Evaluate your crop for next year’s product selections

As you make your way through another busy harvest, it’s important to record your field observations in order to make informed decisions for next year’s product selections.

Evaluating this critical data will help you choose the best seeds, traits, crop protection and other inputs that will enable you to rise to the challenges in your fields.

1. Analyze Yield Data

Look for patterns across different fields and compare performance against expectations. Did certain products or varieties consistently outperform others?

Pay close attention to areas where yield potential wasn’t fully realized as these insights will guide your selection of more resilient products next year.

2. Assess Disease And Pest Pressure

Understanding the disease and pest challenges your crops faced is crucial. Identify which pathogens and insects were most problematic and how well your current crop protection products managed these threats.

This assessment can help you select seeds with specific traits that offer resistance or tolerance to the issues most prevalent in your fields.

3. Evaluate Soil Health And Fertility

Soil health directly impacts crop performance. Conduct soil tests to measure nutrient levels, pH and organic matter content.

Understanding your soil’s fertility status will inform your fertilizer choices and help you decide if you need to incorporate seed treatments that support better nutrient uptake or protect seedlings under stressful conditions.

4. Consider Crop Rotation And Residue Management

Evaluate the effectiveness of this year’s crop rotation strategy. Did it help break pest and disease cycles? Did residue management practices improve soil structure and moisture retention?

Your observations will guide your decisions on rotation sequences and whether specific seed traits can support residue breakdown or reduce disease carryover.

5. Review Weather Impact

How did this year’s weather affect crop performance? Did drought stress or excessive moisture play a role in yield variability?

Understanding these impacts will help you select traits that offer better tolerance to environmental stressors.

6. Plan For Weed Control

Weed pressure is a persistent challenge that varies year to year. Evaluate the effectiveness of your herbicide program and the competitiveness of your crops.

For next year, consider herbicide-tolerant traits and crop protection products that align with your weed management goals, ensuring robust control over a broad spectrum of weed species.

7. Consult Your Local Experts

Finally, work closely with your local agronomists and seed dealers to discuss options and recommendations.

Our expanded network of Channel SeedPros and agronomists across the country is highly attuned to emerging local challenges and the newest products and has a deep understanding of farmers’ fields.

These experts will work with you to recommend inputs with the highest performance potential for local conditions.

Here in Indiana, many farmers experienced heavy tar spot pressure in their corn crop. This heavy tar spot pressure has likely robbed yield, but it has also reduced late-season standability.

This on top of the late-season drought many areas have experienced has led to many areas having poor-quality stalks.

Farmers need to prioritize harvest of the most impacted fields to ensure the crop does not stalk or root lodge on them prior to harvest.

Use the Channel Seed Finder tool at channel.com to browse products recommended for your area, or find legacy regional seed brand products that are now part of the new Channel seed brand.

Always read and follow pesticide label directions. Performance may vary, from location to location and from year to year, as local growing, soil and environmental conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible and should consider the impacts of these conditions on their growing environment.

The recommendations in this material are based on trial observations and feedback received from a limited number of growers and growing environments. These recommendations should be considered as one reference point and should not be substituted for the professional opinion of agronomists, entomologists or other relevant experts evaluating specific conditions.

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