160.6 bu/ac... soybeans. They fix N too!

[TOM4CWB]

"Tue Oct 12, 2010 03:54 PM CDT

OMAHA (DTN) -- Kip Cullers has done it again.


Missouri farmer Kip Cullers, shown here in a file photo, has once again set a soybean yield record. (DTN file photo)The 100 Bushel Club and the Missouri Soybean Association announced Tuesday that Cullers, who farms near Purdy, Mo., set another soybean yield record, this time 160.6 bushels per acre.

In contrast, the average Missouri soybean acre yield is only 40 bpa, and the 2009 national average was just 44 bpa.

As most in agriculture know, this wasn't Cullers first soybean record. In 2006 he harvested 139.4 bpa, and in 2007 he harvested 154 bpa. Less-than-ideal weather kept him out of the hunt in 2008 and 2009. But he is back in 2010 with a new record.

His first win in 2006 was met with disbelief and skepticism by soybean experts. It was long thought that soybeans would only yield about 100 bpa and no more. But Cullers and others since have taught us that the 100 bpa is a mythical limit and Cullers now has whole field averages over 100 bpa.

When asked about his secret recipe in the past, Cullers said he plants the best variety and practices good agronomy, which includes feeding, protecting the seed and crop from pests and diseases and stimulating growth and pod and seed set. He also pointed out that weather is a big uncontrollable variable, and to minimize that risk, he has the capacity to irrigate frequently. Back in 2006, he attributed his win to his ability to irrigate soybeans daily, minimize stress and in the process produce and save more pods and seeds.

This season, Cullers won planting Pioneer 94Y71 beans in a conventionally tilled field on April 14 and harvested on Sept. 28. The seed was treated with Optimize 400 from EMD Crop Biosciences and Bio-Forge from StollerUSA. The crop was later protected with Headline fungicide from BASF and Asana XL and Steward EC insecticide from DuPont.

In a news conference, Cullers said, "I pay close attention to little details. I watch the fields every day, and I want to remove any stress. And I do a lot of preventive maintenance."

In a press release issued by the Missouri Soybean Association, Cullers said, "I've learned over the course of more than two decades of farming that setting the stage for higher yield potential all starts with good genetics. From there, it's hitting the right planting date, crop management throughout the growing season and a willingness to try new things."

Cullers has shown he is willing to try new things. "We aren't status quo -- I seriously believe we can grow 200-bushel beans, but I have to change things to do it."

Given enough time and the right weather conditions, he just might do it.

Dan Davidson can be reached at Daniel.davidson@telventdtn.com

(CZ/AG)"


We are missing the boat in western Canada by NOT taking soybeans more seriously!

[agstar77]

That's one of the reasons we are switching canola acres to soybeans this year.

[per]

How much frost can beans tolerate?

[bigsteve]

We grew soybeans in 2008 and even with flex-headers we left aleast 20%.The breeders have to get these things to pod higher.When they do canola could be left in the dust? I won't grow them again till they prove to me that they will pod higher under canadian weather conditions.

[wd9]

Hey Tom4, how did your beans turn out?

[TOM4CWB]

WD,

They are still very green, frozen, and we lost 3/4 of the pods on the 16th of Sept frost.

With the cold August/Sept I was surprised there are any beans at all.

I picked and shelled out some this morning... minus 7 is a very bad finish half way through pod filling.

Ouch and Ouch. Not sure if they will yeild as much as the lentils or not!

[BreadWinner]

Grew them last year and they are still in the bin. The had frost damage, few green beans in the sample made them unsellable. Not worth the risk in this part of Sask. They need more heat than the last three years has given us. Cold spring=low pods=low yield. Stick to what you know works.

[RedRiverMB]

Big Steve, get a different flex header, if you are leaving
20% in soybeans then you must be leaving 50 % in
peas or lentils when they lay flat on the ground. I'll
take soybean any day over lentils or peas, only thing is
you need a lot of water and especially at pod filling.

[wd9]

That sucks, but they really are a long season crop. Hopefully you don't have too many.

[seedman]

As far as frost tolerance, not too much. Sept. 17 we had -3.6 here and that shut our soybeans down immediately. We had potential on 2 of our fields to be in the low 50's, but the frost shut the plant down and where the beans were size-wise was where they stayed. The lower pods were fully sized, but the middle pods are like bb's, and the top bunch of pods just dried up. One field we combined only did about 35, and the other one looks like it will be a disaster at less than 20, although we aren't finished it yet. Our last field looks the best, but who knows until we get in there with the combine. We are already making adjustments this fall to give our next year's soyeans a better chance to reach ful maturity.

[mbratrud]

We grew some soybeans here at Weyburn and they ran about 42 bpa this should net us about $160 per acre. We did a bit of a trial with heavier seeding rates and saw a significant response in yield and maturity. We used a Macdon D60 header to straight cut and once we got the tilt right we were leaving no more than 5%. We also ignored the recommendation not to use any N and applied about 20 pounds that likely helped maturity as well.

We will certainly grow them again we want to use them to get rid of more cereal acres. (down to 9% of our farm that needs to be Marketed through CWB this year).

Questions for experienced Soybean growers: What is the moisture like the following year on Soybean stubble vs other stubbles? What is the best fallow crop? Is there anyone growing Canola on Soybean stubble?

[RedRiverMB]

Canola on Soybean is fine, you will find very high N
after soybean crop usually.

[RedRiverMB]

The most important thing to do when growing
soybeans is to plant them into warm soil. 17c or
higher, the first 24 hrs are the most important, you
can have a cold spell after and still be fine. the seed
needs that initial exposure in warm wet soil.

[Francksaskfarmer]

I have grown soybeans on a small scale in 4 different years and have not been very successful yet or not enough to consider them as a viable option. There are 2 things I think I could do to give them a better chance and they tend to go against our zero till system.
1 I think the soil needs to be black to warm up quickly any time there is sun.
2 our zerotill seeders make too much of an indent and it is hard to roll the field and make a very flat surface in order to get the lowest pods.
So if you are ready to cultivate your land in the fall and maybe do some harrow packing and rolling after seeding then I think you have a better chance but then you cannot have too dry of a year.
These are just gut feels that I have but at this point I think they are still a bit iffy.