Buchheit Tech Park allows farmers to observe products first-hand

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Buchheit Agri Division joined forces with Merschman Seed of West Point, Iowa, to take its product to the dirt for the benefit of customers and the future of farming.

The agricultural division, a subsidiary of Buchheit Enterprises, the headquarters of which is at 33 PCR 540 near Biehle, Mo., partnered with Merschman and officially opened the Buchheit Tech Park on Aug. 20 on the west side of Interstate 55, south of exit 123. The purpose of the tech park, about 30 miles north of Cape Girardeau, is to conduct tests on Merschman seeds, according to Eric Hasty, vice president of the agri division.

Buchheit purchased the plot of land with prime visibility for drivers on I-55, and that's when the conversation between the two companies started, he said. Merschman provides the seed and supplies needed for the seed-testing plot.

As a Merschman seed dealer, Hasty said, Buchheit wanted to set itself apart from other sellers of the company's product.

"We wanted to have a place to demonstrate the product that we're selling," he said. "I-55 is a good place to do that."

A field of soybeans grow at the new Buchheit Tech Park near Biehle, Mo. (Laura Simon)

Varieties of corn and soybeans now are planted for testing, and there are plans to plant wheat in the fall, Hasty said. Studies conducted at the park are seed-depth studies, seed-count studies and weed resistance.

The Bradford Research and Extension Center of the University of Missouri-Columbia, conducts similar research and testing on more than 600 varieties of corn, soybeans and wheat for the benefit of the farmers, according to Jeremy Angotti who works for the MU Variety Testing Program.

Although it does not work as a private entity like the Buchheit Tech Park, the Bradford research center works with seeds in the Southeast Missouri and Bootheel region within its 32 locations throughout the state.

Angotti works at the Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville, Mo. He said studies are conducted on "cooperator farms," or farmers' fields, and they also conduct private contractor research.

The Variety Testing Program has experimented and researched the products of various seed companies, including Merschman, Angotti said.

Weed resistance is an important study, Hasty said, because weeds that are resistant to glyphosate, a chemical that is used to kill weeds, have migrated into the area. When farmers attempt to kill the weeds that are resistant to the chemical, the weeds do not die -- they instead drop seeds and continue to reproduce glyophosate-resistant weeds.

Farmers and customers are able to see how Merschman's weed killer that does not use glyphosate compares to a product that does.

"It gives our farmers a chance to see it in action and see it right next to conventional methods," Hasty said.

The test plot program has been an ongoing project over the years, but this is the first time Buchheit purchased a piece of land to use for testing and research, he said. In previous years, the company carved out a piece of a local farmer's land to plant varieties of corn and beans.

Hasty said the land is an ideal spot to research and conduct testing because it is a nonbiased piece of land when compared to farmer-owned land.

A group of local farmers already have visited the tech park to see the progress of the seeds and learn about the studies.

"We're trying to give our farmers that information," Hasty said.

He said there are plans to involve and educate local Future Farmers of America chapters from area high schools in the seed testing at the park, "to get them interested in the possibilities and technology."

The research results will not be available until the plots are harvested, Hasty said, but the testing ultimately will benefit area farmers, who will gain the knowledge of optimum seed counts, depth at which to plant seeds and successful weed control.

adowning@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

33 PCR 540, Perryville, MO

West Point, IA

Biehle, MO

Columbia, MO