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If there is a need in Dennis Gienger’s central Iowa community, residents can count on him to step up and become involved. In his hometown of Gladbrook — with a population of less than 800 people — Gienger, who makes his living as a corn and soybean farmer as well as a pork and beef producer, has owned the town’s bowling alley, facilitated housing projects and led the town’s annual Corn Festival. Most recently, you can add grocery store owner to his list of accomplishments.

In 2019, when the owners of Hometown Foods announced they were selling the store, Gienger knew someone had to rally to keep it in town. With the nearest grocery store 20 miles away, he set his sights on keeping this vital asset in Gladbrook. And, when Gienger puts his mind to something, it gets done.

A can-do, solution-seeking mindset focused on having strong relationships with people has made Gienger successful. Many years ago, those same attributes attracted him to involvement with Stine^® Seed Company. He was introduced to the company while Stine was sponsoring car races, and Gienger, along with his fellow county pork producers, grilled fresh pork in conjunction with the races.

“I got to know the company, and I liked Harry Stine’s philosophy,” explains Gienger, who has been growing Stine seed for 15 years. “Harry runs his operation a lot like I run mine. If a change needs to be made, it gets made, and the outcome turns out to be even better. When I call Stine to sponsor or help with an event, they come forward and do it. I appreciate their commitment to producers and communities.”

When Gienger needs seed in the spring, he calls his Stine representative, and “Boom, it’s here,” he says. Over 3,000 acres, much of Gienger’s corn and soybeans are converted to high-quality feed for 8,000 pigs and approximately 100 cows.

For Gienger, Stine’s genetics and yield drew him to the company. “The other thing I like about Stine is the people. Whether it’s Harry, Kirk Kintz, Dustin Ellis, David Thompson or a long list of others, every single person is outstanding,” he adds, noting the longevity of much of the staff speaks volumes about the company 

Exceptional service is a fundamental cornerstone of why Stine is successful, and it’s an approach Gienger also embodies to help his community. 

Acres and Aisles of Support

Farmers are used to helping fuel communities by producing food sold at grocery stores and restaurants. But actually owning a grocery store is not the typical way a farmer connects with consumers. Farmers work in acres but not necessarily aisles.

Rural counties, such as Tama County in Iowa, can easily become food deserts with low access to food, which leads to significant economic and health challenges. A survey of rural Iowa counties meeting the “food desert” criteria found that large segments of the population lacked adequate consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy and protein. Keeping grocery stores in small communities is essential. In rural Iowa, 43% of grocery stores in towns with less than 1,000 people closed from 1995 to 2005.

As a pork producer, Gienger was also motivated to keep Hometown Foods in business for another aspect of his commitment to community. Along with other county pork producers, Gienger regularly grills pork for fundraising and educational events.

Gienger relied on being able to store pork for these large events in a freezer at the grocery store. He didn’t know what the Tama County Pork Producers and the community would do if the grocery store closed. So, he put together a program to buy it and partnered with Tandi Davis, who became the store’s general manager.

Farm-to-Fork Experiences

Aside from local and state events, every February, Gienger spends 11 days grilling pork at the Florida State Fair, helping FFA kids raise money while also building consumer confidence in modern agriculture among fairgoers. Gienger then invites the Florida FFA kids to visit Iowa to gain firsthand agriculture experiences in the heartland. They’ve toured Stine’s headquarters and local farms and businesses. 

“Today, most people are several generations removed from the farm,” says Gienger, who is a third-generation farmer. “It’s important that farmers speak up and help consumers understand where their food comes from and the lengths farmers go to ensure a safe, healthy food supply. A huge part of this effort starts with young people.”

From offering high-quality produce to delectable deli-fresh items, serving the community with fun (and delicious!) perks always tops the “grocery list of must-have items” for Gienger and Davis. From free ice cream Fridays to pork cookouts in the store’s parking lot, serving up value to loyal patrons keeps customers excited about shopping local.

“The support we get from businesses is incredible,” Gienger says, noting that Stine has sponsored and volunteered with many events. “To be successful, you must have good relationships and put a face with who you are and what you’re doing. It’s important for me to do this, and Stine is always stepping up to do the same.”

