At its annual Specialty Products Conference, Westfield, Indiana, AgriGold revealed significant new offerings in seed products that give farmers opportunities to generate greater net income through premium programs.
A brand of AgReliant Genetics, AgriGold dedicates significant resources to developing product lines that meet market demand for premium products. That includes conventional corn and soybeans, yellow and white hard endosperm corn, and waxy corn, according to Chuck Hill, AgReliant Genetics’ specialty products manager.
“Our research team actively evaluates hybrid characteristics that are important to buyers in niche markets,” Hill said. “We look first at high yield and agronomics and then find products with the test weights and other specific grain qualities that meet specialty buyers’ needs.”
Non-GMO corn and soybean offerings
By launching new hybrids into conventional markets first, then adding traits, the company brings new genetic choices into the non-GMO marketplace more quickly, Hill said. AgriGold offered 26 conventional corn hybrids for 2022 planting. Its robust future product lineup includes:
• Twenty-nine conventional corn hybrids available for 2023 planting, ranging from 85- to 117-day relative maturity.
• Eight new conventional soybean varieties will be offered in 2023, including one clear hilum variety for tofu production. This will be the first year that AgriGold will provide a non-GMO soybean offering to farmers.
• A total of 66 elite hybrids are being tested for potential advancement into the conventional corn market.
Hybrids tailored for food markets
AgriGold offers both yellow and white HEC hybrids, also referred to as “hard endo” or food-grade corn. These hybrids deliver grain qualities needed for processing corn flakes, tortillas, snacks, grits, and other corn-based foods.
AgriGold’s HEC pipeline includes the following:
• Thirty yellow HEC hybrids expected for planting in 2023, with 85- to 120-day RM. Additional yellow HEC hybrids are currently in pre-commercial research trials and are expected to be available for planting in 2024.
• New A643-17W, a white HEC corn, was introduced in limited quantities during 2022. Planted in seven states in 2022, this 113-day hybrid delivers high yield and great agronomics. The company is currently ramping up production of A643-17W. A full-scale launch is planned for 2023.
• White HEC field trials expanded in 2022, with several hybrids in the first and second years of testing for potential future introductions.
Waxy corn for wet milling
AgriGold waxy corn hybrids meet the specific needs of cornstarch manufacturing. Normal dent corn contains 75% amylopectin and 25% amylose, while waxy varieties contain at least 97% amylopectin, making them more suitable for wet milling into corn starch.
AgriGold’s waxy corn pipeline includes the following, in addition to the seven waxy hybrids available in 2022:
• A643-01WX, a new 113-day product for planting in 2023.
• Twenty-two experimental hybrids being tested this year at 15 research sites. These range in RM from 107 to 114 days.
