1.  Improve the quality of the root zone. This will improve water-holding capacity of the soil and plant resiliency. Healthy roots enable the vegetative portion of the plant to take full advantage of photosynthetic capacity. Manage SCN populations. This goes beyond purchasing seed labeled as SCN-resistant. Regularly test for SCN, rotate varieties grown in fields [...]

Soybean yield is often limited by soilborne pathogens. The average United States soybean yield is 43.9 bushels per acre or only about 27 percent of known yield potential (160 bushels per acre). The difference between harvested yield and potential yield is lost to a plethora of environmental stresses such as heat and drought as well [...]

No-till farming is a growing practice in many areas of the United States. An estimated 50 percent of the acres planted to soybeans in 2009 were done so without tillage according to a recent USDA Economic Research Service report. Farmers are adapting no-till soybean production at a faster rate than they are for corn, cotton [...]

This year, many Midwest farmers discovered first-hand the effect of root infection by the fungal pathogen that causes sudden death syndrome (SDS): yield losses of 40 percent were recorded in some fields. But it’s not just SDS that is limiting yield in soybean fields. Wounds caused by soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) and by maturing females [...]

Farmers will need to employ multiple tactics to improve soybean yield. The most important will be employing management tactics that improve soybean root health. A healthy soybean root is an important component to soybean yield. A soybean plant with a healthy root system is more efficient in taking up water and nutrients, and can better [...]

Producing high yielding soybeans takes teamwork. The right genetics, a blessing from Mother Nature and the right management decisions by you make a profitable and unbeatable team. Although it’s difficult to predict what curves Mother Nature will throw at you, there are things you can do now to put the odds of bin-busting yields in your [...]

Investments by soybean farmers into soybean research are paying off in a really BIG way. Scientists at Michigan State University reported that the economic threshold of 250 aphids/plant for managing soybean aphids, a threshold developed using soybean checkoff dollars, will save farmers $1.3 billion over a 15 year period. The information collected from the checkoff-funded [...]

The road to profitability in soybean production can sometimes be difficult to maneuver. Rapidly rising input costs, such as land rent and seed costs, plus those unexpected expenses, such as insecticide for aphid control, can quickly eliminate the narrow margins typical to soybean production.Improving the profitability of your operation takes resolve to sharpen your management [...]