Final Report for LNC01-188
Project Information
The objectives of the research were to 1) assess agronomic performance and economic viability of open-pollinated corn varieties and varietal hybrids; 2) produce a manual with pertinent breeding and technical information that will instruct and aid producers in improving and propagating open-pollinated varieties; 3) increase awareness and knowledge of open-pollinated corn through workshops, seminars, and field tours; and 4) gain feedback from producers. Several open-pollinated varieties (including synthetic populations and population crosses) and varietal hybrids currently in breeding programs at North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute and Iowa State University were used in the project. Research was conducted at university research farms and farmer-cooperator sites in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota at several sites per state. Replicated strip trials were used to compare agronomic performance of open-pollinated varieties, varietal hybrids and synthetic populations and population crosses to commercial single-cross hybrids. Kernel protein, oil and mineral composition and suitability for dry-milling were also evaluated. An enterprise analysis was generated for each site using price assumptions for grain, and cooperator data was used to determine the actual costs and benefits associated with producing open-pollinated corn versus hybrid corn. All study results were summarized and published in a manual that will assist producers in improving and producing open-pollinated corn. Results were also presented at field tours, seminars, workshops, and conferences. We dealt with about 500 producers in the two years of the project.
Introduction:
An increased interest exists among corn producers to grow open-pollinated corn for four main reasons: economic considerations, grain quality, self-reliance, and independence from agricultural conglomerates. Commercial hybrid seed costs from $50 to $75 per acre to plant, excluding other input costs. Producers growing open-pollinated varieties (including synthetic populations) can produce their own seed from year to year, thus reducing their out-of-pocket costs for hybrid seed purchase. Unrelated open-pollinated varieties may have the potential to produce varietal hybrids that have economic yields comparable to single-cross commercial hybrids, and varietal hybrids are simple and inexpensive for growers to produce. For organic producers, this is especially important because of the substantial premium received for their product. There is also a concern among some farmers about single company control over pesticides, seed and marketing.
Many producers grow corn solely to feed to their own livestock. For them, nutrition is the most important factor because of profit realized from animal production. Most commercially available single-cross hybrids are developed solely for grain yield, with little attention given to nutritional qualities. Open-pollinated varieties can easily be improved for nutritional traits such as protein, oil, and trace elements.
Currently, most corn populations are utilized only to create inbred lines for single-cross hybrid development. The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in Wisconsin recently released a modern open-pollinated variety ('Nokomis Gold') that can be planted at high population densities with excellent stands. Five years of plot trials in southern Wisconsin have shown a yield of 15% less than high yielding commercial hybrids of the same maturity, but with protein values ranging from 9.5% to 12.2% compared to values of 8.0% to 9.5% for commercial hybrids. Preliminary studies suggest that 'Nokomis Gold' is economically competitive with commercial hybrids when grain prices range from $1 to $2 per bushel. These data are also significant to livestock producers because the higher grain protein further reduces total operational costs through improved feed efficiency. Seed of Nokomis Gold has been sold to 35 producers in Wisconsin and Minnesota, many of whom have sold this variety to other farmers. Feedback from these producers indicates an acceptance of this variety.
Further research is necessary to assess the economic costs and benefits of growing open-pollinated corn, to identify promising open-pollinated varieties, and to evaluate the most effective breeding techniques for producers to utilize. Once this has been accomplished, technology transfer through manuals, workshops, and field tours will be possible. Also, close participation between researchers and producers will establish meaningful working relationships between federal, state, and private industries and local corn producers.
Literature Review: The use of comparative budgets, partial budgeting and budget generators is quite common when attempting to evaluate the differences in costs and profitability levels between alternative production methods. Dhuyvetter et al. (1995) employed a partial budgeting framework to evaluate the cost and profitability differences between competing irrigation methods. This situation is very similar to our situation of evaluating different seed sources and their impact on farm profitability. The basis for evaluation is a detailed enterprise budget to determine all actual costs of production, revenue sources, and profitability. Separate budgets are typically created for different levels of production or technology employed (Kay and Edwards 1999). Enterprise budgets were the primary source of information for Funk et al. (1999) in their analysis of the profitability of different corn/soybean rotations under different input combinations. Using budget generators to develop these enterprise budgets is also a common practice. Taylor et al. (1996) used the Mississippi State Budget Generator to produce production budgets for a new livestock enterprise in Louisiana. The versatility of this process allows for adaptation to a wide variety of situations and will be quite appropriate in our enterprise analyses.
