Standouts across the state

After the challenges of the 2026 growing season, thinking about 2027 may be the last thing on a grower’s mind. Excessive rainfall led to narrow planting windows, flooded fields, and difficult replant and herbicide application decisions across much of Missouri. While this year’s crop is still the top priority, it’s never too early to start evaluating options for next season.

That’s where our 2025 variety trial data comes in. To provide meaningful recommendations, MFA’s agronomy research is conducted across a wide range of locations throughout Missouri. Evaluating products in diverse environments allows us to see how hybrids and varieties perform under varying conditions and helps identify products that may be a good fit for operations similar to your own. By looking at performance across the state, growers can make more informed decisions about the genetics best suited for their farm.

In 2025, conditions allowed for timely planting of most of our corn and soybean trials, followed by excessive rainfall during the first half of the growing season. By contrast, the second half was largely without rain, which caused some of the earlier-planted corn and soybeans to complete critical reproductive stages prior to the dry conditions that, for much of the state, started in August and continued through harvest. To sum up the 2025 growing season, Missouri went from above-average rainfall during April, June and July to the fourth-driest August and the fourth-warmest fall on record, according to the University of Missouri.

Site background

All of our variety trial sites are on a corn-soybean rotation. Corn plots were planted at 32,500 seeds per acre, and all the soybeans were planted at 140,000 seeds per acre. Planting dates varied by location, but conventional tillage was used in every case. Figure 1 lists the locations, planting date, tillage and soil type for our corn hybrid trials, and Figure 2 shows the same information for our soybeans. In the accompanying data tables for MorCorn and MorSoy, not every site is listed but all are factored into overall yield averages.

MorCorn hybrids

In 2025, we tested 48 MorCorn and partner brand hybrids, including 15 experimental products to consider adding to our portfolio. The data tables on the next page only reflect our MorCorn hybrids, but all tested partner brands were included in final averages.

Advancing to our MorCorn lineup is XP 2553, which will join our portfolio as MC 4025 PCE. This hybrid averaged 10 bushels per acre more than both MC 3809 VT2P and MC 4020 VZ. Incorporating the PowerCore Enlist trait and allowing for postemergence applications of Enlist One, MC 4025 PCE adds more flexibility to a grower’s herbicide program. 

The 2025 season marked the fourth in a row that MC 4412 TRE solidified its place as a go-to hybrid with plenty of yield potential. MC 4412 TRE continued to prove its ability to fit into any environment as a reliable mid-season hybrid. Out of the four 114-day relative maturity hybrids we currently offer, MC 4412 TRE averaged 6 bushels per acre higher than the other three.

 MC 4820 TRE proved to be the top contender out of all the late-season varieties tested, averaging 254 bushels per acre overall in the 2025 season—18 bushels higher than MC 4652 VT2P, our other late-season hybrid. MC 4820 TRE includes the Trecepta trait, which offers improved control of certain insects over the VT2P trait.

MorSoy varieties

In 2025, we tested 58 MorSoy and partner brand soybean varieties across Missouri, including 13 experimental products that could be incorporated into our lineup. The data tables on the next page only show our MorSoy varieties, but all tested partner brands were factored into final yield averages.

The experimental variety, XP 2535, has been advanced to the MorSoy family as MS 3565 E. It outperformed the other nine Mid-Group 3 soybean varieties tested across all eight sites. Averaging 71 bushels per acre overall, MS 3565 E also managed to produce 80 bushels per acre or more at four of the eight testing sites and averaged 87 bushels at two locations.

 In its second year in our MorSoy lineup, MS 4199 continued to prove its reliability as a solid mid-season soybean, averaging 69 bushels per acre for the season and outperforming all of the early Group 4 soybeans currently in our portfolio. MS 4199 is also a 4.1 relative maturity soybean with a shorter stature that could be less prone to lodging. This variety is best suited for sandy and loam soil types and excels in high-yield environments. 

MS 3901 E made it through its first season in our MorSoy lineup and demonstrated its ability to consistently yield with some of our other high performers, such as MS 3830 E and MS 4199 E. Both MS 3901 E and MS 3830 E averaged 69 bushels per acre in 2025, demonstrating the versatility our MorSoy lineup offers to fit any grower’s preferences or needs. 

We look forward to sharing data from the 18 different research sites where our 2026 variety trials are underway. Look for reports from this year’s research in Today’s Farmer, at mfa-inc.com and MFA social channels, and visit your local MFA agronomy experts to learn more about those results when they become available. 

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