Sep 02, 2020
My name is Mitch Thompson, and I’m from Southeast Minnesota.
My dad and I own and operate Thompson Family Dairy, where we milk 300 cows, raise all our own replacements and grow all our own feed. In my spare time (HA!), I also own and operate Thompson Family Harvesting, LLC. We do custom farming—everything from manure hauling and tillage to planting, harvesting and anything else that needs to be done on the dairy and beef operations we work with.
Last year, I started seeing information about seed from F2F Genetics NetworkTM. My seed costs were getting incredibly high—it seemed like more and more every year—and it didn’t feel like I was getting enough benefit for what I was paying. I wanted to see how this cost-effective F2F GeneticsNetwork seed would work for my operation.
So, I decided to shake things up. I decided to try the conventional corn on 25 percent of my acres. I did a little more research and decided to increase to 50 percent. I ended this season with 100 percent of my corn from F2F Genetics Network.
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So far, I’m very impressed. We plant our corn for silage, in 15-inch rows at a population of about 38,000 seeds/acre. It’s filled out well and it’s incredibly tall—I’m 6’1” and the ears are above my head. I’d say we’re looking at 14- to 15-foot tall corn. It makes me feel short!
The main ears on each stalk are 16-18 kernels around and 36-38 rows long. Even the smaller secondary ears are 12-14 kernels around and 24 rows long. The corn looks very healthy, so I’m hopefully optimistic that my tonnage and quality will be great.
We are on very fertile ground and we get a few windstorms, so I’m always watching to see how the corn stands up in season. So far this year, my F2FGenetics Network corn hasn’t had any wind damage. Knock on wood!
We aren’t chopping corn yet, but compared to what I’ve planted in the past, I think we are going to be up on tonnage. I have a harvest lab on my John Deere 8800i so we’ll know the full story once we get in the field.
It’s been a busy year. We’ve had some construction projects going on at the dairy, so I’ve really just focused on the seed part of my FBN membership and taken glances at the chem pricing opportunities—but I’m excited to dive into some of the other things FBN has to offer as we start planning for next year.
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Sep 02, 2020