Worldwide and especially in the United States, corn seed production is primarily a function of private seed companies and is conducted on a very large scale. Because of farmers' acceptance of purchasing quality hybrid seed each year, the commercial hybrid corn seed industry has developed from small, family-owned businesses into large, multi-million dollar corporations which produce and market hybrid seed internationally (Hallauer 1987). Because of this, and because of the increased yield of single-cross hybrids over open-pollinated varieties, little attention has been given to the development and improvement of open-pollinated corn populations for agricultural purposes. CIMMYT conducted a large program examining the development and maintenance of open-pollinated corn varieties (CIMMYT 1999). However, we feel that their procedure was flawed because they used populations that were not adapted to some environments and because of a lack of pollen control during seed production.
Currently, open-pollinated corn populations, including synthetic cultivars, are used primarily in developing inbred lines which are then crossed to produce hybrids. These populations are also continuously improved using recurrent selection methods. Different methods of recurrent selection to improve yield, nutrition, and other agronomic traits in open-pollinated populations have all demonstrated good advances in genetic gain for all traits under improvement (Sprague and Eberhart 1977, Hallauer and Miranda 1981). Recurrent selection methods are employed in both private and public breeding programs. Public breeding programs at Land Grant universities often release their populations through their state Agricultural Experiment Stations and institutional foundation seed organizations. These populations can often be purchased by any interested party, including private seed companies, for a small fee. Many of the populations released by public institutions perform very well as populations per se and as population crosses, with some yielding only 15% to 20% less than some commercial hybrids of similar maturity and regional adaptation. This is especially important in high-stress, low-yielding environments because as the percent difference in yield remains the same, there are actually fewer bushels that comprise this difference while seed costs remain the same. Therefore, open-pollinated populations may have a niche in certain sustainable agriculture operations, especially in fringe areas of the Corn Belt. Farmers can produce their own seed of populations and population crosses from year to year with minimal effort and not have to pay for expensive hybrid seed each year. If the difference in input costs compensates for the lower yield, then it would be profitable for farmers to utilize open-pollinated populations in their operations.
Literature Citations
CIMMYT Technical Bulletin. 1999. Development, maintenance, and seed multiplication of open-pollinated maize varieties. CIMMYT Maize Program.
Dhuyvetter, K.C., F.R. Lamm, and D.H. Rogers. 1995. Subsurface drip irrigation for field corn: An economic analysis. In Proc. of the 5th Intn'l Microirrigation Congress: Microirrigation for a Changing World. Orlando, Florida, 2-6 April. p 395-401.
Funk, R.D., J.W. Mjelde, F.M Hons, and V.A Saladino. 1999. An economic analysis of a corn-soybean crop rotation under various input combinations in south-central Texas. Journal of Agriculture and Applied Economics vol. 31(1): p 69-81.
Hallauer, A.R. 1987. Maize. Chapter eight in Principles of Cultivar Development, vol. 2, W.R. Fehr (ed.). Macmillan Publishing Company, New York.
Hallauer, A.R. and J.B. Miranda Fo. 1981. Quantitative Genetics in Maize Breeding. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.
Kay, R.D. and W.M. Edwards. 1999. Farm Management (4th ed.). The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Sprague, G.F. and S.A. Eberhart. 1977. Corn Breeding. p 305-362 in Corn and Corn Improvement, G.F. Sprague (ed.). American Society of Agronomy, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin.
Taylor, G.L., J.M. Gillespie, and A. Schupp. 1997. Cost and returns estimates for ostrich production. Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers vol. 61: p 34-42.
The objectives of the research were to 1) assess agronomic performance and economic viability of open-pollinated corn varieties and varietal hybrids; 2) produce a manual with pertinent breeding and technical information that will instruct and aid producers in improving and propagating open-pollinated varieties; 3) increase awareness and knowledge of open-pollinated corn through workshops, seminars, and field tours; and 4) gain feedback from producers.
