The FIRST team of research managers met in Kansas City in mid-July to discuss trials, procedures, and future work. This group represents independent research businesses that are responsible for uniform FIRST variety trials in 14 states. Many of FIRST's field managers farm as well, and all of them work closely with member farmers that host plots.

2025 SEASON PLANNING Among the topics discussed at the meeting, testing regions that will be offered in the 2025 season will be the same as in 2024, with the addition of a soybean region in MN-ND Red River Valley (Central - RRCE). With the program approaching its third decade, a number of regions are operated by new managers to the program in 2024 and 2025. Experienced mentors have helped transition FIRST research to new operators, ensuring the same level of attention to FIRST procedures, timely reporting, and service to the farming and seed communities.

FIRST ADVISORY BOARD The FIRST team was privileged to have 5 advisors (see below) join the group at team meetings this year to consider how FIRST trials can better serve decision-makers who enter and use FIRST trials information. The producers on the panel explained how they evaluate new products for their farms. Huisinga described how he considered a new brand by looking over all the brand's results on the FIRST Products page, filtered for that brand. "The tool was incredibly helpful," to select some different maturity products for his region, and could assess how they performed overall. Missouri farmer Kyle Samp also considers a brand's portfolio, and selects consistent performers from their lineup using FIRST results. Herbst evaluates performance in similar soils and management conditions by scanning the results from multiple locations on FIRST's Reports page.

FIRST managers asked for feedback on what information would be valuable for industry participants, and Batty told the group that in-field variability, and conversely, resilience of products to varying conditions and stress are important for product placement decisions. Doyle suggested that disease ratings and other measures of performance might be valuable for growers and seed companies alike.

We are grateful for the advice they offered, and welcome feedback about the FIRST program. Email us at info@firstseedtests.com!