October, 2003

Bt Corn–Good Insurance
This hybrid is equipped with Monsanto’s YieldGard® corn-borer protection.

Larry Strange (left) and David Mattingly inspect late-season crop progress.

David Mattingly, who runs a 75-cow dairy near Lebanon, Ky., acknowledges that farming is a risky business. “You have to eliminate the risks every chance you get,” he says. That’s why Mattingly relies on advice and products from Southern States.

“David is an outstanding farmer and a good customer,” says Larry Strange, field sales associate for the co-op’s Lebanon, Ky., branch of Lebanon-Springfield Service.
Both Mattingly and Strange say one of the farmer’s best practices is the use of Bt corn on his dairy.

“It’s good insurance,” the grower says. “You may not get the borer pressure every year; but when it comes, you’re ready. It can make a believer out of you if you have a year where you really need it.”

Mattingly plants Southern States 900Bt hybrid with Monsanto’s YieldGard® seed technology on about half of his corn acreage. Strange says the hybrid helps protect plants from first and second generation European corn borers. Also, he notes, this hybrid provides protection against corn earworms and Southwestern corn borers.
“These pests are becoming more of a problem in central Kentucky,” Strange reports. “Southwestern corn borers are slowly moving in. They girdle the stalk, and you can’t defend against them without protection from a Bt hybrid.”

Strange, a 22-year veteran of Southern States with 12 years of experience as a field sales associate, spends much of his time monitoring crops and farming practices in the region. He works with customers, providing seed, feed and chemical advice for producers in Taylor, Marion and Washington counties.

Spraying for borers and other insect pests is not a good option in his production area, Strange notes. “When you see a borer in the field, it’s too late to spray,” he explains. “And constant crop scouting is not an affordable alternative.”

Strange says SS 900Bt corn also has excellent tolerance to gray leaf spot, as well as tolerance to Northern and Southern corn leaf blight. And it holds its own in drought and stress environments.

Mattingly is pleased with this hybrid’s performance, but he also plants conventional hybrids. “You need to leave a refuge for the borers to feed on so you can fight resistance buildup,” he notes. Crop advisers recommended a 20% minimum refuge planted within 1z¼2 mile of Bt corn.

Much of Mattingly’s corn is harvested as silage to keep milk production high on his Holstein herd (a 22,000-pound rolling herd average). He also sells some corn as a cash crop on the open market.

He says the Bt seed germinates well in no-till soils and gets off to a good start with a nice uniform stand.

He adds that he’s pleased with the other products and services he gets from Southern States, including custom application of fertilizer and pest-control materials, as well as livestock feed, just to name a few.