With corn and soybean production down sharply this year, what will seed production be like and will there be enough seed for next year? It is not the lack of moisture that is hurting seed production, but the extreme heat. According to Sonny Beck of Becks Hybrids, “We had many days of 90 degrees and above during the 10 days most seed corn was pollinating and that really hurt production.” In addition, seed corn plants have much less pollen than regular field corn and the plants are further apart, so the pollen must travel farther. Beck told HAT that, both for his company and for the industry in general, production would likely be cut in half, “I think our production will be about 50% of what we expected.”
Yet, he hastened to assure farmers there will be enough seed for plant next year’s crop, “We planted twice as much as last year; so, even with a 50% reduction, we will have about the same amount of seed as we did a year ago. In addition, carryover and winter production should give most companies enough seed to meet demand. “Because we were prepared for unfortunate weather, we’re able to reassure our customers that we will have an adequate seed supply for 2013 planting,” said Beck. “As an independent seed company, we can make decisions quickly, giving our customers an advantage to access the best performing seed products, developed for their farm.”
Yet, with some estimates of that over 100,000 acres of corn may be planted next year, demand for seed will be high. Becks, however, remains optimistic they will be able to meet this higher demand. “To achieve the same amount of seed we produced last year, our production acres need to average 22 bu/a, which is about half of a normal year,” said Jason Morehouse, production manager. “And right now, that is what we’re averaging. Fortunately, over the past two weeks we’ve received some very
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