Cooperators
Research
Several open-pollinated corn varieties, recently developed synthetic populations and population crosses, and varietal hybrids are currently used in breeding programs at land grant institutions in the upper Midwest. They were evaluated at research farms and farmer-cooperator sites in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, with multiple sites per state. Only populations developed in and adapted to a particular region were used at sites within that region. Replicated strip trials were used to compare grain yield of synthetic and open-pollinated varieties and varietal hybrids to commercial single-cross hybrids. Other agronomic traits such as maturity, stand, stalk strength, and disease resistance were also observed and compared. Grain quality traits that were measured include silage quality, protein, oil, mineral composition and suitability for dry milling. Production costs, net returns, and profit (or loss) for each site in each state were calculated using a farm budget generator. Differences in cultural practices, tillage methods, input usage, and soil types were explicitly examined in each budget. Crop yields used in the budgets were the objective returns obtained from the project. Economic costs and returns were calculated per acre and per bushel for each site in each state. Since open-pollinated varieties, synthetic populations, population crosses and commercial single cross hybrids were grown in side-by-side strip trials, direct comparisons of profitability were made. The standard of comparison is therefore profitability, and not yields levels. Also, data from cooperators were used to determine the actual costs associated with the production of open-pollinated corn and varietal hybrids.
In Wisconsin and Minnesota, cooperator trials were coordinated by researchers at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI); in Iowa by the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI); in North Dakota by corn breeders at North Dakota State University (NDSU); and in South Dakota by corn breeders at South Dakota State University (SDSU). USDA/ARS personnel at Iowa State University also participated in the studies.
The results of pooling all of the data for both the northern and southern regions of the project are as follows.
North
The average yield for the open pollinated varieties was 60.11 bushels per acre. This may be compared with the average hybrid yield of 87.15 bushels per acre. There was no statistically significant difference in the yield variances (F test).
South
The average yield for the open pollinated varieties was 86.05 bushels per acre. This may be compared to the average hybrid yield of 111.5 bushels per acre. There was no statistically significant difference in the yield variances (F test).
However, when we look at the difference between yields in the two different regions there is a difference. Both the open pollinated and hybrid varieties had higher yields in the southern region. This difference was 25.93 bpa for the open pollinated corn and 24.34 bpa for the hybrid varieties. Both of the yield differences are significant at the .9995 level (t-test).
In comparing the best yielding open pollinated and hybrid varieties in the study we obtained the following results:
The top OP varieties were the BS22/BS21 at an average yield of 81.84 bpa over the two year trial. The top hybrid was the Farmers Choice at an average yield of 105.82 bpa over the two years. There is a statistical difference between the two yields at the .9995 level of significance.
Average performances
The performance of the best yielding varietal cross compared to the average performance of the hybrids is as follows. Averaged across locations and years, BS22/BS21 (avg.yield =83.2) and hybrids (avg.yield=101.2) differed at the .95 level. In order to obtain equal returns per acre, the hybrid needs to out-yield the OP variety by 11.5 bpa to offset the additional seed cost. There is a 23.98 bpa difference between the average yields. This would result in an additional $32.45 per acre being generated by the hybrid variety.
The break-even yield for each at the average cost of production in the study is:
OP avg. production cost /acre= $139.82
53.78 bpa break-even yield
Hybrid = $169.82
65.31 bpa break-even yield
Year 1, avg. yields (bpa)
South BS22/BS21 Hybrid Sig. level
Mugge 59.93 93.68 .975
Brunk 109.2 164.42 .975
Adams 99.2 100.12 no difference
Neely-Kinyon 66.55 74.9 no difference
Stute 87.3 135.3 .99
MFAI 109.77 107.87 no difference
Homan 127.13 152.87 .975
North
Hartmann 125.7 125.1 no difference
Brookings 76.9 128.57 .995
Astoria 34.97 31.38 no difference
Southeast 61.73 66.97 no difference
Gunnink 59.77 86.48 .95
Year 2
South
Mugge 95.3 125.77 .975
Brunk 109.97 153.38 .995
Adams 25.7 33.27 no difference
Neely-Kinyon 86.47 107.98 .99
Stute 86.67 107.98 .90
MFAI 90.77 90.88 no difference
Karl 95.27 115.65 .90
North
Hartmann 105.57 127.33 .975
Brookings 67.43 89.68 .975
Highmore 42.18 41.71 .975
Open-pollinated populations may have a niche in certain sustainable agriculture operations. Several of the evaluated sites in this study witnessed a compensation for the difference in input costs and yields in utilizing open-pollinated populations. Thus, the use of top performing open-pollinated populations can be a profitable alternative in small to medium farms. However, profitability can be increased if kernel quality is improved, and yields reduced by environmental stresses are improved.
