A few weeks ago, I spent some time in the southern states of Kentucky and Tennessee. It was a long drive – but it sure was worth it! I was able to stay with some family friends and catch up with them all while learning about the south as the LG Seeds Marketing Intern.

I know that I work for a seed company, but some of the things I have learned about had nothing to do with agriculture. Here are a few of the things I had for the first time while I was down south: fried chicken, fried apples, biscuits and gravy, and of course, sweet tea. The food was great and so were the people. I quickly learned the true meaning of “Southern hospitality.” I met up with Accelerated Sales Intern Owen Coon, District Sales Manager Logan Daniel, and Technical Team Agronomist Dan Mitchell. They all made me feel right at home and were eager to show me what LG Seeds is like in the south.

Just like my adventures up north the week before, there were crops in the south that were new to me. As I drove through the rolling hills of Kentucky and Tennessee, I learned what tobacco farming entails and witnessed my first wheat harvest. This has been another favorite part of traveling the country and my marketing internship. I have been able to see many different types of agriculture and learn about their growing seasons.

Riding along with Owen, Logan, and Dan, I was learned a lot about the corn growing season in the south. To be honest with you, I was in shock when I first got to the south and saw the corn fields. Almost everything was tasseling and about two feet taller than the corn back home in Iowa. Even though I have grown up watching corn grow out my back window, I am still amazed every year when it begins tasseling and silking.  I learned that in the southern parts of the country, they plant longer day corn hybrids due to the warmer climates. Farmers are able to plant sooner and harvest later. In Iowa, we plant anywhere from 100 to 110 day corn. In the south they plant anywhere from 112 to 120 day corn.

We looked at plots in Benton, Kentucky and Sharon, Tennessee. While we were in the plots, we checked each hybrid and compared the growth stages. We also checked the leaves for signs of disease and did some early season yield checks. It amazes me how LG Seeds produces corn that is able to survive in the southern soil conditions. Dealer and farmer, Jason Watt, told me all about the soil conditions and what hybrids do well in specific soil types. He also told me, “You can plant anything in Iowa and it would grow.” However, when you go to other parts of the country that are not blessed with deep rich soil like Iowa, it takes a lot more effort to figure out what to plant and where.

Coming back home to corn that hasn’t tasseled was a little odd, but we made it there within the next week. I plan on sitting down soon to edit all my pictures and videos I have captured from the past months’ travels. And I arrived home just in time to put my event management skills to use as I helped the event planning team prepare for Sales Kickoff Meeting.