Frequently Asked Questions

At AgSCI, we're happy to answer any questions you may have. If you don't find the answer you're seeking here, please Contact Us.

What is AgSCI?
Agronomic Seed Consultant, Inc (AgSCI) was founded to provide seed selection consulting services to growers. The goal is to pool quality unbiased Independent Third Party corn and soybean yield research results into a searchable database available on-line for 24/7 user access. Users can evaluate product performance using data from multiple sources in their geography based on production practices of interest to their farming operation.

What testing results are housed in the Seed Scout searchable database?
Presently, all non-rejected 2008 and 2009 corn and soybean results from Farmers Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) are entered (including results outside the Top 30). We intend to add corn and soybean yield results from other reliable Independent Third Party testing services as resources permit.

Are there any fees for the use of the Seed Scout?
At this time, Seed Scout and all its functions are available to everyone during our free-trial period. At some future time, AgSCI may only grant paying members access to selected Seed Scout features (currently free) and/or functionality enhancements.

How do I initiate a product search?

From the Member Main Menu, left click “Seed Scout”. In the new screen, “Select Crop Type” will appear. Click the “Select Crop” box to choose desired crop. Next select the test result geography by clicking boxes next to State(s) of interest. Click “Search by States Selected” Clicking the box left of “State” will select all states.

Enter the minimum and maximum crop maturity of interest. Next select the year(s) (growing seasons) to include. You can select all year by clicking the box left of “Select Year(s)”. You now need to select the region(s) from within a state that represents you production area.

Next, choose the Herbicide and Insecticide Traits (corn) or Herbicide and Output Traits (soybean) of interest. Select single or multiple traits from BOTH trait categories. The search results will contain products having all combinations of the selected traits. For example, selecting “glyphosate” and “No Herbicide Traits” from the Herbicide Traits section and “No Insecticide Traits” in the Insecticide traits section will return only glyphosate tolerant (RR & GT) without insect traits and conventional non-trait corn products.

Lastly, left click the button labeled “Run Hot List Report” in the lower left corner of the window to view search results.

How can I find glyphosate tolerant (refuge) corn products?
Enter your desired search parameters for corn; maturity, year, state, and region. In the Herbicide Traits box select “glyphosate”. In the Insecticide Traits box, select “No Insecticide Traits”. Click the “Run Hot List Report” button to review glyphosate tolerant “refuge” in your search criteria.

How can I find conventional (non-trait) corn products?
Enter your desired search parameters for corn; maturity, year, state, and region. In the Herbicide Traits box choose “No Herbicide Traits”. In the Insecticide Traits box, select “No Insecticide Traits”. Click the “Run Hot List Report” button to review conventional (non-trait) products in your search criteria.

Can I find single trait products without all of the multiple stacked traits?
Yes. Simply check the desired trait in either the Herbicide or Insecticide trait boxes. Next check “conventional” in the other trait box. For example, to find glyphosate tolerant refuge corn, check “glyphosate” in the Herbicide Trait box and “conventional” in the Insecticide Trait box.

Can I sort table content?
Yes. Simply left click a column header and rows will sort in descending order. Click the column header again to sort in ascending order. This feature is available for all table columns.

Within a table, how can I find on a specific single product of interest?

Conduct your product search as normal to access the Hot-List Report. There are 2 ways to find your product by using either the “Find” function or by sorting table and scrolling to the desired product.

Access the Find function by both pressing the keys “Ctrl” and “F” simultaneously OR click Edit (Top left corner of window) then Find in your web browser. A “Find” text box will appear above or below the AgSCI window. Type in the product name (or portion) in this box and those letters will be found and highlighted in the table. Click “Next” to find other products with the same common letter till the product of interest is found.

You can sort the Hot-List by product name by simply left clicking the Product column header. Clicking again will sort in the opposite order. Scroll down the window (page down key, down arrow, or left click the window vertical scroll bar till you find the product of interest.

Some corn products are designated with “CK”. What does that mean?
CK designated products are check hybrids used to bridge results of adjacent tests. These products have multiple results per location vs. a single result per location with non-check products. This imbalance can skew average product results so check products are treated separately.

Will Seed Scout make head-to-head product comparisons?
No. Products are compared based on performance relative to the test average.

How does Seed Scout develop product comparisons across multiple tests?
Seed Scout uses average test results for grain yield, grain moisture, and lodging as the baseline for product comparison. Individual product results are compared to the test average to determine performance departure from test average. Product comparisons are then made based on this performance departure.

How can product departure from test average produce valid comparisons in varied environments?
As the number of test locations increase, a product will have been tested in many varied production and environmental situation. As this occurs, product performance will average out to a stable true potential.

How many tests are needed to reveal stable performance potential?
There is no set number of tests. Products with results derived from 20 or more tests will be much more reliable that a product with only 5 tests. Feel confident in product results derived from 15 or more tests.

What should I look for when choosing a product?
Base your decisions on multiple year results, multiple adjacent (east to west not north to south) regions with agronomic conditions to your area from product results reporting at least 15 tests. From this set, it is important to choose products with consistent above average performance (Above Avg % in Hot-List Report).

Should I focus on finding the products with highest Yield Advantage?
No, yield is not the only factor you want consider. Two products with similar good yield potential may actually be quite different upon close examination. Product A may provide very consistent yield in all situations. Product B may be a high flier that crashes occasionally but still has above average yield. Yield consistency (Above Avg in Hot-List Report) will show Product A with a higher percentage. Product B should not be tossed out based on these results. Look at the Performance Report results. You may discover that Product B “yield crashes” are due to specific agronomic practice like strip-till or low nitrogen rates. If you can avoid these issues in your operation, Product B may be a winner for you too.

Please explain "LSD" and how it's used here.

What is LSD?
Least Significant Difference is a statistically derived value to indicate when product yields are truly different. When the yield difference of two products is greater or equal to the LSD value, the yield trend is truly different. Larger LSD values will indicate a higher level of variability within a test (lower quality) vs. a similar test will smaller LSD values (higher quality).

Does the LSD probability level (confidence value) vary from one data source to another?
Yes. Various data sources report LSD values using different probability levels (p = 0.1 to 0.25). LSD values will be larger when p = 0.1 (90% confidence) and smaller if p = 0.25 (75% confidence).

Are the LSD values reported in Seed Scout standardized to a single probability level?
Yes. All LSD values are reported with a 90% confidence level (p = 0.1). Data sources that reported LSD values using a different probability have been recalculated using a probability of 0.1. This practice will allow Seed Scout users to use LSD values to compare trial variability across all data sources in a fair apple to apple fashion.

What value is Yield LSD on the Performance Report?
There are 2 key reasons to include Least Significant Difference (LSD). First, if the product Yield Adv is greater than the LSD, you will know that this product had significantly better yield than the test average. Second, elevated LSD values can be an indication that test variability was high. Tests with high variability may not be as reliable as those with low variability thus are candidates for exclusion. Keep in mind though, LSD values also increase yield level (i.e. LSD values for a test averaging 250 bu/acre will be higher that tests averaging 150 bu/acre despite having similar variability).

Why are products with negative Moisture Adv or Lodging Adv values better? This seems backwards.
Keep in mind you want low moisture (reduced drying cost) and low lodging scores (faster harvest) at harvest. Moisture Adv and Lodging Adv are derived by Product moisture minus test average moisture or lodging score minus test average lodging. A negative value means the Product moisture or lodging increment is less than average, i.e. drier or fewer fallen plants than average.