For soybean producers, doing a better job raising soybeans means a bigger paycheck at harvest. However, increasing crop yields is easier said than done, and incorporates a variety of factors. Where can farmers go to get top-notch information that they can implement into their operations?

The soy100 program, hosted by the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension, is designed to share valuable research with South Dakota soybean growers to help them increase yields.

“Increased yield results in increased profitability,” says Gregg Carlson, retired agronomist and SDSU instructor, who facilitated the producer panel at soy100. “Today, we just do a very, very good job,” Carlson adds. “In the last year, we’ve had extra problems with some specific [weed] species, but for the most part, we just have had a better handle on soybean management and that’s what’s improving yields.”

Key Takeaways From soy100

Andrew Wieting, partner and commodity broker, and Mike Sonne, a grain and cattle marketer, both with Swenson Investments and Commodities, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shared their insights on grain marketing at the event.

Wieting and Sonne stated that historically, soybean sales are best made from April to the middle of July. Farmers typically get an extra month to secure sales because it takes the soybean market a month longer to be confident in the production estimate.

Adam Varenhorst, SDSU assistant professor and Extension field crop entomologist, shared insights with soy100 attendees on planting populations and seed treatments. He said that AgInformatics, LLC, data analysis showing the benefits of seed treatments found a 2.8 percent per acre yield benefit for the practice.

Jack Davis, SDSU Extension crops business management field specialist, shared his thoughts on how South Dakota soybean producers are impacted by economics during lean years. Davis recommended that soybean growers know their numbers for their operations, take steps to secure price risk protection for their crops and adapt conservation practices to implement on their acres.

About soy100

The South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council is committed to helping South Dakota soybean producers obtain higher yields and find valuable markets for their crop. The soy100 event is just one piece of these larger efforts.

The free event, held on the SDSU campus earlier this spring, attracted more than 300 South Dakota soybean growers. Leading ag industry experts discussed best management practices, current trends and issues, and strategies for achieving higher soybean yields.

“If you look at U.S. soybean yields, they’re increasing at about half a bushel per year and they’ve been doing that for 30 years. So, 100 bushels-per-acre average yields is a goal that we’re closer and closer to achieving,” says Carlson.

Readers can learn more about South Dakota Soybean programs, such as soy100, and other activities at http://www.sdsoybean.org