Soybean Links - April 7

*I'm going to start including links here on the blog to articles and issues relevant to soybean producers, researchers, and agribusiness professionals. Linked articles are for your information only and don't necessarily represent endorsement of any media outlet or agricultural company.

New York Times: U.S. Farmers Plan a Record Soybean Planting

American farmers expect to plant 88.8 million acres of corn — the second-largest acreage since 1946 — and a record 78.1 million acres of soybeans in response to high prices for the crops, the government said on Wednesday.

While the survey results point to the prospect of bumper crops, the acreage figures were slightly below trade expectations of 89.2 million acres for corn and 78.5 million acres of soybeans.

With normal weather and yields, the planting intentions would result in a corn crop of 13.1 billion bushels, roughly equal to the record set last year, and a soybean crop of 3.3 billion, just under the 2009 record, according to Reuters calculations.

Oregon Company gets EPA grant to study Soy adhesive

Soybean flour is abundant, renewable and readily available, the EPA said in a news release, and the curing agent used in making the adhesive is derived from glycerol, a widely-used organic compound.

Delta Farm Press: Soybean Seed Quality Good

“The seed companies are saying there will be plenty of quality seed, and the seed division of the Arkansas State Plant Board reports the soybean seed quality for the state is good as well” says Jeremy Ross, soybean agronomist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

SoyMVP 2009 revisited and what 2010 holds

2009 Revisited

For fields enrolled in SoyMVP in 2009, average yield for the half using UK recommendations was 52.5 bushels per acre on average, compared to 51.8 bushels per acre using producer practices. Average partial returns using UK recommendations was $438.50, compared to $422.01 using producer practices.

For full season soybean, average yield was 54.4 bu/a under UK recommendations, compared to 52.7 bu/a using producer practices, with partial net returns of $462.21 and $436.01, respectively.

For double crop soybean, average yield was 48.8 bu/a under UK recommedations, compared to 49.8 bu/a using producer practices, with partial net returns of $389.06 and $393.99, respectively.

Again, I'd like to commend the producers we worked with in 2009. It's both encouraging and rewarding to see you using sound management practices and strategies. Kentucky farmers are as good as any in the world.

2010

The SoyMVP program is in full swing for 2010. We are already set up for more fields this year than we had in the program in 2009, with more being added this week. By popular request, we have fields in both the Green River area and Ohio River bottoms this year, as well as several fields in the Purchase once again. It will make for a good deal of travel but will give us results from a greater portion of the soybean producing area of the state.

We will also have our first irrigated field in the program this year in Henderson County. I personally feel that covering as many environments that we see in the state as possible will make the program as efficient and effective as it can be.

Yield Challenge

We are still looking for more participants in the 2010 soybean Yield Challenge. Get with your county agent or contact me at jmsarv2@uky.edu or 859-317-3142 if you need more information regarding this program.

Happy Ag Week 2010

National Ag Week runs from March 14-20, with National Ag Day falling on March 20. AgDay.org describes National Ag Day as "A day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture".

Check out the website linked above for more info.

Planting season is fast approaching. We are crossing our fingers for good planting conditions this spring. I am excited about SoyMVP, year two. We got some of the year one kinks worked out and have added fields so we have a lot to look forward to.

Varieties for 2010

Variety selection is one of the most important factors effecting profitability in soybean production.

After attending Commodity Classic in Anaheim March 4-6, it's obvious that there has never been more competition for your seed dollars. This is a good thing, as technology and innovation are also at an all-time high.

If you are still considering varieties for this year, review the 2009 Kentucky Soybean Performance Tests for assistance in making these decisions. A variety of sources should be used to make varietal decisions. Depending on your location within the state, variety test results from the following locations may also be beneficial. Note that most are broken into regions, making those regions closest to Kentucky most applicable to our operations.


University of Missouri Variety Testing Program

University of Tennessee Agronomic Variety Trials

Purdue Crop Performance Program

Soybean Variety Test Results in Illinois

Webcasts for soybean Production

The United Soybean Board website is now offering free webcasts highlighting several aspects of soybean production in the United States.

These webcasts are very informative. Currently available for view/listen are:

How to Maximize Soybean Yield - Palle Pedersen, Iowa State University

Principles of Nematode Management - Dr. John Mueller, Clemson University

Check them out when you get a chance!

Report

To get the full report as it stands currently, either email me at jmsarv2@uky.edu, or follow these steps...

1. Click on this link -----> SoyMVP Report

2. Click on 'Free User'

3. After the clock expires, click 'download'

The file is in .pdf format. Again, if you would like the report via email, simply email me at jmsarv2@uky.edu and let me know.


The full report will replace this one as soon as the necessary data is acquired.

It's been a while...(somewhat) preliminary report

I've spent the last couple of months rounding up and analyzing data and trying to get our fields set up for next year.

It looks like all of our producers from this year will return for next year, plus we are going to add several more. Not only that, but we are going to work with a handful of producers to do some specific side-by-side comparisons and replicated trials on issues that they feel are important to soybean production in their fields.

While I'm still trying to acquire the data on two comparisons (4 fields in total), I'll attach a report as it stands now.