Economic Analysis
Statistical Analysis of Corn Yield Data,
Individual Open Pollinated Varieties
Southern Sites
Year 1
Mugge
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There were significant yield differences between the three varieties at a minimum of the .90 level of significance.
Brunk
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. The yield differences between the three varieties were significant at a minimum of the .95 level of significance.
Adams
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was a yield difference between Nokomis Gold and BS22 at the .90 level. There was also a yield difference between Nokomis Gold and BSSS at the .9995 level. There was no significant yield difference between BS22 and BSSS.
Neely-Kinyon
There was no significant difference in either the variance or yields between the three varieties.
Stute
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was also no significant difference between the yields of Nokomis Gold and BS22. There was a yield difference between Nokomis Gold and BSSS at the .975 level and between BS22 and BSSS at the .95 level.
MFAI
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was also no yield difference between Nokomis Gold and BSSS and BS22 and BSSS. There was a yield difference between Nokomis Gold and BS22 at the .90 level of significance.
Homan
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was a yield difference between all three varieties at a minimum of the .99 level of significance.
Year 2
Mugge
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was a significant difference between Nokomis Gold, BS22, and BSSS at the .90 significance level. There was no difference between BS22 and BSSS.
Brunk
There was a difference in the variance between Nokomis Gold and both BS22 and BSSS. There was no difference in the variance of BS22 and BSSS. There was also a significant yield difference between Nokomis Gold and both BS22 and BSSS at a minimum of the .90 level. There is no difference between the yields of BS22 and BSSS.
Adams
There was no significant difference in either the variance or yield between any of the three varieties.
Neely-Kinyon
There is no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was also no difference in the yield between BS22 and BSSS. There was a significant difference between the yields.
Stute
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was also no significant difference in the yield between BS22 and BSSS. There was a yield difference between Nokomis Gold and both BS22 and BSSS at the .95 level.
MFAI
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties or in the yield between Nokomis Gold and either BS22 or BSSS. There was a significant difference in the yield between BS22 and BSSS at the .975 level.
Karl
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties or in the yields between Nokomis Gold and BS22 or between BS22 and BSSS. There was a significant difference in yield between Nokomis Gold and BSSS at the .975 level.
Northern Sites
Year 1
Hartmann
There was no significant difference in either the variance or yields between any of the three varieties.
Brookings
There was a difference in the variance between BS22 and BSSS. There was also a significant difference between the yields for all three varieties at a minimum of the .95 level.
Astoria
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties or in the yield between Nokomis Gold and BSSS or BS22 and BSSS. There was a significant difference in the yield between Nokomis Gold and BS22 at the .90 level.
Southeast
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties or in the yield between Nokomis Gold and BSSS. There was a significant difference between the yields for Nokomis Gold and BS22 and between BS22 and BSSS at a minimum of the .975 level.
Gunnink
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was a significant difference between the yields of all three varieties a t a minimum of the .90 level.
Year 2
Hartmann
There was a significant difference in the variance for Nokomis Gold and BSSS. There was also a significant difference in the yields between Nokomis Gold and BS22 and between BS22 and BSSS at a minimum of the .95 level. There is no difference in the yield between Nokomis Gold and BSSS.
Brookings
There was a difference in the variance between Nokomis Gold and BSSS and between BS22 and BSSS. There also was a significant difference between all three varieties at a minimum of the .90 level.
Highmore
There was no significant difference in the variance between any of the three varieties. There was a significant difference in the yield between all three varieties at a minimum of the .90 level.
