenta and cornmeal for baking. The grain can also be used for making animal feed. The corn plant is tall, leafy and can be used for making good quality silage for dairy.

High Anthocyanin corn 

GEI 5121C blue corn RM 110 

GEI 1132C purple corn RM 110 Pujagua Congo type

High anthocyanin corns have a high level of antioxidants that are important for preventing cancer and contributing to good mental health. The grain can be used as a milled product or flour for use as a corn ingredient for making pasta, snack products, and breakfast cereals.  It can be mixed with wheat flours to make flour tortillas with corn flavor and color.

Organic corn hybrids

GEI 9010 Organic RM 95-108

Adaptation of this hybrid is in the RM 95-105 areas of the northern Corn Belt. This hybrid has a good performance in the northern maturity areas. This hybrid can be used as an early corn in the RM 110 areas or as an early hybrid for late planting. It is a conventional non-GMO corn, the seed of this hybrid is certified organic production.

The hybrid can be used for the production of organic grain for animal feed or for using it as a nixtamalized product for making corn chips or masa products such as tortillas or taco products.

Conventional corn hybrids

GEI 9700 RM 110

This hybrid has a consistent performance over locations and years. 

We have this hybrid in our lineup because of its yield stability.

The maturity fits the needs of the early corns for the Central Corn Belt.

We have treated seed of this hybrid.

Other hybrids of Interest 

GEI 9584wwx  white waxy corn 

GEI 201POP  flake popcorn

GEI 202M  mushroom popcorn

Hybrids for 2023 planting, seed will be produced this summer.

Inka Maiz, RM 95-105  early corn, floury endosperm

GEI 9774W, RM 105-110   white corn for the northern areas 

GEI 9757, RM 110   conventional corn

We will strip test these three hybrids in southern Minnesota this year to see how they perform under this area’s weather conditions.