A number of years ago, I went to Las Vegas on a business trip and spent some time observing folks in the casino. Some appeared to have Lady Luck on their shoulder while others lost their shirts. After watching for a while, I decided to play a nickel roulette wheel because I didn’t think I’d lose too much too quickly.
The other reason I played roulette was to spread my risk of losing by betting on a number of colors or numbers at the same time. While it did cost me a little more each time I placed a bet, I won more often than others who only bet one color or number at a time. I used the rule of multiplicity: placing multiple bets on multiple numbers increases the odds of winning.
The rule of multiplicity also applies to farming and risk management. One way to reduce your risk is by planting multi-traited Latham® corn hybrids like Genuity® SmartStax® RIB Complete, which uses three different modes of action for control of European corn borer and two modes of action for Northern Corn Rootworm.
Further reduce your risk and increase your odds for greater profitability by planting a diversified seed portfolio that includes Latham® products in varying maturities. Each year our growing environment is different, so what may be your best hybrid this year may be second best next year. That’s why we look at multiple plots over multiple environments to select products for our lineup.
Just like playing the roulette wheel, you can increase the odds of achieving higher overall yields by implementing the rule of multiplicity on your farm. Latham’s hallmark Seed-2-Soil® program can help create a crop plan by matching the right Latham product to the soils on your farm. Learn more by calling 1-877-G0-LATHAM (1.877.465.2842).