“The Agronomy Up Front program continues to define Golden Harvest and to distinguish what makes us different in the marketplace,” according to Rob Robinson, joint operating head. “In an era of so many genetic and technology choices, Agronomy Up Front is the power tool for farmers who want to get the most out of their Golden Harvest products.”

Real help for farmers.
If there’s one thing Golden Harvest customers agree on, hands down, it’s the way Agronomy Up Front works to their advantage:

“You can tell the research that’s gone into Agronomy Up Front, and it really pays off.”
Mike Jaspers, Sioux Falls, SD

“Agronomy Up Front is a big asset. It makes a lot of difference what hybrid you use in which field and soil type."
Jeff Klingaman, Tekonsha, MI

"It’s taken a lot of research and time, I know, but it’s one of the best things about Golden Harvest.”
Darus Fix, Wray, CO

"It’s been great. It’s nice to know what chemicals are easy on the corn and what chemicals aren’t. It’s been a program that other companies have looked up to."
Karon & Doug Olson – Mondovi, WI

"Agronomy Up Front is very important. We base everything on the information. You know what to plant, where to plant and what conditions to plant in and what to look for…bug problems, disease problems. Our customers all feel the same way. It’s the most important thing there is when it comes to planting a piece of corn on the farm."
Charlie Faulkner – Milledgeville, IL



Weeding out problems upfront.
Since its inception in 1983, the program was deliberately named Up Front to highlight its ability to solve agronomy problems before they happen. According to Chuck Lee, head of marketing who originally worked as an agronomist and was instrumental to the development of the program, “The research was initiated to address critical customer concerns. That objective has remained at the center of Agronomy Up Front, allowing farmers to more accurately forecast how different agronomic variables will impact the performance of different hybrids on their farms.”

An innovative approach. With datasets based on multiple years and numerous locations, Agronomy Up Front has earned a solid reputation throughout the industry. As Wayne Fithian, agronomy systems manager, explains, the goal of the research is to provide information that Golden Harvest customers wouldn’t be able to get from other sources. “Our focus is on innovative studies not general agronomy topics. We want to test and discover what influences performance and then put those findings into the creation of better products for growers.”

Aggressive testing efforts have challenged traditional practices and pointed out the need for innovations in a number of areas such as:

• Hybrid by herbicide
• Seed-applied insecticides (corn and soybeans)
• Influence of corn kernel characteristics on livestock feed to gain

What’s to come?
Plans for the future encompass even more variables and locales including:

• Three 80 acre home research locations dedicated to small plot research
• Seven remote sites (20 to 30 acres each)
• A learning center (Currently locating in Troy, Ohio)

Along with the advantages of having trained product development agronomists who are familiar with the characteristics of specific regions, research agronomists will continue to experiment with various crop inputs and cropping techniques such as:

• Genotype interaction (e.g., How a specific hybrid/variety reacts to a key variable such as herbicide, planting date or population.)
• Technology validation (e.g., Defining the economic threshold or profitability of a product or technology.)
• Product characterization (e.g., How to gain maximum performance from a specific hybrid/variety based on variables such as pH tolerance, grain feed value, silage traits, maturity ratings.)

For more information.
If you have questions about Golden Harvest’s Agronomy Up Front or research efforts, please let us know how we can assist you by either calling 800-9GH-SEED or send your question via e-mail to AgronomyUpFront@ghseeds.com