b'says theyve been working to manage it dynami- Unique to most years, he says, this is across the cally. 33%country; very few areas are sheltered from these Between corn, soybeans and other crops, theof the U.S. corn cropchallenges.company has around 40 U.S. production loca- was not planted as ofHe explains that every year, Bayer builds out a tions, he says. Weve got a lot of geographicJune 2. production plan for what it intends to sell the fol-diversity, but there were also large areas impacted. lowing season. In that, he says they incorporate a We were fortunate that we could adjust wherelevel of risk management.seed was being produced. We made some acreageOne of the advantages that we have is the shifts, but we were able to get our crop planted at61% ability to plant a seed crop for corn and soybeans a reasonable time and have good expectations forof the U.S. soybeanacross a vast maturity and geography range, he the yields. crop was not plantedsays. As of now (June), the company is on target Glenn explains they contract with farmers andas of June 2.with its plan to deliver a good 2020 crop.deal with the same challenges as their customers. Weve been working very closely with produc-Weve got longstanding relationships withers to make sure we are prioritizing the right fields at farmers, so if we need to do some flexing and gothe right time. Theres no specific manual weve got out and try to acquire acres, we can, Glenn adds.92.8 to operate from when it comes to working with seed We also have a good history with our genetics,million acres of corngrowers. We allow for that local autonomy for each so we understand where products are going towas the USDAssite, because everybodys challenges are different.perform well. planting forecast inDuring the planting season, Uhe says their local Obviously, we are trying to get our seed pro- March.teams get information from growers daily and then duced in the areas where they have the highestthey get weekly updates, as well.probability of success, reliability, yields and goodIts the close contact with growers and continu-quality. We are taking all those factors into effect.ous evaluation of a plan, with plenty of Plan Bs, that We got to use all of our 90-plus years of experi- 23allow companies such as Corteva Agriscience and ence and knowledge all in one season, it felt like. states receviedBayer to manage production and get farmers the Tyler Uhe, Bayer soybean line product manager,above average orseed they need for the following seasonhope-says this has been one of the most challengingmuch above averagefully one thats much less challenging.SWplanting seasons many have experienced in a longprecipitation in June.time. SEPTEMBER 2019SEEDWORLD.COM /13'