Over the last eight decades, corn yields have increased as rows have gradually narrowed. Stine is now positioned to dramatically speed up that trend through our HP corn research. The days of consistently averaging 300 – or even 400 – bushels per acre in your corn fields may not be far off, as we develop new genetics specifically for high population environments.
For years, Stine has been breeding hybrids designed for planting at higher populations. They’re shorter and narrower than traditional hybrids, with leaves that grow upright to catch more sunlight. Most importantly, these plants have the stalk strength and disease package suited for high populations.
Last year, our HP corn planted in 12-inch rows reached 300-plus bu/acre in areas with the best growing conditions. This year, we took our HP corn research to the next level, planting thousands of acres in 12-inch rows at the Stine Farm. The narrower rows allow us to push populations up around the 51,000 mark. Only hybrids bred specifically for this purpose will thrive at these populations.
We also planted dozens of demonstration plots across the Corn Belt to give growers a firsthand look at how some hybrids are well suited for higher populations and some are not.
We recently introduced a new resource for growers interested in HP corn. The website www.stineseed.com/hp includes a video describing our research, the characteristics of HP corn hybrids, the locations of our HP corn demo plots, the equipment we customized to plant in narrower rows and much more. We encourage you to visit the site to learn more about the philosophy behind HP corn and why it makes so much sense.
With aggressive breeding programs and an eye on the future, Stine is the seed company that’s creating the hybrids that will shape tomorrow’s corn yields.