ASK THE AGRONOMIST BLOG

The Stine Seedcast, our biweekly podcast, is celebrating one year of connecting growers with the latest Stine news. Since its inception in November 2021, we’ve delivered informative and fascinating stories from Stine leadership, employees and industry experts. From timely agronomic advice to historical reviews of Stine through the decades, the Stine Seedcast has proven to be an excellent way to share the Stine story and deliver key expertise to growers during the most critical times.

“We are excited to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Stine Seedcast,” says David Thompson, host of the podcast. “When we started the Seedcast, our goal was simply to provide an outlet for some of the stories that make Stine so unique. There are many more great stories to share, along with relevant agronomic guidance and recommendations that can be extremely valuable to our grower-customers."

A major milestone
While celebrating a year’s worth of great content is exciting, we’ve also achieved another milestone this month. To date, the Stine Seedcast has approximately 14,000 total downloads.

Podcasts are becoming a more popular way to consume content in the ag sphere where the amount of media consumed continues to increase. In fact, according to our friends at Successful Farming and their recent Farmer Media Trends Research Review, podcasts are a growing medium in the agriculture sector. Their report indicates that media use of podcasts has increased from 29% in 2017 to 53% in 2022. And of the ag audience members consuming podcasts, 59% say they listen to stay up to date on news and current events.

“This is exactly what we strive to provide with the Stine Seedcast,” says Thompson. “A bit of company history, personal profiles, news and updates, and hopefully some entertainment along the way. And perhaps the most important aspect for our grower customers is they’re getting timely information that can help them maximize returns on their operations. We hope that our listeners find the content valuable.”

New episodes of the Stine Seedcast drop biweekly on Tuesdays. Stay tuned for our next episode coming out Tuesday, Nov. 20, where we bring on Jay Stroh of Albaugh — a leading supplier of crop protection products — on the episode to discuss the base products in seed treatments and how they can help boost the performance of your crop.

To those who already listen to the Stine Seedcast — thank you for making year one such a success. We look forward to bringing more valuable content your way in the next year. If you’re new to the Stine Seedcast — welcome! Episodes are available on your favorite podcast platforms, including Spotify, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Happy listening!

Join Stine^® in our countdown for success in 2023. We’ve always held firm that our line of Enlist E3^® soybeans is unmatched in the industry. And just as growers are mapping out their 2023 seed plans, we have the numbers to show our products are leading edge. We call it the Stine 3-2-1 Advantage — data-backed research that proves we have the best of the best when it comes to soybean genetics.

“Stine is synonymous with soybeans and for good reason,” says Myron Stine, company president. “We have the industry’s largest private seed breeding program, which means we’re continuously developing new, higher-performing seed. But even more important is that we understand the value of data. We know that’s what growers want and need to help them make educated decisions for their farms. Now, we’re excited to share our 3-2-1 Advantage. It’s research growers can trust from a brand that cares deeply about their success.” 

Let the countdown begin.

3…

Stine Enlist E3 soybean lines are 3 bushels/acre better compared to the leading competing trait platform. In 2021, Stine conducted 128 side-by-side comparisons putting Stine enlist E3 against the leading competing trait and brand (Asgrow^® XtendFlex^® soybeans). These plots were properly conducted to ensure a fair playing field for both soybean brands, which means all soybeans were planted in the same location at the same population and row spacing and with the same equipment. Only some like maturities were compared. Stine Enlist E3 genetics had a 73% win rate over the leading competitor trait and brand, resulting in a 3.3-bushel advantage. Even more, our newest E-series line of Enlist E3 soybeans had a 78% win rate versus the competition, resulting in a 4.8-bushel advantage (more than $50/acre profit potential).

2…

All Stine soybean lines are 2 bushels/acre better compared to all competing brands. In 2021, we received data from 306 Stine customers who planted side-by-side field comparisons.. It’s important to note that these were not our plots, but fields planted by growers who not only planted Stine, but also a variety of other competitors. They, too, used the same location, same field type, same machinery, planting population, and row width for each brand and trait platform. At the end of the day, Stine brand soybeans outperformed the competition 72% of the time, coming in at an average of 60.5 bushels/acre compared to other brands at 58.5 bushels/acre. This is a 2-bushel advantage (or $26.00/acre profit potential).

