As an independent seed company, the most challenging and important things we do are all centered around one question: What works best for our customers? From an agronomic standpoint, that means focusing on some very specific characteristics that are often ignored by the national brand seed companies that focus their time and energy on the corn belt.

Golden Acres Director of Product Development, Dr. James “Doc” Allison spends his days identifying the characteristics that will translate to yield and profitability on your farm. Once those characteristics are identified then the search is on for the hybrids that display them.

According to Doc, drought and heat stress tolerance are two of the most critical and misunderstood qualities necessary for growing corn and sorghum in our geography. Drought and heat stress tolerance are two separate

characteristics and they aren’t always found together.

“Drought stress tolerance has to do with yield despite a lack of soil moisture,” Doc clarifies, “while heat tolerance has to do with yield despite excessive heat.” At Golden Acres we spend 100% of our time finding the products that work best in your geography, most of our hybrids have a lot of heat and drought stress tolerance.

Golden Acres 2755RRB (111 Day) is an early maturing hybrid with both good heat and drought stress tolerance. Several of our Genuity VT Triple PRO hybrids such as 26V21 (115 Day), 27V01 (117 Day), 28V81 (118 Day) all hold up extremely well against heat and drought. (continued, page 2)

Custom Seed Solutions Optimize Your Return on Investment

As planting season begins and seed starts going into the ground, I’m reminded of how fundamental planning and faith are to the business of farming.

We all strive to plan as best we can. We watch weather conditions and ground moisture to pinpoint the best time to plant. We keep up with market reports and try to determine which crop will bring the most profit and success in the coming harvest. We make sure our equipment is in fine working order and we make any needed repairs. We prepare in as many ways as are possible.

But then we put that seed in the ground and we turn our minds to hope. We wonder. Just how hot is it going to get? Will it rain at the right time and in the right measure? Will all the planning and preparation pay off? Did we make the right decisions? Then we pray.

Because planning and preparation can take us just so far, and then we have to let go. In those moments, we must believe. We have to trust in a will greater than our own and a mind wiser than our own. Maybe that’s why faith and farming have gone hand in hand through so many generations.

We’re praying with you - for successful planning and preparation in the weeks to come, and for faith that the harvest will indeed be plentiful. ♦

March 2012Seed Solutions for Family Farmers

Lou BuicePresident

Page 1

Dr. James “Doc” Allison

Stewardship Reminders

Brush up on stewardship requirements and recommendations before you plant. It’s

important to understand the refuge requirements for the traits you’re going to plant and make sure all your technology licenses are up to date. Effective management and stewardship of trait technologies is key to preserving their value and continued use in the future.

Stewardship requirements include signing applicable trait licensing agreements and following all applicable Insect Resistance Management (IRM) practices in order to protect the long-term value and effectiveness of trait technologies.

All growers planting Agrisure traits must complete a current Syngenta Stewardship Agreement. This agreement has been updated recently, so it’s a good idea to sign a new version just to make sure. Visit MyAgrisure.com and click stewardship for more information.

If you’re planting Monsanto traits you’re required to have a current Monsanto Technology/Stewardship Agreement. Growers who have not renewed to the 2010 or later version should go to ReNewMTSA.com or call 1-800-768-6387, Option #3 to begin the renewal process. (continued, page 3 sidebar)

Seed Solutions for the South

Page 2

Custom Solutions, continued...

• Early to Mid

– Reduced plant & ear height

– Reduced leaf size

– Reduced ear size

• Mid to Late

– Poor pollination rates

– Barren plants

– Aborted kernels

– Reduced kernel size

Timing and Severity of Stress Affects the Plant’s Response

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

0.30

0.20

0.10

0.05

Emergence

TasselingSilking

Early Dent

Black LayerKnee High

Days After Planting

Daily

Wat

er U

se (i

nche

s)

Peak Daily Water Use (inches)

Classification: Not for Distribution

Doc expects to see a slight upswing in acres planted to sorghum this year as well. “Because grain sorghum is much more drought tolerant than corn, and because it is so much more economical to plant, more farmers are looking to plant grain sorghum this year than we’ve seen in a long time.”