Research, genetics and data are what set Stine’s corn breeding program apart from industry competitors. Stine^® hybrid seed corn is developed on a foundation of science, and the material we place in growers’ fields is time tested for proven performance. Over the last few weeks, we’ve explored how the birth of a hybrid begins at the Stine Seed Farm through inbred development and our self-pollinating process and how it advances through our nursery in South America to continue the selfing process. To cap off our series, we dive into our unique Pre-Elite and Elite Yield Trials and how our hybrid seed corn completes the final steps to prepare for launch in the marketplace. 

For 21 years, Stine’s head of corn research Jason Behn has worked within the ebbs and flows of our corn breeding program. He’s spent many years researching, testing and bringing new corn hybrids to market. This year, he and his team are testing nearly 50,000 new hybrids through our Pre-Elite Trials program in 42 yield trial locations throughout the Corn Belt, ranging from North Dakota to Missouri and Michigan.

“Evaluating corn inbreds is an extremely important component of our corn breeding program,” says Behn. “It’s these inbreds that we cross to make our ‘test hybrids’ that advance through our Pre-Elite Trials. These are the hybrids that, through our research in the early stages of our program, have displayed a strong genetic background from their inbred parents. We won’t advance anything that doesn’t perform and that the data doesn’t back.”

What are Stine’s Pre-Elite Trials?

Stine’s Pre-Elite Trials are Stop 1 in a hybrid’s journey to commercialization. These hybrids have never been tested against other hybrids before. It’s here that they are “checked” against our current products in the system.

“Uniformity is key to our Pre-Elite Trials,” says Behn. “We make sure every variable is aligned, including fertilizer and herbicide applications, the soil types the hybrids are placed in, planting space and population. We even have a planter that is designed with compaction in mind so that every hybrid has the same tire tracks going by it. All hybrids have an equal playing field throughout the season in our Pre-Elite Trials.”

Before hybrids are placed in Pre-Elite Trials, they are grouped by maturity. The genetic background of the hybrid’s parents helps us determine the maturity of our test hybrids. It’s critical that each hybrid is planted in its correct maturity zone.

Once the hybrids have undergone a growing and harvest season in one of our 42 Pre-Elite Yield Trial locations, only the top-performing testers advance.

“Only 5% to 10% of test hybrids advance to the next phase in our program — Elite Yield Trials,” says Behn. “The hybrids that don’t make it through are disposed of. If they don’t show strong potential in our Pre-Elites and up against what’s in our current lineup in the market, there’s no value in moving them forward. Our vetting system is very thorough; we know that we’re advancing the right products each year.”

Once a hybrid “graduates” from the Pre-Elite Trials, their inbred parents undergo more selfing reps in our South American winter nurseries in Argentina and Guyana so that we can produce more material from both parents for additional hybrid crosses.

 “A finished inbred is generally F7 or higher, so we continue to self the inbreds before Elite Yield Trials to get that material to the F6 and F7 level,” says Behn. “With each selfing generation, we’re lowering the heterosis, or simply continuing to purify the inbred.”

What comes next in our corn breeding program?

Stine’s Elite Yield Trials are the final stop on a hybrid’s path to commercialization. Hybrids typically spend up to two to three years in our Elite Yield Trials before advancing to market to ensure they have consistently met all performance checks throughout the program.

“In our Elite Yield Trials, we have more reps than our Pre-Elite Trials, meaning we plant more seed and conduct more research,” says Behn. “This allows us to review more data points, which ultimately ensures we’re looking at how that hybrid performs against several different environmental and agronomic variables. Only the best of the best advance, so it takes time and diligence to sort out the true and consistent top performers.”

In our Elite Yield Trials, new hybrids are evaluated not only against our current material in the lineup but also competitor hybrids. Like our Pre-Elite Trials, we ensure consistency in uniformity. We test all hybrids under multiple populations, row configurations and environments, but we do so in a way that ensures each hybrid, even our competitors’, is getting equal treatment.  

