Farm Progress

South Dakota soybean yield contest winners top 90 bushels per acre

Tim Hofer of Hutchinson County and Kory Standy of Charles Mix County had yields of 98 and 92 bushels per acre, respectively.

December 19, 2017

2 Min Read
YIELD CONTEST: The annual soybean yield contest contest encourages growers to push yield limits and share best management practices.fotokostic/iStock/Thinkstock

A couple winners in the 2017 South Dakota soybean yield contest topped 90 bushels per acre.

Tim Hofer of Hutchinson County had a 98.63 bushel per acre yield entry with the Legend Seeds variety LS29R562N. Hofer won the Master Class, a category for those who had previously broken the 100 bushel per acre yield mark in the contest.

“Some things we do on small acres to get the highest yields,” Hofer says. “Sometimes it’s not economical to do it everywhere, but we will try it on 40- to 60-acre plots.”

Kory Standy of Charles Mix County took home Overall First Place in the 2017 contest, raising 92.2 bushels per acre. He grew Asgrow variety AG2733.

“I read a lot on my own and then try different things,” says Standy, who has a subsurface irrigation system. “I added more potash this year. Next year, I’m working with my seed dealer on planting different seed group numbers. I’m also using soil moisture probes and taking live tissue samples. We’re doing what we need to do to make the plants healthy.”

Winners in the other categories were:

• Group 0 Non-Irrigated — Jerry Hofer, Lake County, 76.14 bushels per acre.

• Group 0 No-till — Arne Harstad, Roberts County, 71.75 bushels per acre.

• Group 1 Non-irrigated — Aubrey Scherff, Moody County, 77.5 bushels per acre.

• Group 1 No-till — Tom Lambert, Spink County, 74.44 bushels per acre.

• Group 2 Non-irrigated — Dustin Taylor, Yankton County, 76.74 bushels per acre.

• Group 2 No-Till — Jake Wurtz, Douglas County, 76.78 bushels per acre.

• Group 2 or 3 Irrigated — Kory Standy, Charles Mix County, 92.22 bushels per acre.

• Group 3 Non-irrigated — Lance Olesen, Turner County, 70.84 bushels per acre.

• Group 3 No-till — Dean Bosse, Union County, 75.41 bushels per acre.

Sponsored by the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and managed by the South Dakota Soybean Association, the annual contest encourages soybean growers to push yield limits and share best management practices.

Each first place winner received a $2,000 cash prize and up to $2,000 for a non-transferable trip for two to the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. The second place winner in each category received a $1,500 cash prize and the third place winner in each category received a $1,000 cash prize.

Soybean success seminars
You can learn more about increasing soybean yields by attending a Soybean Success Seminar hosted by SDSRPC and SDSA. Seminar locations and dates are:

• Aberdeen: Monday, Jan. 29 at the Dakota Events Center, 720 Lamont St S.

• Watertown: Tuesday, Jan. 30 at the Watertown Events Center,1901 9th Ave SW

• Mitchell: Wednesday, Jan. 31 at the Highland Events Center, 2000 Highland Way

• Sioux Falls: Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Best Western Ramkota, 3200 W Maple St.

Seminars begin at 10 a.m. and run until 1 p.m. Lunch is provided.

Source: S.D. Soybean

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