Pioneer Tour Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In part three of this series examining crop production for the human food chain, Matt talks with Tyler Groeneveld, Grain and Oils Leader with Corteva Agriscience and Kristie Sigler, Senior Vice President and Partner, Food & Nutrition, FleishmanHillard, to find out more about the increase in demand for healthy oils and how that’s impacting farmers.

Much of the food we eat goes on a journey with several stops before it gets to our table. In part two of a three-part series on crop production for the human food chain, we’re moving from corn fields to a processing plant. To learn about Pioneer’s involvement in the end ingredient market, Matt talks to Mark Macrander, Director, Specialty Grains and Plant Science from Ingredion.

Each season there’s millions of acres of Pioneer corn and soybeans grown across the U.S. But have you ever wondered how much is grown for human consumption? Or how the process might be different from crops grown for other end uses? Over the next three episodes, Matt talks with a wide variety of experts to get a look into the intricacies and challenges around crop production for the human food chain. The journey starts with Roger Theisen, Pioneer’s marketing manager for specialty corn and soybeans.

Corn breeders must always have their eyes on the future, while still learning from the past. Whether it’s changes in field conditions, a shift in farmer needs or the emergence of new pests, the development of new hybrids needs to not only keep up, but be able to anticipate and adapt. In this episode, Matt gets a glimpse into the future of Pioneer corn from Neil Hoss, North American Corn Product Manager, and Matt Smalley, leader of a new group in Research called Agriculture Systems Design and Optimization.

What one factor in farming is so frustratingly unpredictable, yet so extremely impactful on each season’s crop? The answer is the weather. So, what can farmers do besides simply hoping for the right mix of sunshine and rain? In part two of this episode, Matt talks to Matt Clover, an agronomy manager using predictive data to identify the right management and placement for hybrids based on environmental conditions. Interview taped prior to August 10 storms.