1…

Stine leads the industry in soybean genetics, and we are committed to being No. 1 not only in product performance but also in quality and customer service.

“Stine wants to be No. 1 and prove that Stine cares more,” says Myron. “Stine is the fourth largest soybean brand and the largest private Enlist E3 soybean brand. No one understands soybeans better than we do. It is our goal to also be No. 1 in product quality and customer service. This is a huge initiative for us, and we look forward to proving it in 2023.”

Growers need the data to make smart decisions on their farms. Stine’s 3-2-1 Advantage is what sets us apart in the soybean game. For more information on our 3-2-1 Advantage or to learn about our 2023 soybean lineup, contact your local Stine sales rep or regional sales agronomist.

Deciphering product performance from plot data can be beneficial for growers making educated seed decisions for the next planting season. You’ve likely already heard from several agronomists from different seed companies presenting their latest local and regional plot results. This is all great information to have, but it’s important to understand what you’re looking at and ask the right questions to make a better decision for your operation. 

One rule of thumb we tell growers is to always keep this equation top of mind:

Genetics + Management + Environment = Yield

“Genetics are only part of the equation,” says Tony Lenz, Stine corn technical agronomist. “Growers need to look at the big picture, as many factors go into producing top-end yield. They need to consider the environment they’re in and the management strategies they employ and those used in the plot results being presented to them. Growers need to take a comprehensive approach to decipher plot data.”

Ask the right questions
When reviewing plot data with your local seed company and dealers, we recommend asking questions to help you better understand what you’re looking at on paper. A few questions we recommend include the following:

1. How was the plot set up? How many products were used for comparison and at what replication?
   Essentially, you want to ensure you’re looking at fair results.
   
   “You really want to make sure  the plots were done right,” says Bill Kessinger, Stine corn technical agronomist. “What’s the plot length? Are you only seeing data from a good-quality plot? How many rows per product were used for the comparison? What was the row width used? How were the comparisons replicated? Were hybrids of similar stature and height used in the plot or could there be potential for a shading effect? These are all important questions to ask when reviewing plot data."
   
   
2. Was the Least Significant Difference Value (LSD) considered?
   LSD is generally reported in plot results and designates the number (typically in bushels/acre) that separates entries without making them significantly different. For example, if Hybrid A made 152 bu/acre and Hybrid B made 141 bu/acre and the LSD of the plot was 13 bu/acre, that data indicates that Hybrid A was not better than Hybrid B, but rather random chance likely accounted for the difference in the two.
   
   
3. What is the product performance history of this plot? Have you done trials in previous years, and what were those results?
   As growers, you understand all too well that no year is the same and Mother Nature brings different variables that will impact yield. It’s important to get what history you can of that plot or of similar plots near that location to determine performance in different years.
   
   “You may have stress in one area this year that skews the data, but we need to think bigger picture,” says Lenz. “If you had a drought year that hurt your yields, you can evaluate data for drought tolerance, but you need to look at how that hybrid did in a lot of different environments year over year. There’s a lot of variabilites to look out for, especially in a year like 2022.”
   
   Make sure to ask how specific products of interest perform in good growing years and in years where stressors such as drought or high moisture could have impacted yields. Always ask for several years of data if available.
   
   
4. Is standard deviation (SD) or coefficient variation (CV) data available?
   SD and CV are typically provided for strip trial plots and are used to report individual hybrid performance in a given location but in a larger context. SD is a mathematical formula that reports one deviation from the mean in a “normal” distribution or bell curve. CV states the SD as a percentage. These terms are basically the same thing; they show you how far the average of Product A deviated from the mean of the plot. Going back to our earlier example, if Hybrid A yielded 152 bu/acre and the average of the plot was 155 bu/acre with a SD of 6, the data indicates that Hybrid A was within the normal distribution of hybrid yields in that plot, regardless of overall yield numbers.
   
   “In our Stine plots, we ensure all plot performance is reported in percent of plot average,” says Kessinger. “This means that if products of similar maturities demonstrate performance of 100% or higher, they are within the normal distribution of yields in the plots.”

With these questions answered and after thorough review of the results, you should be in a position to make sound production decisions for your operations. For more tips on deciphering plot data, review this article or contact your local Stine sales rep or regional sales agronomist.