Thursday December 13 Ag News

CHS Inc. Elects Five Directors and Officers for 2019

CHS Inc. owners have elected a farmer from Nebraska and re-elected four other farmers to serve three-year terms on the board of the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative and global energy, grains and foods company.

The elections took place during the 2018 CHS Annual Meeting, held Dec. 7 in Minneapolis. CHS Directors must be full-time farmers or ranchers to be eligible for election to the 17-member board.

Newly elected Director David Beckman of Elgin, Nebraska, succeeds Don Anthony of Lexington, Nebraska, who retired after serving on the board since 2006. Along with his brother and their families, Beckman raises irrigated corn and soybeans and operates a custom hog-feeding operation. He received his bachelor's degree in agronomy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and he serves as board chairman for Central Valley Ag Cooperative, York, Nebraska, and secretary of the Nebraska Cooperative Council.

Re-elected were Steve Fritel, Rugby, North Dakota, David Johnsrud, Starbuck, Minnesota, David Kayser, Alexandria, South Dakota, and Russ Kehl, Quincy, Washington.

Following the annual meeting, the CHS Board re-elected Dan Schurr, LeClaire, Iowa, to a one-year term as chairman. Other directors selected as officers for 2019 were:
-    C.J. Blew, Castleton, Kansas, first vice chairman
-    David Johnsrud, Starbuck, Minnesota, secretary-treasurer
-    Jon Erickson, Minot, North Dakota, second vice chairman
-    Steve Riegel, Ford, Kansas, assistant secretary-treasurer



FCSAmerica to Distribute 2018 Cash-Back Dividend of 90 basis points; total payout of approx. $230m

At a time when agricultural producers face economic challenges, Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) has approved its largest cash-back dividend to date. The financial cooperative’s eligible customer-owners will receive a 2018 cash-back dividend equal to 0.90 percent of a customer’s eligible daily loan balance for an estimated total payout of approximately $230 million.

Since 2004, FCSAmerica has returned nearly $1.7 billion to farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

“As a mission-driven cooperative, one of our key goals is to maintain the financial strength to serve agriculture and rural America through all economic cycles. We strive to be a dependable lender through every ag cycle, but especially through the tough ones,” said Mark Jensen, president and CEO of FCSAmerica. “There is no better time than today to put our financial strength to work for our customer-owners.”

Earlier this year, the Board of Directors for FCSAmerica announced that it was enhancing its patronage program to share more of the cooperative’s earnings with eligible customer-owners. It intends to target a cash-back dividend of 90 basis points for the foreseeable future, barring unforeseen events and significant changes in the environment. The earnings retained by FCSAmerica are used to build the cooperative’s financial capacity to continue serving agriculture.

The 2018 dividend checks will be mailed to eligible customer-owners in March 2019. The Board of Directors has approved a cash-back dividend program for 2019, with the amount of the distribution to be decided in December 2019.



GROWER INPUT TO BE SOUGHT AT DEC. 20 SOYBEAN GALL MIDGE MEETING

Growers who dealt with soybean gall midge infestations in 2018 and those who are interested in learning more about this newly emerging soybean pest are invited to attend a roundtable discussion on Thursday, December 20. The Nebraska Extension program will be from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at the University of Nebraska Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center at 1071 County Road G, Ithaca.

In the 2018 growing season there was a significant increase in reports from consultants, growers, and extension educators of dying soybean plants associated with soybean gall midge infestations in eastern Nebraska fields.

“These infestations were much earlier (late June) than what was seen in the past,” said Justin McMechan, Nebraska Extension crop protection and cropping systems specialist. “So we are concerned about the significant yield losses these infestations could present in soybean fields.”

McMechan and other UNL entomologists are conducting research on soybean gall midge at the University of Nebraska Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead.  Based on 2018 observations, researchers are initiating research plans for 2019. McMechan and others plan to monitor soybean gall midge emergence and evaluate management practices such as planting date and insecticide use.

He said the roundtable session will provide an opportunity to share University findings and learn from grower experience.

“We want to know what growers saw and connect them with some potential tools for making management decisions in 2019,” McMechan said.

“We are interested in finding out what did and did not work for growers, as far as management practices (such as planting date, maturity group, insecticides, adjacent crop, tillage, etc.). Grower input is critical to help guide our research efforts on this rapidly developing pest of soybean.”

