b'PARTNER CONTENTIndependent Yield Trials Key to Getting Your Brand NoticedFor one company, regional field managers deliver data that helps growers cut through the hype and find out which corn and soybean hybrids will do best on their farm.W hen you ask farmer Darren Walter what he hopes for in the new year, his answer comes easily. We want to find those hybrids that can really fulfill their potential at the end of the day, says the grower from Grand Ridge, IL. In addition to being a corn grower, Walter also serves as a plot host for FIRST Seed Tests, which makes comparisons of seed genet-ics to improve yield and profitability for American corn and soybean farmers. Its yield trials provide what Walter and growers like him see as unbiased performance data.Farming has evolved. Growers have extensive businesses. They make the same decisions as anyone else with a stake in the seed sector. And that means they want unbiased data they know they can trust. Thats where FIRST Seed Tests come in. The company pro- Corey Rozenboom is FIRSTs field manager for northern Iowa and vides that unbiased field trial data by working directly with grow- owner of Alpha Ag Research, which specializes in field trials.ers to conduct trials that meet their high standards of quality and independence. Farmers know what FIRST is and the value it provides them, and its increasing in popularity across northern Iowa.Partnership Across the IndustryFIRST utilizes 12 field managers and their independent businessesMarketing Toolto coordinate its tests.Their professional research businesses areFIRSTs field trial data does more than just provide farmers with the key to FIRSTs partnerships within the seed industry, from seedvaluable information. According to Jason Beyers, FIRST field companies to growers. Field managers package, plant and harvestmanager in Illinois, field trials are a great marketing tool to allow the products tested. seed companies to get noticed by farmers.Seed companies sponsoring entries decide which products toThis is especially valuable if theyre trialing hybrids that test, where to test them and provide seed.theyre going to be selling the next year. Farmers use FIRST data Farmer plot hosts assist in test site selection, conduct produc- to make their seed purchases in November, not January. If a com-tion operations, and provide all inputs except seed. pany enters their corn hybrids and those hybrids perform well, it FIRSTs yield and agronomic results are reported for eachreally gives their sales force important tools to work with during individual test site and as a regional average over all sites in thethat crucial seed purchasing window, Beyers says.region. Test results are typically reported on its website withinBut FIRST doesnt just test the newest genetics, notes southern two days of harvest. Minnesota field manager Mark Querna.The field managers are professionals with decades of experi- We test both the new varieties and established hybrids that ence. Some are farmers themselves and a few do contract fieldare well known and trusted, which are important to include in the research apart from FIRST. These independent business ownerstests because comparing them to the newest hybrids will deter-are leaders in the FIRST group. mine just what kind of improvements have been made. Its about One of those leaders is Corey Rozenboom, field manager forgetting new seed products recognized in an unbiased and very northern Iowa and owner of Alpha Ag Research, which specializesfast way, Querna says.in field trials.Producer Mark Uittenbogaard says hes learned a lot from using Farmers are great businesspeople. Theyre going to search forFIRST reports to make seed decisions on his 700-acre Iowa farm.the best options to create the highest return on their farms andEvery seed company wins their own plots, but I have a lot of increase their profitability. So, FIRST provides a platform for thoserespect for the companies that enter products in FIRST trials, best products to shine and get great exposure in the reports that wehe says.provide online and circulate in the mailand media outlets, he says.For more information visit firstseedtests.comJANUARY 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /53'