FIRST Newsletter | April 2025

30-Apr-2025 | Issue 34 | www.firstseedtests.com

In This Issue

#Plant25 Has Begun
NEW Seed Company Sponsors
2024 Gross Income Results
In our next issue...

And it begins!

It seems like harvest just wrapped up, but #Plant25 is upon us! This spring, FIRST Managers and their helpers will plant nearly 1400 hybrids and varieties across almost 300 individual plots in 12 states. Before the plots can be planted, plot locations need to be flagged, seed needs to be received, packeted, and put into the correct order for FIRST's randomized and replicated tests. See below some photos of the "behind the scenes" of putting together the nation's preeminent variety trials.

ABOVE: FIRST Research Manager Nick Hoffman took this photo while out flagging his plot locations. By working with local farmers, FIRST is able to identify consistent and quality plot locations. BELOW: Manager Klint Tucker's packeted seed ready to plant the Indiana South trials in Kentucky, April 2025.

Planting replicated and randomized test plots requires accurately organizing the seed packets before planting. Research Manager Klint Tucker took the photo nearby showing how he lays out his seed boxes to put packets in order. FIRST managers put in long hours of dedicated work to produce data that can be trusted.

Above. FIRST Manager Bill Schelp's helper Kevin dumps seed packets while planting the Portage Des Sioux, MO corn plot. FIRST Managers use specialized Plot Planters to accurately and efficiently plant their plots. Read more here on how the FIRST Trials are organized.B Below New Franklin MO corn emergence 10 days after planting 2025.

New Franklin MO corn emergence 10 days after planting 2025

Did you miss the application to get your products entered? Seed companies can contact our Business Manager - Matt Dahle to talk about how to participate in the 2026 trials.

Questions about how the FIRST Trials work? See if we have an answer in our Frequently Asked Questions feature.

Know a farmer who may be interested in FIRST data? Be sure to forward our newsletter to them. Not subscribed to our newsletters or harvest reports? Click here to get signed up!

FIRST News articles

NEW SPONSORS FOR 2025!

FIRST is fortunate to have the support of so many great seed companies and we are always excited to feature new companies in the trials. For 2025, we have seven new seed companies sponsoring entries. Click here to see ALL Sponsors for the 2025 trials.

VIEW 2025 Sponsors

INCOME RANKING - Why does it matter?

FIRST ranks performance based on Income, not yield. Gross Income is the dollar value of the grain less drying costs to reach 15% grain moisture for corn and 13% for beans. If you desire high-moisture corn grain for feed, gross Income is irrelevant to you. However, if you are selling or storing low moisture corn, you should select products with the highest gross income to maximize profit potential.

For example, hybrid A yields 200 bu/acre at 25% moisture and $550/acre gross income; hybrid B yields 185 bu/acre at 15% moisture and $555/acre gross income. Despite having lower yield, hybrid B is a more profitable choice due to having drier grain than hybrid A.

What was the Income Spread in 2024?

Even with prices lower than most everyone would have liked to see in 2024, we still saw HUGE spreads in Gross Income within the same plots. After removing the best and worst performers at the top and bottom, we still saw up to a $280/acre difference in Corn and a $286/acre difference in Soybeans. Seed selection can make an outsized impact on your profitability!

To dig further into this analysis, use these links to explore and interactive tool showing the Gross Income differences at each plot location:

2024 Corn Gross Income Spreads

2024 Soybean Gross Income Spreads

Website Guided Tour Available Now

FIRST has created a guided tour vdeo of www.firstseedtests.com to help you use all the tools available for researching corn and soybean variety performance. See how to filter reports and find products tested in conditions like your farm.

Website Guide YouTube Video

In our Next Newsletter...

Look forward to the next issue of the FIRST Newsletter as we will be sharing more about planting progress, trait technologies tested, and more details about the 2025 season. We are grateful that seed companies are investing in FIRST because they value independent performance information for farmers.

Not sure if a company you are interested in is entered? Reach out to your dealer or DSM to let them know that you value independent data when making your seed purchasing decisions!

Unbiased, Accurate Yield Testing. Every Time.

We welcome your feedback or questions about the FIRST program!

Please contact us at info@firstseedtests.com

www.firstseedtests.com