Economic Aspects of the Hybrid Seed Corn Market in Nebraska

In 1957, 1567 acres of hybrid seed corn were approved for certification.This was the smallest annual number of acres reported during the period 1948 through 1957.Two of the factors responsible for this decline were:(1) intensive price competition between certified grower-sellers had resulted in low prices and elimination of many certified growers, and (2) most of the certified grower-sellers had very small seed volumes and could not finance adequate advertising and sales promotion programs. The marketing problems of certified growers were discussed during the annual meeting of Nebraska Certified Hybrid Seed Corn Producers Association in March 1958 and in June 1958 the Nebraska Hybrid Seed Growers Association was formed and incorporated as a marketing cooperative of certified growers. The objectives of this study are: To describe the marketing system of hybrid seed corn in Nebraska, including the channels of distribution for certified hybrid seed corn and commercial hybrid seed corn, and the importance of the various distributors. To describe the hybrid seed corn market in Nebraska with respect to: its structure, supply and demand, production, processing, and marketing cots, average seed prices, and marketing margins. To evaluate the success of the Nebraska Hybrid Seed Growers Association in resolving the marketing problem of certified hybrid seed corn growers. Certified growers have been doing an excellent job of producing and processing hybrid seed corn.Although the quality of the certified growers’ processing operations is high, costs could be reduced by hiring custom operators to perform these operations. In addition, marketing operations of some of the certified grower-sellers have not been too effective.From the limited marketing information obtained in the survey of certified growers, there were indications that small volume (200 to 1000 bushels) certified grower-sellers still have marketing problems which were prevalent in 1957. Larger volume certified grower-sellers apparently have solved some of their marketing problems, and have been more effective than small volume certified grower-sellers in marketing their seed. The Nebraska Hybrid Seed Growers Association, established in 1958 to market hybrid seed corn for its certified grower-members, has encountered and apparently solved some of the marketing problems. However, other marketing problems remain for future solution.Since the Association has been in operation only two years, its success in resolving the marketing problems of certified grower-members cannot be substantiated at this time. Advisor: C. J. Mille