Yield Challenge Gets Wheels Turning

Participants from the 2010 Yield Challenge have hopefully started the creative wheels turning toward higher soybean yields. Several innovative and unique strategies were tested last season, with many winners confirming attention to management detail seems to pay off.

“All of the teams worked hard – a fact that is evident in the exceptional yields. Teams deserve to be recognized for their tremendous effort,” says Vince Davis, assistant professor of soybean production systems and Extension specialist at the University of Illinois. “Across the state, we increased yields by 5.2 percent in our challenge plots versus normal practices plots. Many growers indicated they learned things from their challenge plots they’ll adopt in their operations.”

The Yield Challenge, which is funded through the soybean checkoff, included 40 farmer and student teams from nine districts across Illinois in 2010. The program required farmers to grow soybeans in side-by-side plots using traditional and non-traditional methods. The overall goal was to increase yields by 1.5 percent while accumulating data to enhance future research.

“From the dedicated farmer teams to the sponsors who helped support them, the response was overwhelming,” says Dean Campbell, Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) director and soybean farmer from Coulterville, Ill. “We look forward to having even more participants in 2011 as we work to keep Illinois farmers at the forefront of the world’s soybean industry.”

Many of the teams in the 2010 Yield Challenge plan to participate again in 2011. Shipman Elevator, Shipman, Ill., was the District 6 winner and Novel Practices Award winner.

“We will definitely participate again,” says Regan Wear, who helped coordinate the Shipman Elevator effort. “We had 8-10 bushel advantages in our plots where we used extra inputs, and that was certainly economical at current soybean prices. We consistently had yields in the 60s,” he says. “The biggest lesson we learned is that to maximize yields, you need to focus on input management and look at those things that cumulatively add one or two bushels per acre.”

Wear says their 10-farmer team decided to manage their soybeans similarly to the way they manage corn. They began by planting soybeans in late April rather than early May.

“We did soil samples for pH and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, much like we would for corn,” he says. “With the earlier planting date, we added seed protection to get a good stand. We matched varieties and plant populations to the right fields. We focused on staying weed free with a residual herbicide, and also used a fungicide at R3, insecticides and a micronutrient pack. We wanted as many pods to set seed as we could. We also had a good weather year.”

Perhaps the biggest lesson learned is that, “no one simple magic bullet raises yields,” adds A.J. Woodyard, BASF technical service representative. BASF teams, including the Shipman Elevator, won four district contests. “Success came from a combination of good basic fertility, good drainage and variety selection, followed by different management approaches. Planting early was big in 2010. Various inputs, like use of residual herbicides, fungicides and insecticides incorporated into a complete management system, gave us cumulative gains in many cases.”

Brimfield Agri Services, Brimfield, Ill., team members struggled to make applications pay off. Ric Fritz says plant health from top to bottom was the primary focus. No changes were made in farmer seed selection, planting dates or plant population.

“We took an informed kitchen sink toss approach,” he says. Brimfield won the Economic Development Award. “We added manganese after glyphosate applications, for example, to cover that deficiency, and we tried foliar nitrogen and boron in the mix. We scouted the crop to help us be timely with our applications of herbicide, fungicide, insecticide and micronutrients.”

Timely planting was a challenge for some Brimfield team members, which affected which plots got one, two or three applications. Yields ran two bushels below average to six bushels higher. Costs ran $35-90 more per acre, making the applications economical in some cases, but not all.

“We may not have seen an increase in profitability this year, but we can try and understand what products made the biggest difference,” he says. “We held half a dozen meetings during the season to discuss options and educate farmers to make more informed decisions. The Yield Challenge has us thinking and headed in the right direction for increasing yields.”

Jeff Keifer with Elburn Cooperative in Elburn, Ill., says their first place District 2 team learned that weather still plays the biggest role in soybean production. Honored with the Data Completion Award, Elburn Co-op has performed data collection and analysis for three seasons.

“We formed a group in 2008 and 2009 of close customers and sales people to focus on soybeans, with the intention of growing high-yielding 70-bushel-plus beans,” he says. “We scouted fields two times per week and entered data at least once a week to develop a complete report. The best approach for us was to have one person do all the data entry so it was uniform.”

The Elburn team tested an intensive disease program in 2010. “We focused on white mold. Based on what we saw in 2009, we assumed we would have some pressure, so we used a foliar fungicide and micronutrients mix with our in-crop herbicide application,” he explains. “This was a change for us, as we normally scout and apply fungicides as needed. We had about one bushel per acre higher average yield, so the treatment strategy did not pay. But we did have high-yielding soybeans across the board because the weather was so good.”

Keifer adds that most years, insect and disease pressure will be present and treatments will pay. “Scouting is key. You can’t see problems driving by the field,” he says. “We also learned the value of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) egg counts. We will test more for that in the future.”

“We are enthusiastic about what we’ve learned on-farm this year,” adds Woodyard. “The Yield Challenge provides valuable local data, and we encourage more farmers and companies to get involved in 2011. Even one or two extra bushels per acre may help improve profitability.”