F.I.R.S.T. Information

Farmers Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) is the seed-testing program established by Agronomic Seed Consulting, Inc. in 1997 (AgSCI). Farmer members work with F.I.R.S.T. managers work to generate independent seed product data.

F.I.R.S.T. plots are grown with the same crop inputs and management techniques the member uses. Each hybrid is tested three times in 4-row strips, only the center two strips are used to determine yield.

The result is real-world, independent yield information.

F.I.R.S.T. managers harvest the plots and send the data for posting online within 48 hours of the time the combine leaves the field.

Harvest reports are free and include yield information on the top 30 corn hybrids and soybean varieties at each location. Also included is information on moisture, lodging, soil conditions and crop management.

Once harvest is complete, the data is compiled and analyzed for national performance summaries.

Test results are grouped into standard zones for maturity. Each zone summary gives information on yield data from previous years and includes site information such as soil type, tillage and planting date.

Regional summaries include yield, grain moisture and standability averages.

The national performance summaries include information for all testing areas
and are distributed by the Corn & Soybean Digest in December (corn) and January (soybeans).

Great Lakes F.I.R.S.T. Performance

Independent Verification
Competitive company test plots usually show a one-sided view of hybrid performance by stacking 20 or more company hybrids against two or three competitors. Independent and credible testing the like the F.I.R.S.T. trials and the National Corn Yield Contest show a few company hybrids against the best of every major competitor in the marketplace.

That’s why you can have great confidence in the hybrids you’re planting from Great Lakes. Our top products keep performing at championship levels in all the independent tests, with 205 individual and regional trial wins in the F.I.R.S.T. tests and 236 National Corn Yield Contest champions. This included the #1 overall hybrid in the 2003 F.I.R.S.T. Trials (5961Bt). We’ve also achieved 1,551 Top-10 finishes in the F.I.R.S.T. tests.

“Hybrids like the 5711, 5961 and 6321 families have been dominant since they were introduced to the market,” says Tex Young, western region sales agronomist. “These two are work-horse hybrids that put up race-horse yields, year after year. The independent data proves they are great choices for any farmer in those maturities.”

In the 2005 FIRST Regional summaries, AgReliant research had 12 regional summary wins, which was more than three times that of any competitor. Each of those wins was with a proprietary hybrid, only available through an AgReliant brand. In addition, eight of those 12 wins were in plots where the winning hybrid was greatly different (statistically) from the rest of the hybrids in that location.

The map shown here shows the wide geographic dominance of our hybrids in these and other independent testing.