A soybean grower in Georgia has set a new world record for soybean yield, surpassing the mark established by one of his mentors.
Alex Harrell of Smithville, GA, harvested 206.7997 bu/ac on August 23, breaking fellow Georgia farmer Randy Dowdy’s previous record of 191 bu/ac set in 2019.
Together with his father, Harrell planted the record-breaking 2.5 acre plot in a 60 acre sandy loam field to a Dekalb-Asgrow variety — AG 48X9 — on 30-inch rows in early April. A packing rain shortly after planting resulted in a plant stand of 77 thousand plants per acre. The irrigated field saw another setback with a flooding rain in early June, but received ideal weather the rest of way, according to a news release from Total Acre.
After celebrating with his dad, Harrell said he wanted his first phone call to be to Dowdy to share the news with him.
Harrell is an alumni of Total Acre grower camps led by yield record-breakers Randy Dowdy and David Hula.
Related:
Soybean School: Lessons learned from yield contest winners
Soybean School: How Randy Dowdy Hit 171 Bushels Per Acre
Corn School: Knowing vs Hoping — Randy Dowdy’s Principles for Growing Record Yields