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Are you ready for spring’s arrival on March 20, 2014?

Have you done or scheduled the following?

• Started your tractors?
• Changed their oil and filters?
• Checked the hydraulic lines and hoses for your different applications?
• Checked tire pressure in all units?
• Checked your electrical connectors?
• Finalized your 2014 program—crops and acres.
• Developed your field maps to show:
  • Crop.
  • Acres.
  • Variety.
  • Seeding rate.
  • Herbicides to be sprayed.
  • Tillage.
• Verified and picked up your seed order?
• Applied the correct seed treatments for your soybeans?
• Gone through your planter?

Conducted right-to-know and safety training for your employees?

Pop-up liquid fertilizer is a great way to increase corn yields and reduce early stress on corn development. Pop-up starters at the 3-to-5 gallon rate/a allow nutrients to be placed directly on the seed.

However, no sulfur should be included with a pop-up fertilizer. In a two year study at the Agronology 10 Research Center at Walcott, IA, average corn yields were increased from 206.6 bu/a to 214.0 bu/a with a 5 gallon/a rate of 6-24-6 pop-up fertilizer.

What criteria could be utilized to select my soybean seed this year?

Criteria

The first and foremost criteria should be proven yield or yield potential. You need to understand the yield trial data where the crop is grown.

Second, I want soybeans that have a strong defensive package for the diseases that are a problem on my farm.

Third, I want to plant an adaptive hybrid—relative maturity—for my location.

Fourth, I want a variety that has a strong emergence score and strong early season vigor. Additionally, I have been known to reject a variety based on its late season lodging score due to possible harvest problems.

Soybeans should have a “seed treatment” applied similar to our current seed corn treatments.

Value of a soybean seed treatment

• Higher stand counts.
• Reduced or controlled early season insect feeding—possible virus control.
• Higher yield potentials

 Soybean seed treatment should include materials that provide for

• Early season insect elimination.
• Early season pathogen reduction.
• Early season disease control.

You might want to order the last 5% to 10% of your soybean seed order to be non-treated so this seed can be returned.

Question

Can your planting date affect your soybean yields and profitability per acre?

Answer

The correct answer is, “Yes.”

Reason

Multiple state extension agronomists have demonstrated the yield loss due to later planting dates over multiple years.

From the earliest planting date—around May1—the soybean crop will generally lose about 1/3 bushel per day of delay. A single day economic loss would be $4.00/a with $12.00/bu soybeans.

If the planting date is delayed 10 days, then the yield decrease could approximate 3.3 bu/a or $39.60/a.

With interest in growing more soybeans in 2014, the farm is facing the task of maximizing their soybean yields. Soybean seed selection is one of the first tasks to be undertaken.

How to base your selection

• Yield.
• Disease resistance—most beans are similarly priced.
  • Brown stem.
  • Phytophthora—Rps1K, Rps7, Rps3, Rps1c.
  • Sudden death syndrome—most resistance possible.
  • White mold—north of Hwy 30 or problem fields south.
• Soybean cyst—R3 or MR3.
• Emergence—want excellent.
• Standability—want excellent—highest or next to the highest rating.

A second major factor to consider is the selection of seed treatments for the soybean.

• Apron Maxx.
• Cruiser Maxx—the cruiser adds early insect protection.
• Acceleron + Cruiser—the cruiser adds early insect protection.

A third factor to consider is seeding rate. 130-to-50,000 seeds/a is sufficient, generally a bag of seed/a.

Here are some thoughts from a couple of truly outstanding individuals.

Norman Vincent Peale

“Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your powers, you cannot be successful or happy.”

Colin Powell

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.”

USDA forecasts that China will import a lot of soybeans in the future.

In the 2004-2005 market year, China imported from all sources, about 1 billion bushels of soybeans.

In market year 2012-2013, China will import an estimated 2.2 billion bushels of soybean. USDA indicates that the large importing of soybeans by China is a result of declining soybean production and increased soybean consumption.

In the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 market years, China has approximately 66% of the total world soybean import business.

 
USDA forecasts that China will import a lot of soybeans in the future.

While attending the 25th Integrated Crop Management Conference, on December 4-5 at Iowa State University, I heard Dr. Chad Hart speak on Marketing for 2013 and beyond. He addressed the 2014 acreage potential for corn from a rather unique prospective.

Dr. Hart indicated there were 18 states in the U.S. this year that grew their highest average state yields in 2013. Many of these states are on the East Coast and Deep South.

With these record yields, interest in continuing their efforts to grow corn will be there for the 2014 crop. With this increased interest in corn, the acres for corn will be high—95-96 million acres—in 2014.

The selection of your soybean varieties is a vital component of your management effort. But what criteria should be included in your variety selection?

Criteria

• Yield—it is desirable to find a variety that is doing well in your area.
• Maturity Grouping—to spread out soybean harvest, I possibly might use a variety 0.2-to-0.5 maturity group shorter to begin my soybean harvest with.
• Disease Rating.
  • Brown Stem: Need a very strong rating.
  • Phytophthora: Want Rps1k, Rps1c, or Rps7.
  • Phytophthora Field Tolerance: A strong rating is desirable.
    • Soybean Cyst Nematode—want R3 or MR3.
    • White Mold—in fields where there is a white mold history, you need a strong white mold rating.
    • Emergence—want excellent rating.
    • Standability—want excellent rating for yield and harvest ease.
    • Seed Treatments—check with seed dealer or seed treater.
      • Seed Treatment for:
        • Disease Control.
        • Insects.
        • Nematodes.