Pioneer Tour Podcast

THE PROCESS BEHIND NEW PRODUCTS

Every year, after all the IMPACT trial results are in, Pioneer releases a bevy of new product advancements. It’s a preview of the shiny new hybrids and varieties coming to farmers’ fields. But if you unwrap it all, what’s the process to get to that point? And what makes Pioneer confident these new products will perform? In this episode, Matt uncovers the process behind the new products with Derek Bowman, a product agronomist with Pioneer.

PUSHING THE LIMITS

Every soybean farmer has yield goals when they plant in the spring. For some, maybe its 80 or 90 bu/A. For others, it’s pushing even higher to 100 bu/A. While today’s high-yielding varieties are making those counts achievable – it takes more than just great seed. So what’s the secret to maxing out soybean yield? In this episode, Matt talks to Matt Miles a grower from Arkansas, along with his agronomist, Robb Dedman, as well as gets management advice from his Pioneer agronomist, James Watkins.

ROOTING FOR YIELD

Yield is king when it comes to growing corn. But everything from weather and disease pressure to destructive pests are taking shots at the crown. So, when selecting hybrids, how can farmers best balance protection and performance? In this episode, Matt gets a first-hand farmer perspective from Rob Sharkey, a corn grower from Illinois, as well as advice from Rob’s Pioneer sales representative, Lance Gentle.

THE STORY BEHIND THE NUMBERS

When looking at harvest numbers, it can sometimes feel like everyone comes out looking like a winner. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that not all data is collected and calculated equally. In this episode, Matt gets a look into how Pioneer collects yield data at harvest from people on the front lines — Product Lifecycle Manager Jerron Schmoll and Agronomy Manager Mary Gumz — and discovers the process is even more stringent than he imagined.

THERE’S A LAB FOR THAT?

All feed isn’t equal. So how do farmers make sure theirs is high quality? Well, Pioneer’s got a lab for that. With labs dedicated to both forage and inoculant quality, Pioneer can inspect samples for nutritional value or even guarantee the amount of live bacteria in an inoculant. To find out what this all means for farmers’ feed bunks, Matt talks with Dr. Chris Iiams, a senior research scientist at Pioneer.