When it comes to corn hybrids adapted for tough conditions, Doc prefers flex ear types over fixed. A flex ear adapts better to various growing conditions. If more moisture and fertility are present the ears will “flex” out and get bigger, which allows for planting at lower populations while experiencing increased yield. “With a fixed ear type,” Doc says, “you have to plant at higher populations to achieve the same yield and any drought or heat stress can cause your yields to take a hit.”

Flex ear hybrids are usually planted on wider rows, which means the plants have wider leaves and fuller canopy. This helps shade the ground between rows to avoid losing precious ground moisture. A lush, wide canopy can also prevent late-season weeds.

Talk to your local Golden Acres representative to identify which hybrids have the best fit on your farm. We’d like to earn your business by developing a customized seed solutions plan that will increase your farm’s profitability. ♦

Water Use During Corn Plant’s Life Cycle

INFORMATION AND INSPIRATION FOR OUR GOLDEN ACRES FAMILY

Stewardship Reminders, cont... All growers planting Herculex traits must have completed a current Dow AgroSciences Grower Agreement. Visit TraitStewardship.com for easy relicensing.

As we move into the upcoming planting season, you should also be aware that IRM audits were conducted in 2011 which found many growers out of compliance with refuge requirements. It is very important to know that audits will continue in 2012 and those growers found out of compliance for two consecutive years will face the penalty of not having access to traited seed.

If you have any questions about refuge or technology licensing requirements, call your local Golden Acres representative. They’ll be glad to walk you through the process and help you customize a stewardship plan that protects your access to future traits and ensures your return on investment this season. ♦

Golden Acres is now on Facebook

Follow Golden Acres on Facebook to get the latest Golden Acres news and connect with Golden Acres resellers, growers, and staff. ♦

Page 3

Golden Acres has been a source for excellent quality forage sorghum and sorghum sudan hybrids for more than fifty years. Supply is tight on all forage products across the industry, but we’re in a unique position to still have an adequate supply. Since hay is scarce and every spare acre counts, we thought you’d like to know about some of the products we still have in the barn.

Forage and Sudan Hybrids

Want to receive Golden Acres newsletters and updates via e-mail? Just send an e-mail to

subscribe@GAseed.com and we’ll add you to our e-subscription list!

“He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful.” -Isaiah 30:23

Si-Gro H-44 – A medium maturity forage sorghum that delivers an excellent grain to stover ratio. This plant has exceptional standability and drought tolerance and a good disease protection package. Although generally short-statured, its abundant leaves allow it to get taller when planted later in the season for maximum flexibility.

340 BMR – This yield-packing Brown Midrib hybrid features the Brachytic Dwarf trait resulting in shortened internodes and a very compact, leafy plant with excellent standability and yield potential. This forage sorghum hybrid delivers high quality, highly digestible hay or silage but is not recommended for grazing.

318 – A dual-purpose medium-late maturity hybrid with good stress tolerance and exceptional yield potential, this forage sorghum hybrid performs best in areas with adequate moisture or irrigation. The large semi-compact head type produces bronze colored grain. This is a taller hybrid with excellent grain to stover ratio.

753 BMR+ – A Brown Midrib sorghum sudangrass with excellent palatability and a marked reduction in lignin content in the plant. It is highly digestible and highly recommended for haying, silage, and grazing. The photosensitive trait provides a wide window of harvest and ensures consistent quality over the entire growing season. ♦

Golden Acres SmartStax RIB Complete G1512 and Double PRO RIB Complete G1518 hybrids will arrive in our black and gold ClearView window bag with new RIB-Refuge In a Bag belly band. Triple PRO hybrids are also packaged in a black and gold ClearView bag. All other corn seed is packaged in our standard gold and black bag.

Remember to READ the TAG... Be sure to check the tag color and trait logo on your bag of Golden Acres or Maverick brand corn seed before planting for additional trait labeling information. Always Read the Tag to distinguish between corn traits. The chart at the left is your guide to tag colors and trait logos for easy recognition. ♦