Research and Testing
Research
If you think about it, because we source our genetics from one of the largest and most diverse breeding organizations in the world, we are actually utilizing the research and breeding efforts of hundreds of breeders scattered across dozens of research stations all over the globe. The beauty of this approach is that we gain access to so many different sources of germplasm and thus the widest array of products which in turn gives our customers the greatest hybrid diversity on their farm.
The depth and breadth of our parent breeding organization also allows us access to not only a wide array of germplasm but a very advanced technology platform. The amount of research and technology investment exceeds 700 million dollars annually which allows access to one of the very best trait AND germplasm programs, which in the end, is what's best for you.
Testing
When we started iCORN, one of our primary objectives was to try to create a company that looked at the way things were done in our industry and either improve them or do them totally different. I think it is safe to say that our testing program is a great example of that philosophy.
At iCORN, we understand that most farmers have little faith in company sponsored plots and yield data; in order to address that issue, we only test our products against the best competition in third party testing networks. This provides completely unbiased data for you to evaluate our hybrids. We don't plant the plots, we don't fertilize the plots, we don't harvest the plots. We simply send the seed off to the testing partners and they do the rest. We work with 6 major 3rd party testing organizations; the major universities at Ohio State, Purdue, and Illinois, and three companies that run replicated research trials F.I.R.S.T, Soy Capital, and Integrated Ag services. Combined, these organizations log thousands of hours each year packaging, planting, maintaining and harvesting these plots with a wide range of specialized plot planters and plot combines.
Before products get to the third-party testing network, they are screened and tested in hundreds of thousands of small plots all across the country. Our access to this broad based research and testing network, gives us the opportunity to select from among some of the best genetics in the world.
But that's not the end of how we are so different when it comes to product testing and evaluation. In the past, when you wanted to look at plot data, farmers were at the mercy of the seed company to print the plots in yield books and give them to you. As you are well aware, many times only the plots that put their best foot forward would be included in these books after the company had screened them.
At iCORN, we put the power of plot evaluation in your hands with an industry leading tool we created called CrossCheck that allows you to compare hybrids using a database composed entirely of third party data. No screening of plots, no throwing out the bad ones, they all go in the data which is why you can find head-to-head comparisons we lose just as easily as we win. We feel like this approach to providing you the ability to compare hybrids with non-biased data is one of the most powerful parts of our model.
This research and testing model is not cheap, in fact we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to contract out with our testing partners to bring you the data as well as the CrossCheck tool.
