Retail Seed price for traited products is easily in the $200 range, some up maybe getting up around $300, and I wouldn"t be surprised to see prices 2x w/in the next few years, especially as some of the new technologies come to market. There are areas where this may not pencil out for the premo products, but for the top of the line seed, expect to pay for the performance.
BTW, corn seed is no longer sold in 50# units, I"m not sure when it started, but corn seed has been sold as an 80,000 kernel unit for many years.
You are correct however, most corn seed sold today is a hybrid. Not only will it not "breed true" meaning that if you keep the seed, you won"t get what you planted the first time, but also keep in mind that many varieties are protected by the PVP Act. Keeping back seed of these varieties could be a violation of a Federal Seed Patent Law, and could get a fellow in deep trouble.
Hybrid seed has been marketed since the "50"s at least, so this is nothing new. In order to accomplish the things that growers need to do to feed the world, the industry continues to look for higher performing products. Open Pollinated and landrace populations cannot keep pace with modern single cross elite lines.
Farmers are the heart of this country, with out agriculture this country would be in a dire position, even the world. Right now there are alot of dollars being invested with the goal of making a farmer more money per acre. Those companies that are making that investment are expecting to get paid back for their efforts. Apparently they see a future in it, as they continue to spend money, I see news articles everyday about Pioneer, Dow, Bayer and Monsanto all making big deals looking to come up with the next "big thing". Also, apparently some farmers see the value in those things as they continue to purchase.
I would challenge you any day of the week, 1 acre side by side, to take out the land variable, I farm it my way with traited hybrid corn, and fertilizers, you farm it yours with OP saved seed, and what ever you want for fert, and we"ll see who wins. I"ll agree, you won"t spend as much, but if the land cost is the same, I cannot afford to give up any yield just to save on the front side. I need as much corn off of every acre to capture the biggest return on my land and equipment capital investment, maybe you have a different situation, or maybe just trying to stir the pot on a public forum, I don"t know, we"re all welcome to our own opinions.
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