Walter Nelson, the company’s vice president of product development, says that forage is a natural extension of the company’s work in energy crop development. Since 2007, the company has made substantial investments in developing hybrids from new sources of breeding lines, including many from challenging growing environments, to increase biomass yields and optimize the conversion of plant material into energy.

Last season, the company claims that its Blade brand hybrids performed well in large-scale evaluations with livestock and dairy producers, out-yielding current sorghum hybrids and comparing favorably to other forage crops, such as corn silage.

The company also claims that its products performed well in numerous multi-hybrid trials. For example, the University of Florida reported that one of the company’s forage sorghum hybrids, EJ 7281, was the highest yielding commercial hybrid in both their spring and summer trials in 2014. In spring trials, EJ 7281 yields were calculated at 43,000 pounds of milk per acre, 40 percent higher than the nearest entry. Results from summer plantings showed milk yields per acre approximately 20 percent higher than other commercially planted hybrids. The company’s Blade brand hybrids also scored well for standability and plant health.

The company is currently accepting seed bookings for its Blade brand hybrids, EJ 7281, EJ 7282 and DS 7853, for spring and summer plantings.

In addition to its direct sales efforts, the company has completed a distribution agreement with Helena Chemical Company, a distributor of crop protection and crop production inputs and services. Helena will provide sales and customer support for the company’s forage sorghum in the southeastern U.S.

For more information, visit Ceres’ website.  FG

—From Ceres Inc. news release