Registration is from 8:30-9 a.m. “Soybean Gall Midge: Overview, Management, and Impact” will be presented from 9-9:45 a.m. followed by the roundtable discussion until 11 a.m.  A summary of the discussion will conclude the program.

Information is available online at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/enre/soymidgeroundtable/.  Please RSVP by Monday, Dec. 17 by calling 402-624-8030.

For more information, email McMechan at justin.mcmechan@unl.edu or Extension Educator Keith Glewen at kglewen1@unl.edu, or call (402) 624-8030 or (800) 529-8030.



Nebraska Farm Bureau Names 2019 Leadership Academy Class

Ten farmers and ranchers from across Nebraska have been selected for Nebraska Farm Bureau’s 2019 Leadership Academy. The selected farmers and ranchers will begin a year-long program starting Jan. 24-25 at the Holiday Inn in Kearney.

“The goal of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Leadership Academy is to cultivate the talents and strengths of our members and connect their passion for agriculture to opportunities of service within the Farm Bureau organization. Great leaders have a clearly defined purpose; purpose fuels passion and work ethic. By developing leadership skills, academy members can develop their passions and positively impact their local communities and the state of Nebraska.” said Phil Erdman, facilitator of the 2019 Leadership Academy. Erdman works with Audrey Schipporeit, Nebraska Farm Bureau’s director of generational engagement to help facilitate the program. Erdman also serves as the vice president of membership for Nebraska Farm Bureau.

Academy members will participate in sessions focused on leadership skills, understanding the county, state, and national structure of the Nebraska Farm Bureau organization including Farm Bureau’s grassroots network and policy work on agriculture issues. Also, the group will travel to Washington, D.C. in September, for visits with Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and federal agency representatives.

“We congratulate this group of diverse individuals and thank them for their willingness to step out of their comfort zone to learn more about how they can influence their community, state, and world for the better,” said Schipporeit.

The 2019 Nebraska Farm Bureau Leadership Academy members are:

Brenda Jean Wendt, a member of the Boyd County Farm Bureau, lives in Bristow. She was born and raised on her family's farm in Howells. After meeting her husband at Wayne State College, they built a home by Bristow where she is involved with her husband’s family farm.

Krista Podany is a member of the Knox County Farm Bureau. Podany is a dedicated volunteer to both Farm Bureau and her community. She has a diversified farming operation along with a custom harvest business.

Owen Seamann is a Wheeler County Farm Bureau member and lives in Spalding. Seamann has been involved in agriculture for many years, first working for farmers and on a feedlot then purchasing his own cow herd.

Cherie Priest is a Brown County Farm Bureau member. She moved to Brown County with her husband, Randy, in 2005 to take over the ranch that has been in his family for three generations and runs a cow/calf operation. She is also the office manager for a local 50,000 head capacity feed yard.

Jolene Dunbar is a member of the Loup County Farm Bureau. After attending college and working for several ag related businesses, she returned home in 2008 and gradually worked her way back into the family farm business. She now resides in Almeria with her two girls, where they enjoy farming, ranching and showing their shorthorns and sheep.

Katherine Martindale is a Blaine County Farm Bureau member. Martindale served as Postmaster for Dunning and Brewster for thirty-one years. Since retiring, Martindale helps her husband Jay and his family operate their ranch/feedlot near Brewster.

Matthew Erickson is a member of the Johnson County Farm Bureau. Matthew received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanized Systems Management with minors in Agronomy and Animal Science from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. After graduation, Erickson returned home to the farm and continues farming with his family.

Adam Rathman, a member of Hall County Farm Bureau, worked just over four years as a caseworker at the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility in Omaha before moving back to Wood River to work on the farm. He currently helps his father run a row crop and cow calf operation just outside of Wood River.

Tyrell Fickenscher is a member of Kearney/Franklin County Farm Bureau. Fickenscher graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Soil and Crop Science and received his Master’s in Agribusiness from Kansas State University. He and his wife started Upward Ag Systems, where he continues to work to help farmers adopt technology focusing on irrigation management and data analysis.

Samantha Dyer, a member of the Dawes County Farm Bureau, graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Business. Dyer currently is a financial officer for Farm Credit Services of America.



