Company announces replant program for soybean growers
Meristem Crop Performance, Powell, Ohio, has announced a first-ever $40 an acre protection program for HOPPER THROTTLE MaxStax for soybeans, a combination of 16 crop inputs delivered seamlessly through an advanced planter box seed fluency system powered by Meristem’s patented BIO-CAPSULE Technology.
“We are the only company not in the seed business to offer a $40 per acre replant program, and it’s because we want farmers to plant early, go faster, get more bushels, and let us take the risk,” said Mitch Eviston, Meristem founder and CEO in sharing the news. “Why wouldn’t you go after higher yields?” he asks, pointing out that university research shows consistently that planting soybeans earlier creates potential for more bushels.
“Every day you wait can cost you a half-bushel in yield,” said Connor Sible, PhD, in the crop science department at the University of Illinois. Sible has studied the benefits of early planting over the past three years. “Every season is going to be different, but when we plant earlier, we set more nodes, and more nodes bring more pods, and that means more beans at harvest time.”
Adam Conrad, who farms in central Ohio, says he’s moved to earlier planting of his soybeans and will do it every year. “It’s a no-brainer for us now,” he says. “And the replant coverage that Meristem provides just makes it easier to protect that seed with a biocontrol at the planter box. For years, the routine was to plant corn, then beans, but now that we’ve seen the results, we won’t go back. I think that’s the way it is with most farmers once they switch.”
Conrad says the Meristem replant eliminates any risk of planting early when combined with the seed company program. Last year, he got firsthand experience with the replant coverage when his soybeans were flooded out in April. “It was a simple process. Send in the location of the field and the coordinates, and they took care of the rest.” According to Eviston, making the replant protection easy to use was essential from the start of the program. “If you have to replant, you just contact your Meristem dealer, and they will get you your check.”
John Torrance, who has raised the highest soybean yields in Illinois in 2022 (113 bushels per acre) and again in 2024 (115 bushels per acre) says early planting, protecting the seed, and feeding the crop all season long are keys to his success.
“Today, farmers are spending upwards of $28 per acre with seed treatments to protect soybeans from insects and diseases like seedcorn maggots, phytophthora, and sudden death syndrome,” Eviston said. “With MaxStax, they can better protect their seeds from all of those pests while reducing cost and optimizing their crop’s genetic potential to go after 6 to 8 more bushels per acre. We’re out to give soybean growers a $45 per acre advantage.”
For more information, see a dealer or visit www.MeristemAg.com.
