LOWER SEEDING RATE MORE ECONOMICAL
Northeast Texas wheat farmers may be planting more seed than they need for top yield and cost effectiveness. Seeding rate is one of the most misunderstood input variables in the production of soft red winter wheat in Northeast Texas. Recent surveys show that the most common seeding rate in the region is 100 to 120 pounds of seed per acre. Yet numerous research trials over the past 25 years have shown that the most productive seeding rate is somewhere between 60 and 90 pounds of seed per acre. Reducing seeding rate can save farmers money on up-front production expenses and also reduce potential for some other problems. Higher seeding rates are more susceptible to lodging.
Buying good seed is crucial. Certified seed is an excellent and affordable investment. A low seeding rate of a good certified variety will produce more grain and profit than any seeding rate from an inferior variety from the bin. The most cost effective seeding rate over the past 20 years for certified seed has been 60 to 90 pounds per acre. The need to combine lower seeding rates with an adequate phosphate fertility program to encourage tillering. Row-placed phosphate is the best and cheapest way to go, as one pound of phosphate in the row will produce the same results as two pounds, broadcast. This will cut the cost of starter fertilizer in half.
Trials from 1985 through 2010 demonstrate the advantage of lowering seeding rates. Data show that a 30-bushel per-acre seeding rate results in a surprisingly high 54.4 bushel-per-acre yield and a $273.60 return over seed cost. (That’s based on seed cost of $20 per 50 pound unit at $5.25 per bushel.) At 60 pounds per acre, yield increases to 60.7 bushels per acre and return per unit goes to $294.68. At a 90-bushel seeding rate, yield is up slightly, 62.3 bushels per acre, but return drops slightly to $291.08. With 120 bushels per acre, yield is 62.4 bushels and return dips to $279.60.
Lowering seeding rates in combination with row-placed phosphate is one of the few instances where growers can actually reduce their input costs and increase their profits with no penalty on yield. This practice also makes it possible for producers to buy and plant the best certified varieties available today.
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BIOTECH ACRES CONTINUE TO GROW GLOBALLY
As demand for corn and other crops continues to grow, farmers are meeting the challenge through the use of biotech crop varieties. Producing higher yields and alleviating stressors, the scientifically designed crops are growing in popularity the world over as farmers see firsthand their many advantages. Biotechnology has helped me produce more corn more consistently.
In 2010, just 15 years after the first biotech crops were commercialized, farmers in 29 countries planted and produced biotech crops on 366 million acres, according to a report published earlier this year by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications.
Growth remains strong, with biotech acreage increasing by 34.6 million acres, or roughly 10 percent, between 2009 and 2010 according to ISAAA report author Clive James. The report noted that the United States leads the way in acres planted at 165 million in 2010, followed by Brazil (63 million), Argentina (57 million), India (23 million), Canada (22 million), China (9 million), Paraguay (6 million), Pakistan (6 million), South Africa (5 million) and Uruguay (3 million). While the United States has been a leading adopter of biotech crops – reaching 94 percent of soybeans, 90 percent of cotton and 88 percent of corn acres this year – other countries, including Brazil, are expediting approvals of biotech crops. Brazil approved eight traits in 2010 alone, including approving one before the United States.
While U.S. farmers have led the way in adopting biotech crops, it’s safe to say other countries and regions are catching up. As more people understand firsthand the benefits of biotechnology, we’ll only see that accelerate. This will make it important for more countries to have sound regulatory systems in place to help ensure a reliable flow of grain, feed and food to those around the world who need it.