ISA Garners Funds to Expand Watersheds and Promote Conservation Adoption

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has secured a grant to improve water quality efforts throughout Iowa. The Walton Family Foundation approved funding in November towards a one-year project for ISA, in coordination with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), to continue innovating and implementing watershed approaches.

“We support innovative approaches to scale practices that improve water quality in Iowa,” says Amy Saltzman of the Walton Family Foundation. “We are particularly excited by this opportunity to scale up successful collaboration between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Soybean Association.”

The ISA Environmental Programs and Services team (EPS) will head the project.

“ISA, along with our farmers and numerous local, state and federal partners, has developed plans to implement nearly 30 small-scale watersheds,” says Roger Wolf, ISA EPS Director.  “These plans provide a roadmap to scale up practices to meet goals, and this new grant will work to build off that momentum by exploring ways to do it faster and at larger scales.”  

Wolf says the EPS team will be advancing the idea of creating Diffusion Hubs — areas of expansion from small watersheds to larger ones — using new tools, strategies, and technologies to innovate and move the Nutrient Reduction Strategy faster. Additionally, the team hopes to expand the knowledge of the finances behind on-farm conservation, with the ultimate goal of incentivizing broader conservation adoption across the state.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig, believes joint efforts to scale up watershed planning projects are a positive for the future of Iowa’s water quality.

“With the passing of the water quality bill this year, IDALS is continuing to explore opportunities for outside funding that can further expand water quality practice implementation,” said Naig. “This grant will give us the opportunity to develop and evaluate new pathways to deploy future funding.”



Soybean Growers Encouraged by China Sales, but Need Second Aid Payment

The American Soybean Association (ASA) is encouraged by news this week that buyers in China have made purchases of U.S. soybeans. U.S. soybean sales to China were suspended earlier this year as trade relations between the countries faltered under the current tariff war.

Davie Stephens, ASA President and a grower from Clinton, Ky., said, “This is positive news for our growers and for U.S-China trade relations. American soybean farmers prosper when they have access to international markets, and our trade relationship with China is critically important to our industry.”

The ASA leader continued, “The news of resumed sales represents a positive step under the current 90-day agreement to suspend new tariffs and negotiate on trade issues agreed to by President Trump and President Xi. Beyond yesterday’s sale announcement, it is vital that this 90-day process result in lifting the current 25 percent tariff that China continues to impose on U.S. soybean imports. Without removal of this tariff, it is improbable that sales of U.S. soybeans to China can be sustained.”

While ASA is hopeful that soy farmers will be able to resume delivery of high-quality soy to China, Tuesday’s sale announcement is only the first step in rebuilding soybean exports to China and will not fix the prolonged period of low prices soybean farmers have faced since the trade war began. Stephens said the roughly $2.00 drop in soybean prices experienced since last May continues to harm soybean farmers.

“It is critical for Secretary Perdue to move forward with his commitment to announce the second half of Market Facilitation Program payments. When USDA calculated the harm incurred by the tariffs on soybean prices, it assumed that China would still purchase at least 50 percent of the 32 million tons of U.S. soybeans it bought in 2017. With only a fraction of this amount accounted for in this week’s announced sale, it is critically important that we see additional purchases and actual deliveries, and for USDA to make a payment on the second half of 2018 soybean production,” Stephens said.

ASA urges USDA to honor its commitment by providing the second Market Facilitation Program payment to aid soybeans farmers as the Administration continues to negotiate eliminating tariffs with China.



House & Senate Approve Farm Bill—and Soy Growers Approve the Quick Progress!

ASA congratulates the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and Congressional leadership on both chambers’ quick actions to approve the “Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,” or Farm Bill. ASA now encourages the President to act quickly, in turn.

“We are so pleased that the Senate and now the House have acted so swiftly to approve this bipartisan effort,” stated ASA President Davie Stephens, a soybean farmer from Clinton, Ky. “This legislation will undoubtedly provide a needed layer of stability and certainty for our soy industry and across agriculture. Timely passage of a new farm bill as opposed to another temporary extension this year will offer significant benefits to our industry, including resources for market development, crop insurance provisions, and more for the next five years.”

The 13 titles of the Farm Bill span programs affecting producers of food, feed, fiber and fuel, and that offer assurance the federal government will continue to provide assistance, when needed, through farm income support programs, nutrition and feeding programs, and through conservation, rural development, agricultural research, energy, and international agricultural development and food aid programs.



