| Hybrid and Variety Selection
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| What the above two trend lines indicate is the incremental yield
increases afforded by each year's new releases of soybean varieties
and corn hybrids. New soybean varieties average 0.4 bu/a
increase in yield for each new year of releases, whereas for corn
the yield increases average about 2 bu/a for each new year of
releases.
What this should suggest to you is that the majority of the grain you grow should be from seed stock released within the last 2 or 3 years at the most. (i.e. a three year old corn hybrid is at a 6 bushel per acre disadvantage compared to the latest releases =$12/a). You must of course be careful about selecting your hybrids as the test data can be confusing. We recommend that you look at production tests and select lines that consistently produce above the average at most locations within the test. Remember, any hybrid or variety might do well at one location, but a line that does well at several locations is indicative of good genetics and vigor. Images courtesy of Chicago Board of Trade.
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