Short Stature Corn Field Demo: An Up-Close Look at the Corn of the Future

In the year since I was named Head of R&D for Bayer Crop Science, I think the question I most often am asked by reporters and colleagues is: “Which R&D pipeline projects are you most excited about?” And for some reason, “all of them” never seems to be a satisfactory answer.

If you look at our Crop Science pipeline right now, there are more than 75 key projects in areas like seeds & traits, crop protection, and digital ag that we are developing, and that’s not including the hundreds of new seed hybrids and varieties that we release every year. What excites me the most is how we will be able to use a combination of these new products and tools to create tailored solutions that are uniquely designed to sustainably solve each farmer’s specific challenges – so in that sense, “all of them” really is the truth.

But one of the specific pipeline projects that I think will be a real game-changer for agriculture is short stature corn, which I’ve written about before. Our R&D teams are currently developing and field-testing both conventionally bred and biotech corn varieties that are several feet shorter – and much sturdier – than any corn that farmers have previously grown. Short stature corn will reach a maximum 7’ height, as opposed to the 10-11’ corn you typically see at harvest time in the U.S. Midwest.

In early August, we were able to give a group of shareholders and reporters an up-close look at one of our short stature corn demonstration plots in Illinois, to help them understand how these new varieties will help growers farm more sustainably in the future. When comparing short corn to traditional corn out in the field, it’s easier to show how:

• You can plant short stature corn seeds more closely together, producing more crops on the same amount of land.
• Under limited water conditions, plants with the native trait have shown reduced signs of stress.
• You can access short stature corn fields with farm equipment much later in the growing season, making it possible to more precisely and efficiently apply needed nutrients and fungicides.
• The stouter plant structure is less susceptible to in-season crop loss due to standability issues like root lodging, greensnap and stalk lodging. 

If you don’t farm and don’t know anyone who does, those terms probably don’t mean anything to you. But to a farmer, they could mean the difference between a productive and profitable harvest or an entire season’s worth of hard work down the drain – along with the wasted natural resources that were used to produce it – and the income that their family was counting on.

My colleague Calvin Treat, Head of Corn Technology R&D, did a great job explaining how short stature corn prevents those issues during our field day demo. Check out these short video clips to learn more: 

I’m sure it’s hard for most of us to even imagine a scenario in our own jobs that would rob us of a year’s salary, especially if we never stopped working hard to earn it. I think the ability to give farmers more control over previously unmanageable threats to their success will be a win for science, a win for the planet, and a win for every person who depends on agriculture to provide our daily food and fiber. In other words, I believe that short stature corn has the rare potential to be a win for everyone.

To learn more about short stature corn and other information shared at our Summer Technology Showcase event, you can check out some of the media coverage in the links below.

• Future of Input Pricing: Buy Value, Not Just Product – Ag Pro – August 6
• Bayer sees a big future for short corn varieties – St. Louis Post-Dispatch – August 9
• Science Driven Price Structure Revealed by Bayer – Peoria Observer – August 9 
• Short Stature, High Expectations – Ag Pro – August 13