USGC To USTR, ITC: Japan, EU Negotiations Should Win New Market Access

Trade negotiations with Japan and the European Union (EU) should address long-time market access challenges for U.S. grains and ethanol including tariff rates, regulatory synchronization and technical barriers, the U.S. Grains Council told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) in recently-submitted testimony and at hearings to prepare for the coming trade talks.

USGC Director of Trade Policy and Biotechnology Floyd Gaibler testified Monday at a USTR panel on priorities for the Japan talks, which will bring to the table the overall second largest buyer of U.S. feed grains in all forms and a country in which the Council has worked actively since the 1960s.

Gaibler said the coming negotiations with Japan should build on this deep relationship as well as the achievements of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and the recently-signed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

First and foremost, the new U.S.-Japan agreement should ensure that U.S. feed grains and ethanol have full market access by countering preferential treatment from other regional and bilateral agreements Japan already has in place. For example, a new Japan-EU agreement offers lower tariffs on barley and sorghum from EU countries than on those commodities from the United States.

TPP included a strong sanitary and phytosanitary chapter that should be included in a new agreement, Gaibler told USTR panelists, as well as the first-ever biotechnology chapter in a U.S. trade agreement, which was subsequently improved upon by the USMCA text.

"Matching or exceeding market access from competing regional and bilateral agreements must be a key negotiating priority in the U.S.-Japan agreement," he said. "At the outset, the negotiations should aim to eliminate or phase out all existing tariffs and tariff-rate quotas, and market access provisions with Japan should match or exceed those achieved under TPP."

By volume, Japan is now the second largest overall buyer of U.S. corn and U.S. sorghum, the third largest buyer of U.S. barley and the ninth largest buyer of U.S. distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Importantly, the country also recently modified its biofuels policy to allow U.S. ethanol to be used more widely as a feedstock for ETBE, a gasoline additive.

Gaibler is scheduled to testify at a USTR hearing on Friday and an ITC hearing on Monday on the coming EU talks, telling officials it is "fundamental" that food and agriculture issues be addressed in any new agreement, and that the product of those negotiations should build on understandings included in the former Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) text and achievements in the USMCA.

"The U.S. and the EU need to reconsider a systematic approach to normalize trade," he is slated to say, referencing regulatory barriers and legal challenges marring the grains trading relationship between the two markets. "Agriculture has to be included in these negotiations to meet that objective."

Gaibler will tell USTR and ITC leaders the U.S. government should push the EU to eliminate the price reference system and commit to maintaining zero duties on U.S. corn, barley, sorghum, DDGS and other co-products. The negotiations should also seek to address the existing asynchronous approval process for biotech events and other regulatory challenges.

Sales of grains in all forms to EU countries jumped significantly in 2017/2018 to 4.47 million metric tons (176 million bushels), the most imports since 2010/2011. The European Union ranked as the largest market for U.S. corn gluten feed/meal, fourth largest buyer of both U.S. ethanol and U.S. sorghum, the seventh largest market for U.S. DDGS and the eighth largest buyer of U.S. corn.



USDA to Gather Info to Determine Ag's Financial Well-Being

Beginning in late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend several months gathering information about farm economics and production practices from farmers and ranchers across Indiana, as the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2018 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, NASS will reach out to more than 30,000 producers nationwide, including nearly 1500 in Indiana, between February and April. The survey asks producers to provide in-depth information about their operating revenues, production costs, and household characteristics. The 2018 survey includes versions focused on soybean, and cattle and calf sector costs and returns.

In addition to producing accurate information, NASS has strong safeguards in place to protect the confidentiality of all farmers who respond to its surveys. The agency will only publish data in an aggregate form only, ensuring the confidentiality of all responses and that no individual respondent or operation can be identified.

The expense data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on August 2, 2019. For more information about the 2018 ARMS, visit www.ers.usda.gov/arms.



Organic food worse for the climate

Organically farmed food has a bigger climate impact than conventionally farmed food, due to the greater areas of land required. This is the finding of a new international study involving Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, published in the journal Nature.

The researchers developed a new method for assessing the climate impact from land-use, and used this, along with other methods, to compare organic and conventional food production. The results show that organic food can result in much greater emissions.

