Stine^® short-stature corn receives national award

ADEL, Iowa — Stine^® Seed Company’s short-stature corn is the recipient of Agri Marketing magazine’s 2023 Product of the Year award. Established in 2001, the award recognizes products and services making a significant impact on the production of food, fuel, feed, fiber and protein.

“The program is held to recognize the outstanding technology that is being introduced to North American crop and livestock producers to help them become more efficient and profitable,” says Lynn Henderson, the publication’s publisher/editorial director. “This year, the program’s judges selected Stine’s short-stature corn to join the elite products, which have included Roundup Ready technology, Bt-traited corn, John Deere’s autonomous tractor, plus many others.”

As part of the recognition, Agri Marketing featured founder Harry Stine and his son, company president Myron Stine, in an interview on the short-stature corn journey titled “Shorter is smarter for corn growers.”

“When we started this journey 15 years ago, the goal was never to make corn shorter but simply to increase yields,” says Myron Stine. “Now, growers can plant at increased populations per acre and in narrower rows to maximize yield potential and profits thanks to Stine short-stature corn.”

Judging criteria for the award included categories such as market environment, industry recognition, benefit and value added to the marketplace, and strategic marketing/sales approach. A panel of distinguished agribusiness professionals judged this year’s awards. Henderson notes the judges were selected based on their independence, broad and deep knowledge of agricultural technology, and leadership in the industry. Judges included:

• Jim Borel, executive VP of DuPont (retired) who oversaw its DuPont Pioneer, Crop Protection and other ag/food divisions;

• Clayton Becker, president/CEO of Farmers National Co., which is the nation’s largest professional farm management firm overseeing over 2 million acres of cropland. He is also a former executive of Syngenta;

• The late Bill Northey, former CEO of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Undersecretary of the USDA; 

• Scott Downey, director of Purdue University’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business and a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics;

• Ryan Hassebrook, CEO of Servitech, the nation's largest independent crop consulting firm; and 

• Lynn Henderson, publisher/editorial director of Agri Marketing magazine who has served on the boards of directors of the National 4-H Council, National Agri-Marketing Association, National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants and several other organizations.

Learn more about Stine short-stature corn by visiting the Ask the Agronomist Blog or listening to this episode of the Stine Seedcast. Speak to your local Stine rep to explore short-corn options.