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Bayer says corn seed harvest running smoothly

Harvest is underway for Bayer’s largest corn seed production facility.

Field production specialist Kirk Gibson tells Brownfield the turn to drier weather has made for an ideal end to the season in southern Michigan.

“Rain in the month of September or October really slows our harvesting down,” he says. “With this drought, it’s allowed the crop to dry down a little quicker and allows us to bring it into our facility faster. This harvest so far has actually been one of our smoother harvests.”

Bayer’s Constantine plant will process more than 24,000 bushels of seed corn for farmers to use during the 2025 planting season. About 70 percent of the plant’s seed production is for Bayer’s national corn
brand DEKALB and Channel corn seed makes up the remainder.

Site lead Barry Meyer says the soils make the region ideal.

“We are probably one of the most reliable growing environments and a lot of that has to do with that sandy loam soil and the irrigation,” he explains.

About 130 trucks every day during the harvest will deliver whole ear and shelled seed corn grown by about 60 farmer partners in Michigan and Indiana.

Meyer says Constantine is considered the seed corn capital of the country with several seed companies growing in the area for at least the past 50 years.