“Our study shows that organic peas, farmed in Sweden, have around a 50 percent bigger climate impact than conventionally farmed peas. For some foodstuffs, there is an even bigger difference – for example, with organic Swedish winter wheat the difference is closer to 70 percent,” says Stefan Wirsenius, an associate professor from Chalmers, and one of those responsible for the study.

The reason why organic food is so much worse for the climate is that the yields per hectare are much lower, primarily because fertilisers are not used. To produce the same amount of organic food, you therefore need a much bigger area of land.

The ground-breaking aspect of the new study is the conclusion that this difference in land usage results in organic food causing a much larger climate impact.

“The greater land-use in organic farming leads indirectly to higher carbon dioxide emissions, thanks to deforestation,” explains Stefan Wirsenius. “The world’s food production is governed by international trade, so how we farm in Sweden influences deforestation in the tropics. If we use more land for the same amount of food, we contribute indirectly to bigger deforestation elsewhere in the world.”

Even organic meat and dairy products are – from a climate point of view – worse than their conventionally produced equivalents, claims Stefan Wirsenius.

“Because organic meat and milk production uses organic feeds, it also requires more land than conventional production. This means that the findings on organic wheat and peas in principle also apply to meat and milk products. We have not done any specific calculations on meat and milk, however, and have no concrete examples of this in the article,” he explains.

A new metric: Carbon Opportunity Cost
The researchers used a new metric, which they call “Carbon Opportunity Cost”, to evaluate the effect of greater land-use contributing to higher carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation. This metric takes into account the amount of carbon that is stored in forests, and thus released as carbon dioxide as an effect of deforestation. The study is among the first in the world to make use of this metric.

“The fact that more land use leads to greater climate impact has not often been taken into account in earlier comparisons between organic and conventional food,” says Stefan Wirsenius. “This is a big oversight, because, as our study shows, this effect can be many times bigger than the greenhouse gas effects, which are normally included. It is also serious because today in Sweden, we have political goals to increase production of organic food. If those goals are implemented, the climate influence from Swedish food production will probably increase a lot.”

So why have earlier studies not taken into account land-use and its relationship to carbon dioxide emissions?

“There are surely many reasons. An important explanation, I think, is simply an earlier lack of good, easily applicable methods for measuring the effect. Our new method of measurement allows us to make broad environmental comparisons, with relative ease,” says Stefan Wirsenius.

The results of the study are published in the article “Assessing the efficiency of changes in land use for mitigating climate change” in the journal Nature. The article is written by Timothy Searchinger, Princeton University, Stefan Wirsenius, Chalmers University of Technology, Tim Beringer, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and Patrice Dumas, Cired.



Sorghum Checkoff Board Directors Sworn in, Officers Elected

Four Sorghum Checkoff board directors were sworn in during the board meeting in Lubbock, Texas, Dec. 10-12, 2018.

Returning to the board are Boyd Funk of Garden City, Kansas; Craig Poore of Alton, Kansas; and Jim Massey of Robstown, Texas. Newly appointed to the board is Adam Schindler of Reliance, South Dakota.

The newly sworn in board members were appointed by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in July and will serve a three-year term. Schindler will fill the at-large seat previously held by David Fremark of St. Lawrence, South Dakota, who is completing his service this month.

"It is always exciting to welcome both the new and returning directors to the Sorghum Checkoff," said Sorghum Checkoff Executive Director Florentino Lopez. "The board of directors leads the efforts to increase shared value of the crop, expand market opportunities and support an innovative and competitive industry for producers."

Leadership was also re-elected during the December board meeting. Verity Ulibarri of McAlister, New Mexico, will continue to serve as chairwoman, Jim Massey of Robstown, Texas, as vice chairman, Craig Poore of Alton, Kansas, as secretary and Carlton Bridgeforth of Tanner, Alabama, as treasurer.

"I am pleased to welcome our new director to the board and to work with all the directors as we move forward on the new USCP strategic plan," Ulibarri said."The Sorghum Checkoff board of directors represents all sorghum farmers across the country, and each director adds unique ideas and perspective to continue propelling the industry forward."

As Fremark exited the board, he was honored for his service to the Sorghum Checkoff at a ceremony on Dec. 11.

