First Mid’s Agronomic Partners Seed Research Program Distributes Annual 4th Quarter Data
Bloomington, IL (December 17, 2024) Planting the wrong seed can cost farmers thousands of dollars in revenue and lead to a shortage of vital crops in the region. First Mid Ag Services (First Mid), a division of First Mid Wealth Management, started its own unbiased research on corn and soybean seed 20 years ago to help farmers and farm managers make crucial decisions on what seed to buy. First Mid recently published its 2024 third-party data to help farmers purchase seed now as they prepare for the upcoming 2025 growing season. With 12 replicated and eight strip plots in 2024 stretching throughout Illinois and into Western Indiana, First Mid tested seed from 10 participating major companies and provided yield data to farmers. The statistics gathered from the plots inform both First Mid customers and the wider community throughout the region.
First Mid started doing its own research on seed in 2004, testing upward of 18 companies’ products in some cycles. The tests lead to information on how different seed grows in multiple areas of the region and how much product they yield. First Mid farm managers work with local farmers to plant the seed and monitor their progress throughout the year. The farm managers are also on-site when crops are harvested and go to work putting the data together for print and online sources. Brian Thompson, President of First Mid Ag Services, said after years of gathering data for the reports, it’s become a valuable source of information for their farm managers and many farmers in the area.
“Farmers will ask me during harvest season, ‘When is your publication coming out?’” Thompson said. “Knowing what is new and what is going to be added to the product lines of seed companies in the future is part of our expertise. It’s expensive to have products placed in the wrong area or choose a product that doesn’t perform as well. Some seed corn and soybean varieties only have life cycles of a few years. It’s crucial for us to be on top of new seed varieties and have them in our testing plots. Our plots stretch throughout our footprint from Northern Illinois to Southern Illinois and into Western Indiana. The soil temperature, weather patterns, and all-around climate can be totally different from plot to plot, allowing farmers to see how seeds perform in different areas and growing conditions. That’s the advantage of an organization like First Mid and just how far-reaching we are with our footprint.”
First Mid publishes its findings in the Illinois AgriNews annually and adds the information to its own website. Tyler Roth, Farm Manager and Agronomic Testing Coordinator at First Mid, said unbiased third-party research is hard to come by for farmers, and First Mid prides itself on being able to deliver this information to any farmer who wants to see the data.
“We invite any company to have their seed tested and try to test as many as we can,” Roth said. “Once you start getting 300-acre farms, seed production expenses can quickly exceed $50,000 a year. On just our website, you’ll see close to 10,000 hits on our seed testing page annually, showing how many people look for this research and use it as a tool in their business decisions. In the AgriNews publication, we do the math for readers, summarizing as we really dig into the data to make sure it’s easy for the consumer to read. We take the average of the plots in each region and put that into the publication with the rest of the information.”
First Mid keeps data from previous tests on its website for two to three years at a time, so farmers can see how certain seed performed over a multi-year period. One corn hybrid might have done very well in 2022 and 2023 but struggled in 2024. The consistent and historical data provided also allows First Mid to identify trends and problems ahead of the rest of the industry.
“We decided to start this research because it’s extremely difficult for farmers to find impartial, third-party data on seed,” Thompson said. “Seed companies obviously want to provide agricultural producers with their best product, so we wanted to create something that would deliver an unbiased view. This helps our customers at First Mid and any farmer throughout the region make smart, informed financial decisions.”
First Mid Ag Services manages, brokers, and values Midwest farmland and provides agricultural consultation services, primarily in Illinois and surrounding states. First Mid Ag Services has six regional offices located in Bloomington, Decatur, Kankakee, Mattoon, Peoria, and Springfield, Illinois. Visit www.firstmidag.com to learn more.
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About First Mid Bancshares, Inc.: First Mid Bancshares, Inc. is the parent company of First Mid Bank & Trust, N.A., First Mid Insurance Group, Inc., and First Mid Wealth Management Company. First Mid is a $7.6 billion community-focused organization that provides financial services including banking, insurance, wealth management, brokerage, and ag services through a network of locations in Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin, and a loan production office in Indiana. Together, our First Mid team takes great pride in providing solutions and services to our customers and communities and has done so since 1865. More information about the Company is available on our website at www.firstmid.com. Our stock is traded in The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FMBH”. Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender.
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