Control costs, manage for improved profitability with proven Horizon Ag rice varieties

To overcome some of the uncertainty hanging over planting decisions this season, farmers must sharpen their pencils to set themselves up for success.

Rice farmers, in particular, can benefit by paying attention to key management areas where higher input costs threaten to cut into profit potential – like fertilizer, seed, and fungicides. Just as essential, there are key decisions that can help boost performance and their bottom line, like choosing varieties with proven, high yield potential and that typically result in a premium paid for grain quality, as well as taking advantage of 0% financing offers for seed and chemicals.

“Horizon Ag is aggressively working with farmers to help them overcome the challenges they face this year by offering proven Clearfield^® and Provisia^® varieties like CLL16, CLL17 and PVL03, with outstanding yield potential and milling quality, at a lower seed price than hybrids,” says Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager. “That lower seed price can go a long way toward improving a farmer’s potential to be more profitable, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Farmers in the coastal regions of Texas and Louisiana should consider the input cost benefits of CLL17, which has one of the highest nitrogen (N) utilization efficiencies of all varieties or hybrids offered. Using 20-30 pounds less N per acre can provide significant savings in a year when every dollar counts. Combine those potential savings with great main crop and ratoon crop yield potential, impressive milling quality and an industry-leading disease package featuring resistance to blast and Cercospora, and farmers can be confident they’ve made the right decisions to set your farm up for success in 2022.

CLL16 has consistently shown it can yield with or better than top-performing varietals and even hybrids in fields from the Missouri Bootheel to the west of Houston, Texas. “This is a variety yielding 200-plus bushels per acre consistently across a wide range of geographies while offering the advantages of a Clearfield variety at a lower seed cost than hybrids,” says Dr. Walker. “It has resistance to blast, performs well in both flood and row rice situations and has the high yield potential and great milling quality to truly earn its reputation as ‘The Complete Package.’”

PVL03, the latest and greatest variety to be released for the Provisia Rice System, is a game-changer as well. PVL03 has yield potential that is comparable to the best Clearfield varieties with industry-leading tolerance to blast and Cercospora.

“It’s an extremely robust plant with very good straw strength, so lodging is not a problem,” says Dr. Walker. “It has exceptional grain dimensions and good grain translucency. And you are going to get the Provisia Rice System and PVL03 at a much lower price point than hybrids or competitive traited varietals. That is extremely good news for farmers wanting to maximize profitability next season by minimizing inputs while still effectively controlling costly weedy rice, red rice and grasses.”

In addition, farmers can finance their 2022 season Horizon Ag rice seed and BASF crop protection products purchases at 0% APR1 using their Multi-Use Account from John Deere Financial or through Rabo AgriFinance. “With rice farmers looking ahead to what may be a challenging year for commodity prices, this 0% APR financing offer is a great way to help save on proven, high-yielding Horizon Ag varieties and BASF crop protection products next season,” says Dr. Walker.

Go to our 2022 season website at http://horizonseed.com/proven-to-perform to find out more about Horizon Ag top-performing Clearfield and Provisia varieties. It’s a great place to hear what farmers are saying about how those varieties are achieving solid results on their farms and to download tools like the Horizon Ag 2022 Season Brochure.