News from the FIRST Program
DTN/Progressive Farmer | Trials Offer Unbiased Comparisons of Seed
While many entities perform yield trials every year -- from governments and universities to seed companies and individual farmers -- FIRST has a unique ability to evaluate the performance of numerous seed products in an apples-to-apples comparison.
August 31T06:00:00, 2025
2025 Digital Yield Tour - Kansas Corn Yields to Best Averages in 2025 as Drought Subsides
Rain has been hard to come by in recent years in Kansas, but in 2025, drought conditions finally subsided. The result is that average corn yields are likely to outpace the five-year USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) average by more than 25 bushels per acre (bpa), according to 2025 DTN Digital Yield Tour estimates as of Aug. 1.
August 15T06:00:00, 2025
2025 Digital Yield Tour - Minnesota Corn Yields Could Average 199.1 BPA in 2025, Challenging Records
Despite a year when localized heavy rains again left many fields with drowned-out spots, Minnesota is positioned to challenge the statewide average corn yield record, according to 2025 DTN Digital Yield Tour estimates from Aug. 1.
August 12T06:00:00, 2025
New FIRST manager promotes information access for all farmers
Farmers need good information to make good decisions, and seed companies need strong partners with reputations of integrity to help prove their products’ performance. FIRST is uniquely positioned to meet both of those needs.
June 12T06:00:00, 2025
Press Release | FIRST & EarthOptics Announce Soil Analysis Collaboration
Famers Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) and EarthOptics, the leader in soil digitization and predictive agronomy, announce a collaboration in which EarthOptics will be the sole provider of Soil Sample Analysis for the 2025 FIRST Trials.
February 5T06:00:00, 2025
AgUpdate | Soybean results show bounce back from wet start
For top soybean honors in the three-state area, a Winterset, Iowa, plot hit 85.6 bu./acre, FIRST reports showed.
November 30T06:00:00, 2024