FIRST Newsletter | August 2023

23-Aug-2023 | Issue 27 | www.firstseedtests.com

IN THIS ISSUE

PRE-HARVEST PLOT REPORTS

DTNPF.COM #DIGITALYIELDTOUR

INTRODUCING THE NEW WWW.FIRSTSEEDTESTS.COM

PRE-HARVEST 2023 PLOT REPORTS AND NEWS

It seems like this season has swung through extremes, with very dry weather replaced by wet, humid conditions particularly in Illinois and Indiana.

At the 2023 FIRST summer team meeting in Rock Falls, IL, managers reported that many plots had started recovering from the drought conditions with mid-July rains.

Central Missouri plots suffered a deeper drought, and the corn plots are struggling (see yield check photo nearby). However the soybean plots faired better, with excellent stands.

South central Minnesota had heavy spring rainfall, but plots were doing reasonably well. Central Minnesota has more adequate moisture than recent years. Kansas and southeast Nebraska manager Adam Stuteville captured the uneven pollination that has occurred in very hot temperatures at pollination (see photo nearby).

Overall, there has been a lot of variability this season, including the wildfire smoke, very dry emergence conditions in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and other stressors. There are a handful plots with herbicide damage, which will be reported when possible.

FIRST is gearing up for fall, and will make Harvest Reports available, typically within 2 days of harvest, using email notifications, at www.firstseedtests.com, and posting on Twitter/X.

Visit us at the 2023 Farm Progress Show August 29-31 in Decatur, IL. This is FIRST's first ever appearance there: Booth VIT9116

Above - FIRST 2023 summer team meeting in Rock Falls, IL hosted by FIRST Manager Nathan Roux.

Sweet Springs MO corn yield check - Bill Schelp

Above -- Sweet Springs, MO 2023 corn trial yield checks. Photo courtesy of Bill Schelp, FIRST M.S.R.

Stuteville incomplete pollination in hot eastern Kansas weather

Above --Incomplete corn pollination in hot weather, Spring Hill, KS. Photo courtesy of Adam Stuteville, Agri-Seed Research LLC.

There are 8 plots across the program that are featured in DTNPF.COM Special Video Reports. Stationary cameras are capturing the season, and DTN presents them as time lapses from a nightly snapshot. Other weather events are captured in real-time also (see Gridley, IL derecho storm June 29, 2023 and thunderstorm at Sanborn, IA July 10 2023).

Camera recording is triggered when significant movement occurs in the scene, though the team in the video (nearby) at New Richland, MN is likely to get fired for their unauthorized visit.

SEE DTN SPECIAL REPORTS

FIRST - Deer family visiting New Richland, MN corn plot, August 9, 2023.

DTN #DIGITALYIELDTOUR - REPORTING WITH FIRST

Adam Stuteville DTN Interview - July 2023

DTN / The Progressive Farmer worked with FIRST plot hosts and research managers as part of their #DigitalYieldTour series this August. Adam Stuteville provided an overview of crop conditions in east central Kansas and his plots, and discussed how FIRST trials work and why they are valuable to farmers. Thanks to DTN reporters Jason Jenkins (@JasonJenkinsDTN) and Katie Dehlinger (@KatieD_DTN) for their work on the tour.

Stuteville's interview with DTNPF.COM

MORE FROM DTNPF.COM

Jamin Ringger 2023 season at Gridley, IL

Gridley, IL plot host Jamin Ringger describes the 2023 season with DTN's Katie Dehlinger.

Nathan Roux 2023 season in Illinois FIRST plots

Nathan Roux, manager for the Illinois East Central region plot at Gridley, IL discusses the FIRST trials.

Time lapse video of Gridley, IL corn plot

DTN's Special Report time lapse video of the Gridley, IL corn plot.

Visit FIRST at the Farm Progress Show #VIT9116

INTRODUCING THE NEW WWW.FIRSTSEEDTESTS.COM

FIRST has updated the website that delivers trial results to the public for FREE. Updated tools for viewing Harvest Reports, Region Summaries, and individual corn and soybean Product Results for each seed tested in FIRST trials are now at www.firstseedtests.com.

The goal is to make FIRST's yield results available faster and easier than ever. FIRST is a farmer-led organization that provides unbiased, independent data to improve yield and profitability for American corn and soybean farmers.

Home page, click "Add to Home Screen" to use the website as an app.

INTERACTIVE REPORTS

The Reports pages now use location matching to show reports that are near you and your area of interest. Use the Location and Distance selectors to move or expand the reporting area. Filter the results by factors like maturity, tillage, soil texture, and more.

FIRST interactive Product Results report

INTERACTIVE PRODUCTS

The Products pages also use location matching to show products tested in your area. Again, adjust the location and distance selectors, brand, maturity, technology and trial count filters to find corn hybrids and soybean varieties of interest. Each seed Product Results report lists the FIRST trials for all locations and years in which the seed was tested.

GENERAL SEARCH

There is now a general Search feature, that allows you to quickly find the brand, hybrid, variety, or location (by place name) you are interested in. Report comments are included in the search, to find key words like drought, cover crop, white mold, and more.

REPORT ARCHIVE

Past FIRST reports since 2008 are available on the Archive page. The Harvest Reports, Region Summary Reports, and other regional PDF publications are listed similar to older versions of the website.

VIEW THE 2023 FIRST PROGRAM GUIDE

Unbiased, Accurate Yield Testing. Every Time.

Farmers' Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) www.firstseedtests.com