Hybrid Com 



By THE EDITOR 



M REVOLUTION is under 



^L L way in the corn belt. Start- 



^^^ / '"g '" t^he quiet atmosphere 

 of the plant breeder's laboratory more 

 than a decade ago, scientific informa- 

 tion has been revealed which within 

 the past few years has knocked the 



Erops from under many a thriving 

 usiness only to create a new and great- 

 er one to take its place; an industry 

 that has fired the imagination of scien- 

 tist and layman alike, one that is ab- 

 sorbing more and more enthusiastic 

 workers. Wherever farm people gather 

 today you will hear them talking about 

 this newcomer, telling their exper- 

 iences, comparing notes, peering into 

 the future, but with it all singing the 



But all hybrid corn is not of equal 

 value. Some hybrid seed yields no 

 better than open-pollinated kinds. And 

 so the old hoary monster. Greed, and 

 his twin brother. Exploitation, have 

 risen their ugly heads and there are 

 persistent reports of inferior seed be- 

 ing sold to the unsuspecting farmer 

 who is in no position to distinguish 

 between the good and not so good. 



While these reports of "no increase 

 in yield from hybrid" are greatly in 

 the minority, yet they come often 

 enough to justify the warning "Let 

 the buyer beware." The better hybrids 

 are cheap at $8 or even |10 a bushel, 

 but the poorer ones are expensive at 

 these or lower prices. An investment 



L C. 



praises of today's biggest farm dis- 

 covery, hybrid corn. 



A recent estimate that in 1938 one 

 out of every two acres planted to corn 

 in Illinois will be hybrid, gives you 

 some idea of the tremendous strides 

 the hybrid seed corn business has made 

 within a few years. So rapid has been 

 the new development and so quickly 

 and universally have farmers accepted 

 the obvious advantages of hybrid corn, 

 that the demand for seed has exceeded 

 the supply, that is, of the higher yield- 

 ing varieties which, tests show, increase 

 returns as much as 15 bu. an acre or 

 more. ,. 



If 



PLANT BREEDER LOUIE RUST 

 'Th* nubbins at% tha raluabl* inbreda." 



profit common to most budding indus- 

 tries. The year 1936-'37 was a profit- 

 able one for companies operating in 

 areas where there was a corn crop. The 

 outlook for the coming year, despite 

 increased yields and lower seed prices, 

 promises to be even better because of 

 greater volume in sales and demand. 



Awake to the opportunity for a co- 

 operative in this new field, Ford Coun- 

 ty Farm Bureau members through their 

 Corn Growers' Association, have set 

 up the Ford County Crop Improvement 

 Association, a fully cooperative, non- 

 profit enterprise, to produce top grade 

 hybrid seen corn for farmers on a com- 

 mercial basis. 



Probably the first true cooperative in 

 the country to enter the field, the Ford 

 County association is fortunate in hav- 

 ing the cooperation and counsel of the 

 Estate of Hiram Sibley and its plant 

 breeder Louie Rust who has been ex- 

 perimenting and developing hybrid 

 corn since 1924. The cooperative also 

 is fortunate in getting the use of the 

 modern seed drier and storage facilities 

 at Sibley. And last but not least, the 

 Association has an able, enthusiastic 

 manager, A. B. Schofield who has a 

 real vision of the importance of his 

 job and the opportunity to serve farm- 

 ers. The best hybrids developed by 

 Rust, and those traded for from the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture and 

 the Illinois Experiment Station at Ur- 

 bana are now the property of Ford 

 county farmers. 



This year the Ford County Crop 

 Improvement Association with head- 

 quarters at Melvin, Illinois, has more 

 than 10,000 bushels of top notch. 



Ford County Farm Bureau Members 

 Enter The Field With Their Own Co- 

 operative Hybrid Seed Company 



L A. A. RECORD 



24 BUSHELS OF HYBRID FOR CONGRESSMAN ARENDS 

 Arends (left) oi Melvin. Manager A. B. Schofield ia the salesman. 



in seed, as is true of any investment, 

 must be judged by its certain return. 

 Locally adapted varieties proved by rec- 

 ords of performance should be pur- 

 chased if possible. 



The commercialization of the hybrid 

 seed corn business in the corn belt has 

 been spurred on by the opportunity for 



« 