"We extend our deepest appreciation to David for his hard work and dedication to the board," said Sorghum Checkoff CEO Tim Lust. "He has spent countless hours over the past six years, both as chairman and director, serving his fellow board members and has remained committed to adding profitability, growth and improvement to U.S. sorghum farmers."



Pioneer Adds More Than 100 New, Top-Performing Corn and Soybean Products to Lineup

Pioneer has added more than 100 new, top-performing corn and soybean products to its industry-leading product lineup for growers in the United States and Canada. The 2019 class of new products further strengthens the Pioneer® brand corn and soybean offering, which recorded its best overall yields in Pioneer history during the 2018 harvest:
-    Pioneer Brand Corn Hybrids Record Best Overall Yields in History: The top 40 Pioneer brand corn products by demand — including several products introduced in the past few seasons — offered growers a 5.3 bu/A advantage over the competition.*
-    Record Number of Farmers Planting Pioneer® Brand A-Series Soybeans Celebrate 100 Bushel Beans: In 2018, more than 50 growers topped the 100 bu/A threshold with A-Series varieties.

“The Pioneer product lineup is as strong as it has ever been thanks to our continued investments in research and local testing,” said Judd O’Connor, President, U.S. Commercial Business, Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. “When farmers plant our products, they can feel confident they are planting a yield and agronomic leader that will perform consistently.”

2019 Corn Product Advancements
The new class of Pioneer brand corn hybrids includes 67 new, high-performing products ranging from 72 to 119 days comparative relative maturity, or CRM.

The products that advanced to commercialization underwent two years of IMPACT™ (Intensively Managed Product Advancement, Characterization and Testing) plot trials. This final research process characterizes corn products for the optimal geographical fit and measures product consistency over multiple years.

“Our hybrids are subjected to a rigorous testing regime. This means we bring new genetic gain and better performance to our lineup year over year,” said Matt Smalley, Research Director, North America Corn Breeding, Corteva Agriscience. “This year’s products include a focus on early-season hybrids, including some of the best early performance we’ve seen. Our lineup is really strong at 101 days and earlier.”

Pioneer IMPACT plot trials help to ensure only the top products are advanced to market. These new corn offerings from Pioneer are the product of comprehensive breeding efforts, creating an unrivaled selection, including:
-    Ten new Pioneer brand Optimum® AcreMax® XTreme products, which offer two modes of action for above-ground insect control and two modes of action for below-ground control;
-    Three new Pioneer brand Optimum® AQUAmax® products, designed to help withstand drought conditions and protect against yield loss; and
-    Four new Pioneer brand Optimum® Intrasect® products for above-ground insect protection.

Building on the widest range of end-use products, Pioneer also advanced five new yellow and three new white food-grade products, as well as two new waxy products and one new Pioneer brand Qrome® product.

2019 Soybean Product Advancements
The 2019 soybean class complements the already-outstanding Pioneer brand A-Series soybean lineup, the highest-yielding soybeans ever introduced by Pioneer. The 40 new A-Series varieties now bring the A-Series soybean lineup to nearly 150 varieties, ranging in maturity from Group 000 to Group 7.

With best-in-class yield potential plus strong agronomics and defensive characteristics, highlights of the 2019 class include:
-    Twenty-five new Pioneer brand A-Series soybean varieties with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology. These varieties have a 3.4 bu/A yield advantage vs. competitive Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology varieties across nearly 8,000 comparisons, with 72 percent wins — a significant yield boost over the current Pioneer brand soybean products with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology that demonstrated a 1.8 bu/A yield advantage vs competitive Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology varieties;
-    Nine new Pioneer brand A-Series varieties with the LibertyLink® trait, giving farmers additional options for weed control;
-    Thirty-two new A-Series varieties with native resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN), including 10 varieties with Peking resistance;
-    Three new Pioneer brand A-Series Plenish®# high oleic soybean varieties; and
-    Two new conventional A-Series varieties for growers raising non-GMO soybeans.

“Pioneer continues to improve the yield potential and agronomic performance of our soybean products thanks to investments we’ve made in advanced breeding technology, including our Accelerated Yield Technology or AYT 4.0 technology,” said Paul Stephens, Senior Research Director, Soybeans, Corteva Agriscience. “We are excited about these new soybean varieties and the productivity boost they give farmers.”

Pioneer brand products are designed to help meet growers’ needs and to provide stable yields, despite unpredictable growing seasons.