FIRST trials 2024 Program Guide

2024 FIRST Program Guide

We are proud to bring you the 2024 Farmers' Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) variety trials program. FIRST's independent trials provide unbiased information about the yield performance of America's top corn and soybean seed brands. Please view the products tested this year, review our testing procedures, and region test plans for 2024.

2024 Corn Trial at Trent, SD on July 3. Photo courtesy of Payden Peterson, Peterson Seed Testing.

2024 Products Tested Listings

Comprehensive listings of hybrids and varieties in the 2024 FIRST trials.

The 2024 Products Tested Directories are available below, and include full contact details for each of our sponsor and participant brands. See what new seed products our sponsors have entered in this year's tests. Each hybrid and variety that has been tested by FIRST in previous seasons is highlighted with a link to its individual Product Report.

Note that seed that has been entered by FIRST as a check (CK) in split maturity tests or as a grower comparison (GC) are designated with those abbreviations. FIRST includes these brands to strengthen results and is not compensated for the seed and field work for CK and GC products.

Corn Hybrids PDF Soybeans Varieties PDF There are no Corn Silage trials in 2024.

Testing Objectives and Procedures

FIRST provides a fair and objective platform under a uniform testing standard to compare seed productivity in a multitude of soil and growing conditions across 15 states. This year, over 2,000 seed products from over 70 seed companies were tested across 65 distinct growing regions. These replicated tests are conducted on over 300 farms, so that producers and ag professionals can better match seed performance with particular growing conditions. FIRST’s work relies on collaborations between cooperating farmers, sponsoring seed companies, FIRST Field Managers and publishing partners. FIRST is grateful for the opportunity to work with the agricultural community. The continuing goal of the program is to deliver of timely, unbiased comparisons of innovative seed genetics to improve yield and profitability for American farmers.

More information on testing procedures, measurements, and reporting are available at these links: Corn Grain Soybeans Corn Silage

2024 Region and Location Details

FIRST trials are arranged in regions of several contiguous counties, with 5-6 plot locations for corn grain and 4 locations for soybeans and corn silage that are representative of the area. Each seed entered in the region is tested at all locations in order to provide 18-20 small plot observations in the entire region.

FIRST encourages you to use the Region Summary Reports published after all locations are harvested to evaluate the best performances across a range of locations and environments.

Region test plans with the number of entries and maturity range are listed below. Tests are often split into different maturity ranges.

Maturity tests are abbreviated as:

