New hybrids introduced for 2021 growing season

BOONE, Iowa — Wyffels Hybrids is introducing a group of corn hybrids for the 2021 growing season that provides great yield potential and stress tolerance.

“We’ve got 12 new hybrids for 2021 that are a mix of SmartStax, DoublePro and conventional products that are from 95- to 115-day maturity,” said Mitch Heisler, Wyffels Hybrids, product marketing manager.

“We hate to see stress, but the last two to three years these hybrids have come through testing and really stood out for their stress tolerance,” Heisler said during the Farm Progress Show Media Day. “When we do have really good conditions, they have the ability for outstanding yield potential.”

One example is W6978, a 111-day SmartStax hybrid.

“It’s really hard to find an acre where it doesn’t work because it has great adaptability,” Heisler said. “I think it’s going to be one of the new lead products in that maturity.”

This hybrid has great standability, Heisler said.

“Even for farmers that this hybrid might be on the early end of what they plant, it will provide a good option that will stand late into harvest,” he said. “So, it will give them good versatility.”

The 111-day DoublePro W6906 RIB works well on a lot of soil types, Heisler said.

“It really shines on some of the drought stressed soils and it has a good flex ear, so it can really take advantage if the growing conditions are good,” Heisler said.

“W8148 was one of the highest yielding products in our testing last year,” he said. “We are very excited about this 115-day SmartStax hybrid that is going to provide a great full season option.”

Since the hotter temperatures during the month of August really moved the crop along, Heisler expects harvest will start a little earlier than in the last couple of years.

“If you have areas where you are seeing some drought stress, keep an eye on the stalk integrity,” he said. “If there are stalks that are starting to get a little weaker, make sure you schedule that field for the first part of harvest.”

There is a lot of variability in cornfields this year.

“It’s really all about grain fill, so for places that caught a rain and were able to get through some of the hot weather, I think we’ll see some great yield potential,” Heisler said.

“We’ve been touring our growing area over the last couple of weeks and we’ve seen a lot yield checking over 250 bushels around the Galesburg and Litchfield areas,” he said.

“Time will tell on what was the right decision for replanting and a lot of the replant looks very good,” he said. “Ear count is going to be very important and even where we didn’t have drowned out areas, if we had tough, wetter planting conditions and there are a few missing plants, that will effect what we see go through the combine this fall.”

With the cooler temperatures in September, Heisler said, that should slow down the corn crop development.

“We don’t want the crop to finish too fast because there are still a lot of hybrids that are filling kernels,” he said. “As long as the corn plant stays healthy it will continue to fill the kernels and pack in the yield.”

Wyffels Hybrids is in the second year of its Serving Those Who Served program that benefits Homes For Our Troops.

“That is a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans so they can rebuild their lives,” said Jill Loehr, Wyffels Hybrids communications manager.

“For our first year, we had a Serving Those Who Served hybrid — W5086 RIB, and $2 per bag planted went to Homes For Our Troops and we sold hats and T-shirts,” Loehr said. “The fun part was our district sales managers and seed representatives found different ways to support this program from wrapping race cars to taking donations.”

The company is supporting three home builds, including Bobby McCradle, Franklin, Wisconsin; Dominic Fernandez, Lakeville, Minnesota; and Nathan Shumaker, Hillsboro, Missouri.

“With all of the ways we raised money, we’re giving $67,000 to Homes For Our Troops for the first year,” Loehr said. “The key ceremony for Nathan is on Sept. 11 and this is the 300th home build for Home For Our Troops.”

More Wyffels customers will have an opportunity to participate in the program for the upcoming year.

“We have two hybrids for the program, W4246 RIB and W6906 RIB, and $1 for every bag sold will go to Serving Those Who Served,” Loehr said.

“It has fun to see the hats and T-shirts and we also have special field signs that say this hybrid is on a very special mission,” Loehr said.

Wyffels is celebrating its 75th anniversary as an independent, family owned company.

“We have the third generation of the Wyffels family in company leadership,” Heisler said.

“The way we go about our business we think is really attractive to our customers,” he said. “But we know we have to continue to push to have new products that are going to handle stress and have the high yield potential to justify a place on our customers’ farms.”

Customers are a big part of the success of Wyffels Hybrids, Heisler said.

“We have more than doubled in size for sales in the last six to seven years,” he said. “When Bill and Bob took over the company, they had aspirations to be one of the best seed companies in their local area, but now we are working to serve corn growers in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota.”

“We feel like we have a bright future ahead and we’ve got a lineup of products that can really help our customers be successful,” he said.

For more information about Wyffels Hybrids, go to www.wyffels.com.