Legend Seeds to showcase Multi-Hybrid Planting and Farmacology Services

To test the accuracy of their planting prescriptions in a way that farmers can easily see, Legend Seeds has generated a multi-hybrid planting prescription to create their logo in a cornfield on Trav Bratland's farm in Willow Lake, South Dakota.

The company expects this "crop art" will stimulate conversations about precision farming opportunities. Growers are encouraged to stop by the Legend Seeds booth at upcoming farm shows to learn more about multi-hybrid planting and other available prescriptive farming tools.

Legend Seeds will have a multi-hybrid planter on display at FarmFest, Dakotafest and the South Dakota State Fair. They will also be on hand to discuss prescriptive farming tools at Wisconsin Farm Technology Days and the Big Iron Farm Show.

Legend Seeds invests in its Farmacology precision farming program and researches new technologies such as multi-hybrid planting because the company wants farmers to be more productive and profitable. Farmacology is a seasonlong, proactive cropping system that is prescriptive to each acre. It is designed to help growers make crop management decisions with increased accuracy and efficiency.

"We are excited to have the capabilities in place to help growers select the right hybrids for each acre and create variable rate and multi-hybrid planting prescriptions," Josh Lamecker, Legend Seeds agronomist, said. "Our Farmacology program helps farmers make all of their data work for them. We provide the tools for growers to look at each field independently and make agronomic decisions that will help them earn more money per acre."

The chance to improve returns led Bratland to participate in the Legend Seeds Farmacology program.

"We put our yield data, NRCS soil topography maps, soil test data and planting information into the system," he said. "The program is easy to use and brings me a lot of agronomic knowledge from a seed selection and management standpoint."

Bratland planted 2,500 acres of corn and soybeans this year using variable-rate populations and multi-variety planting prescriptions from Legend Seeds.

"This lets me put offensive varieties in areas where the soil is really good and push populations. In the areas where soils are sandy and lower in organic matter, I can lower the seeding population and use a defensive flex ear hybrid," Bratland said.

His corn seeding rates this year ranged from 15,000 to 40,000 seeds per acre with an average seeding rate of 30,000 to 32,000 seeds per acre. He will work with Legend Seeds to analyze the results this fall.

The Legend Seeds Farmacology program includes soil testing and mapping, tissue analysis, variable-rate fertility and seeding prescriptions, in-season field data, data interpretation, in-season agronomic recommendations and hybrid selection and placement.

Farmers upload the data they have collected on their fields to a centralized, web-based location accessible anytime from anywhere. The data is entirely owned by the farmer.