  • "u" for ultra-early maturity
  • "a" for early-season
  • "b" for late-season
  • "l" for ultra-late maturity
Location Details are listed on each crop Reports page. Jump to the location list and interactive maps from here:
2024 Corn Grain region boundaries with test maturities listed
2024 Soybeans region boundaries with test maturities listed
Corn Grain Regions
See the ARCHIVE page for Locations and Products Tested in each region.
Entries per testMaturity Range per Test
StateRegionManagerAll/UE (u)Early (a)Full (b)UL (l)All/UE (u)Early (a)Full (b)UL (l)
IAIAECIowa East CentralRandy Meinsma--3042----105 - 110111 - 115--
IAIANCIowa North Central
Corey Rozenboom
305452--95-100101 - 106107 - 111--
IAIANWIowa Northwest
Nick Hoffman
274545--95-100101 - 106107 - 111--
IAIASOIowa SouthRandy Meinsma--3036----106 - 111112 - 116--
IAIAWCIowa West CentralRandy Meinsma--3036----105 - 110111 - 115--
ILILECIllinois East CentralNathan Roux--4545----105 - 111112 - 116--
ILILNOIllinois NorthNathan Roux364545--101 - 106107 - 110111 - 114--
ILILSOIllinois SouthKlint Tucker--4848----107 - 112113 - 117--
ILILWCIllinois West CentralNathan Roux--5463----105 - 111112 - 116--
ININCEIndiana CentralKlint Tucker--5556----105 - 110111 - 114--
ININNOIndiana NorthMatt Turner--4448----103 - 108109 - 112--
ININSOIndiana SouthKlint Tucker56--------107 - 113114 - 120--
KSKSCEKansas CentralMelissa Nelson24--36----107 - 112113 - 117--
KSKSNEKansas NortheastAdam Stuteville--3025----107 - 112113 - 117--
MIMISOMichigan SouthMatt Turner--4032----97 - 103104 - 107--
MNMNSEMinnesota SoutheastMark Querna265445--92 - 9697 - 102103 - 107--
MNMNSWMinnesota SouthwestMark Querna--545426--97 - 102103 - 107108 - 112
MNMNWCMinnesota West CentralEd Dahle264536----93 - 9899 - 102--
MOMOCEMissouri CentralWilliam Schelp--3136---- 107 - 112113 - 117--
MOMONOMissouri NorthWilliam Schelp--3536----107 - 112113 - 117--
IA/IL/WINCTS
North Central Iowa, Tri-State Illinois & Wisconsin
Jason Beyers--4545----101 - 107108 - 111--
NENENENebraska Northeast
Nick Hoffman
--3234----105 - 110111 - 115--
NENESENebraska SoutheastAdam Stuteville--3330----107 - 112113 - 117--
OHOHNWOhio NorthwestMatt Turner--3240----103 - 108109 - 112--
NDRRCERed River CentralMark Querna35------82 - 92------
NDRRSORed River SouthMark Querna40------85 - 95------
SDSDNESouth Dakota NortheastMatt Eich--4040----91 - 9596 - 100--
SDSDSESouth Dakota SoutheastPayden Peterson--4040----98 - 102103 - 108--
WIWICEWisconsin CentralJason Beyers--3636----93 - 9899 - 102--
WIWISOWisconsin SouthJason Beyers--4545----99 - 104105 - 109--
Soybean Regions
See the ARCHIVE page for Locations and Products Tested in each region.
Entries per testMaturity Range per Test
StateRegionManagerAll/Early (a)Full (b)All/Early (a)Full (b)
IAIANCIowa North Central
Corey Rozenboom
60--2.1 - 2.9--
IAIANOIowa North
Corey Rozenboom
63--1.6 - 2.5--
IAIANWIowa Northwest
Nick Hoffman
48--1.6 - 2.5--
IAIASCIowa South CentralRandy Meinsma30362.3 - 2.72.8 - 3.2
IAIASOIowa SouthRandy Meinsma30362.5 - 3.03.1 - 3.6
ILILNCIllinois North CentralNathan Roux71--2.8 - 3.8--
ILILNOIllinois NorthNathan Roux63--2.4 - 3.3--
ILILSCIllinois South CentralNathan Roux71--3.3 - 4.3--
ILILSOIllinois SouthKlint Tucker59--3.5 - 4.5--
ININCEIndiana CentralKlint Tucker72--2.8 - 3.8--
ININNOIndiana NorthMatt Turner75--2.4 - 3.4--
KSKSCEKansas CentralMelissa Nelson24--3.4 - 4.7--
KSKSECKansas East CentralAdam Stuteville25--3.4 - 4.7--
KSKSNEKansas NortheastAdam Stuteville28--3.4 - 4.4--
MNMNCEMinnesota CentralEd Dahle45--1.3 - 2.0--
MNMNCECVMinnesota Central Conventional SpecialtyMark Querna29--0.8 - 1.7--
MNMNNCMinnesota North CentralEd Dahle45--0.6 - 1.5--
MNMNSCMinnesota South CentralMark Querna48--1.5 - 2.2--
MNMNSOMinnesota SouthMark Querna48--1.6 - 2.3--
MNMNSOCVMinnesota South Conventional SpecialtyMark Querna30--1.4 - 2.3--
MOMOCEMissouri CentralWilliam Schelp61--3.5 - 4.5--
MOMONOMissouri NorthWilliam Schelp69--3.2 - 4.3--
IA/ILNCSLNorth Central State LineJason Beyers54--2.1 - 2.9--
NENENENebraska Northeast
Nick Hoffman
33--2.4 - 3.3--
NENESENebraska SoutheastAdam Stuteville32--3.1 - 4.0--
OHOHNWOhio NorthwestMatt Turner48--2.4 - 3.4--
NDRRSORed River SouthMark Querna54--0.5 - 1.4--
SDSDNESouth Dakota NortheastMatt Eich48--1.0 - 1.7--
SDSDECSouth Dakota East CentralPayden Peterson45--1.6 - 2.3--
SDSDSESouth Dakota SoutheastPayden Peterson30--2.1 - 2.8--
WIWISOWisconsin SouthJason Beyers54--1.8 - 2.5--