Economic Analysis
Southern Sites
Mugge
Corn yield 62.25 bpa at $2.60/bu $161.85
Corn yield 93.68 bpa at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $243.68
Apply liquid manure, 2000 gal/ac $16.80
Field cultivate, 2X $15.20
Plant $11.60
Harrow, 2X $9.10
Rotary hoe $5.10
Cultivate, 2X $13.30
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $125.25
TOTAL OP $95.25
NET Hybrid $118.43
NET OP $66.60
Brunk (Yr 1)
Corn yield 114.3 at $2.60/bu (op) $297.18
Corn yield 164.42 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $427.92
Apply liquid manure, 3200 gal/ac $25.20
Spray $4.75
12 oz. of Roundup $3.27
½ pt. of 24D $0.70
Plant $11.60
Spray $4.75
30 lbs N (28%) $35.00
.75 pt. Dual $9.77
Spray $4.75
Callisto $22.00
Atrazine $4.13
Cultivate $6.65
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $186.72
TOTAL OP $156.72
NET Hybrid $241.20
NET OP $140.46
Brunk (Yr 2)
Corn yield 97.88 at $2.60/bu (op) $254.49
Corn yield 153.38 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $398.79
Apply liquid manure, 3300 gal/ac $25.20
Spray $4.75
12 oz. Roundup $3.27
1 pt. 24D $1.40
Spray (banded) $5.00
30 lbs. N (28%) $35.00
1/12 pt. Balance $8.89
1 pt. Aatrex $1.36
Plant $11.60
Cultivate and spray $10.00
40 lbs. of N (28%) $46.67
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $207.29
TOTAL OP $177.29
NET Hybrid $191.50
NET OP $77.20
Adams (Yr1)
Corn yield 96.85 at $2.60/bu (op) $251.81
Corn yield 100.12 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $260.31
Spread 6 tons/ac manure $18.10
Disc $8.10
Field cultivate $7.60
Plant $11.60
Rotary hoe $5.10
Cultivate $6.65
Pull weeds $7.00
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $118.30
TOTAL OP $88.30
NET Hybrid $142.01
NET OP $163.51
Neely-Kinyon (Yr1)
Corn yield 48.06 at $2.60/bu (op) $124.96
Corn yield 100.11 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $260.29
Spray $4.75
1.6 pt. Dual II Magnum $20.84
80 lbs. N (28%) $93.34
Chisel plow $11.20
Field cultivate $7.60
Plant $11.60
Cultivate $6.65
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $210.13
TOTAL OP $180.13
NET Hybrid $50.16
NET OP $55.17
Neely-Kinyon (Yr2)
Corn yield 76.44 at $2.60/bu (op) $198.74
Corn yield 107.98 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $280.75
Spread 6 tons manure/ac $18.10
Plow $11.95
Disc $8.10
Field cultivate $7.60
Plant $11.60
Rotary hoe, 3X $15.30
Cultivate, 2X $13.30
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $140.10
TOTAL OP $110.10
NET Hybrid $140.65
NET OP $88.64
Homan (Yr1)
Corn yield 159.29 at $2.60/bu (op) $414.15
Corn yield 152.87 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $397.46
Spray $4.75
1 qt. Restore $9.29
Chisel plow $11.20
Field cultivate $7.60
Disc $8.10
Field cultivate and harrow $11.00
Plant $11.60
180 lbs 0-0-50 $13.50
Harrow $4.55
Rotary hoe $5.10
Cultivate, 3X $19.95
Harvest $24.15
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $160.79
TOTAL OP $130.79
NET Hybrid $236.67
NET OP $283.36
Northern Sites
Stute (Yr1)
Corn yield 88.91 at $2.60/bu (op) $231.17
Corn yield 135.3 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $351.78
Chisel plow $13.10
Field cultivate $9.05
Plant $12.50
Spray $6.60
2.9 oz. Accent Gold $21.80
1 pt. surfactant $2.25
3 lbs. ammonium $0.75
Harvest $23.00
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $119.05
TOTAL OP $89.05
NET Hybrid $232.73
NET OP $142.12
Stute (Yr2)
Corn yield 71.61 at $2.60/bu (op) $186.18
Corn yield 101.47 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $263.82
Spread manure $18.10
Spray $6.60
2.3 qt. Harness Extra $20.28
13 oz. Roundup Ultramax $5.26
3 lbs. AMS $0.75
Plant $12.50
100 lbs. 9-23-30 $10.25
Rotary hoe $5.80
Spray $6.60
