For the second consecutive year, Twin Lane Farm — owned by Mike and Bob Shearer (2018 Mid-Atlantic Master Farmer) from Mount Joy, Pa. — was the state’s top producer in the Pennsylvania Soybean Yield Contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board.

Their winning yield was 100.69 bushels per acre. The mean yield of 2020 contest entrants was 80.59 bushels an acre, down from the 2019 average of 83.18 bushels an acre.

The Shearers planted Pioneer P32T26E in 15-inch rows following corn. The crop was planted using minimum tillage May 4 at a seeding rate of 151,000 plants per acre.

The field was harvested Oct. 1. They applied Foli-Pop-K fertilizer; Approach Prima as a fungicide; Province II as a foliar insecticide; Credit Extra, Prowl H20, 2,4-D and Cloak 75DF as preherbicides; and Credit Extra and Curio 25DF as postherbicides.

As the top state winner, the Shearers will get an educational trip for two to the Commodity Classic, the annual joint convention of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Grain Sorghum Producers. The regional winners also will get an educational trip to the Commodity Classic.

Penn State Extension educators Del Voight and Andrew Frankenfield coordinated the contest.

“Again, this year we topped the 100 bushel-an-acre mark," Frankenfield says. "Looking back at the growing season, the spring planting window was not ideal. Generally cool and damp weather in April pushed more of the plantings into May than normal.

"Across the state, generally the east had adequate rainfall over the summer and above-average yields, but the central and western parts of the state had significant dry periods that drastically impacted their yield. As we approached harvest in late September and early October, rain prevented early harvest, but the skies cleared and nearly 75 percent of the entries were harvested within the same week of Oct. 5 to 10."

The contest recognized not only the state’s grand champion, but also the top growers in each of five regions of Pennsylvania based on maturity maps:

Central. Jim and Ward Chapin, Columbia County, 90.05 bushels an acre

Southeast. Brad Kiefer, Northampton County, 94.07 bushels an acre

Northern. Justin Jones, Bradford County, 45.15 bushels an acre

Western. Henry Sniezek, Lawrence County, 68.45 bushels an acre

The contest was introduced by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board in 1992. Since 1993, the Pennsylvania average soybean yield has increased about half a bushel per year, while the winning contest yield is increasing 1.5 bushels per acre per year.

A summary of the crop production practices from the 2020 contest entrants will be available from Penn State Extension educators and at pasoybean.org.

Source: Pennsylvania Soybean Board, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.