Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, visited with Bayer WestBred’s Jeff Koscelny about wheat seed varieties at Bayer WestBred.
Because 2022 was a tough year for anyone producing seed in the wheat industry, Koscelny said many of WestBred’s seed suppliers planted optional acres to ensure they there was enough supply.
“We have done a lot of work to make sure that we are moving supply around, so if we have got extra in southern Kansas, we are moving it to Oklahoma and trying to make sure farmers can always purchase WestBred,” Koscelny said.
Koscelny talked about the traits that wheat producers are looking for in 2023.
“Yield is always king,” Koscelny said. “Looking for that yield, that standability, that disease tolerance in eastern Oklahoma and drought tolerance in the western Oklahoma market and certainly just looking for who has performed the best.”
A few new products are coming out, Koscelny said, and those are in production now and will be available next fall. Among the traits that these new products will focus on, Koscelny said, are yield, test weight, protein, and diseases such as Stripe Rust.
“Bayer really is committed to wheat and cereals,” Koscelny said. “Always been a core part of their business from a crop protection perspective.”
The best way to showcase WestBred’s crop protection products, Koscelny said, is by having great genetics.
“We are investing a lot in innovation and bringing new genetics to the market that really give you that that yield potential,” Koscelny said.
Protecting the yield is a big focus, too, Koscelny said, because that yield potential can be lost every day if not protected.
“We are very proud of our portfolio,” Koscelny said. “We have the package.”