1 pt. Buctril $7.51
Cultivate $7.10
Harvest $23.00
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $153.75
TOTAL OP $123.75
NET Hybrid $110.07
NET OP $62.43
Brookings (Yr1)
Corn yield 65.47 at $2.60/bu (op) $170.22
Corn yield 128.57 at $2.60/bu $334.28
Chisel plow $7.79
Field cultivate $6.05
Spray $3.98
Bladex $14.50
Atrazine $4.13
100 lbs N (28%) $116.00
Plant $9.44
Cultivate $5.51
Harvest $17.87
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $215.27
TOTAL OP $185.27
NET Hybrid $119.01
NET OP -$15.05
Brookings (Yr2)
Corn yield 52.79 at $2.60/bu (op) $137.25
Corn yield 89.68 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $233.17
Chisel plow $7.79
Field cultivate $6.05
Spray $3.98
1 ½ pts. Dual II Magnum $19.54
100 lbs. N (28%) $135.54
Plant $9.44
Cultivate $5.51
Harvest $17.87
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $216.18
TOTAL OP $186.18
NET Hybrid $16.99
NET OP -$48.93
Astoria
Corn yield 30.61 at $2.60/bu $79.59
Corn yield 31.38 at $2.60/bu $81.59
Field cultivate $6.05
Plant $9.44
Harrow $3.86
Rotary hoe $4.49
Cultivate, 3X $16.53
Hand weed $7.00
Harvest $17.87
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $95.24
TOTAL OP $65.24
NET Hybrid -$13.65
NET OP $14.35
Southeast (Yr1)
Corn yield 46 at $2.60 (op) $119.60
Corn yield 66.97 at $2.60/bu (hybrid) $174.12
Chisel plow $6.05
Cultivate and spray $8.00
2.2 lbs. Bladex $14.50
1.5 lbs. Atrazine $4.13
100 lbs. N (28%) $116.00
Plant $9.44
Cultivate $5.51
Harvest $17.87
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $213.24
TotalOP $183.24
NET Hybrid -$39.12
NET OP -$63.64
Highmore (Yr2)
Corn yield 20.49 at $2.60 (op) $53.27
Corn yield 41.72 at $2.60 (hybrid) $108.47
Chisel plow $7.79
Field cultivate $6.05
Spray $3.98
1 ½ pts. Dual II Magnum $19.54
100 lbs. N (28%) $116.00
Plant $9.44
Cultivate $5.51
Harvest $17.87
Seed cost difference $30.00
TOTAL Hybrid $216.18
TOTAL OP $186.18
NET Hybrid -$107.71
NET OP -$132.91
Quality Information Data Entry Form, Year 2002
Sample Name, Sample No., Protein%, Oil%, Density, Moisture, Bu.Wt.
TRS7322xMBS1236 1 9.9 3.81 1.304 8.4 59.4
BSSS[R]C14/BSCB1 2 9.2 4.53 1.302 9.1 61.3
NG Tmt.4 3 9.9 4.65 1.302 9.0 61.4
BS21/BS22 4 9.2 4.21 1.285 7.7 57.7
Simons s450517 Tmt.2 5 7.2 4.19 1.258 8.0 58.1
Simons s450517 Tmt.2 6 9.1 4.52 1.296 9.1 61.5
NG Tmt.4 7 9.0 4.23 1.271 8.5 59.5 Mold
TRS7322xMBS1236 8 9.5 3.96 1.294 8.1 59.5
BSSS[R]C14/BSCB1 9 10.0 4.56 1.311 8.7 62.3
BS21/BS22 10 7.6 4.12 1.260 9.5 59.0
BS21/BS22 11 9.1 4.49 1.298 9.1 62.0
BSSS[R]C14/BSCB1 12 9.2 4.13 1.267 7.4 56.5 Mold
Simons s450517 Tmt.2 13 9.4 3.81 1.280 8.7 59.5
NG Tmt.4 14 10.2 4.45 1.306 8.4 60.6
TRS7322xMBS1236 15 11.6 3.69 1.313 7.5 59.8
Farmer Adoption
This is an area that we are currently working on. We have farmers who are in the process of seeking funding to start a company for marketing alternative corn products. We have established a firm working relationship with “The Farmer/Breeders Group” of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agricultural Society.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
We have constructed and published a comprehensive manual on farmer utilization and breeding of open-pollinated corn. Our results have been presented at regional conferences including NCR-167( North Central Corn Breeders Committee), Northern Plains Sustainable Agricultural Society, and multiple experiment station farmer tours.
Project Outcomes
Areas needing additional study
Now that a model of how universities and farmers can work together has been developed and interested farmers have been identified, we need to start assessing performance of viable varieties and work on market introduction.