“What’s a bit unique about our Elite Yield Trials is that we test in varying row configurations, including three 15-inch rows and then a 30-inch gap between the test hybrids,” says Behn. “That allows us to test the hybrids in multiple populations. The middle row is getting tested at a higher rate than the two outside rows. This gives us more data on how it will perform in different environments, row spacing and populations — something that makes Stine’s breeding program unique and helpful in providing a real-world look at how these hybrids will perform when they hit the field.” 

Once a hybrid has proven itself, we take time to build up the seed stock so that it’s available to our grower customers. This occurs at our winter corn nurseries in South America and throughout our plot system in the U.S. From there, we begin the trait conversion process, where our top-performing material is combined with industry-leading traits. We also reserve conventional seed for growers who want high yield but without the addition of a trait.

“Even our conventional seed is the best out there,” says Behn. “We divide the good from the OK or even bad in our Pre-Elite and Elite Yield Trials so that, no matter the hybrid, growers are truly getting the highest-performing option in the bag. We don’t breed one-hit wonders in our program; our process and testing won’t allow it.”

To learn more about Stine’s industry-leading corn breeding programs and our selection of high-yielding corn products for the 2024 season, contact your local Stine sales rep today.

Stine^® hybrid seed corn goes through an extensive process before it’s released for commercialization. In last week’s article, we explored what makes our corn breeding program more efficient than others in the industry, and the beginning stages of corn development at our nursery on the Stine Seed Farm. This week, we discuss new inbred development, which is another important step in our corn breeding program.

How are new inbreds developed?

“New inbreds are developed by making crosses between inbreds that have successfully completed the final stage of yield trials,” says Warren Stine, assistant director of corn research. “These crosses are made either in isolation blocks or in the nursery. Seed from these crosses is then shipped to our winter nursery in Guyana, where it is planted in late November and then self-pollinated, or ‘selfed.’”

Once the seed reaches Guyana, our team onsite will harvest the seed in February (Generation 1) and then plant it and self it again to harvest in May (Generation 2). This seed will be planted, selfed and harvested again in August (Generation 3) and then again in November (Generation 4). Each individual cross from the prior year, which originated on the Stine Seed Farm nursery in Adel, is now assigned a population number, and each ear harvested from that population is assigned a line number.

“Each generation of selfing drives a process of genetic recombination during which new characteristics start to segregate out,” says Stine. “After three generations of selfing, individual plants have an ear that is unique and stable enough to test yield.”

Each line (ear) will have some seed placed in an isolation block where it will be used as a female for crossing to make a test hybrid. The seed from the line (ear) not placed in the isolation block is shipped back to Adel, where it is selfed in the Adel nursery. The hybrid seed created in the Guyana isolation block are placed in Stine’s Pre-Elite testing program.

“Crosses made this year in Iowa will go to Guyana and spend all of 2024 there,” says Stine. “In 2025, the progeny and hybrid test seed from those crosses will return to Iowa. The hybrids go into the yield trial, and the inbreds go into the nursery for selfing.”

What are corn isolation blocks?

Corn isolation blocks are important to developing new corn inbreds. Essentially, they are fields that are isolated from outside sources of pollen. This ensures purity in the product, where no external source can pollinate the female inbreds. The fields are isolated either by date or space.

“We use isolation blocks to increase seed stock and create hybrid crosses and new population crosses,” says Stine. “These fields always have one male inbred serving as a pollen source. All female inbreds are required to be detasseled. Several thousand unique female inbreds can be used in a single isolation block.”

The detasseling process in isolation blocks is a critical step and requires daily walking for tassels until all female inbreds are completely detasseled. As these females are of varying maturities, the detasseling process can take several weeks. This year, on the Stine Seed Farm, we have roughly 207 acres split between 50 isolation blocks. Planting dates were April 28 to June 12. The blocks were planted in a six and two pattern, and we used 121,013 row tags, or about 19 miles worth of tags to mark inbreds.

Now that we’ve explored how inbreds are developed and used in our corn breeding program, next week we’ll focus on how hybrids and conventional seed corn advance through Stine corn yield trials and, eventually, to commercialization. Stay tuned for Part 3 next Thursday.