The old saying “it’s not how you start that’s important, but how you finish” applies to the story of the 2024 soybean crop on the Prairies and Northern Plains.
Final yield numbers from crop insurance — usually the best overall estimate — are not yet public, but Statistics Canada says Manitoba farmers set a new provincial yield record in 2024, averaging 44.0 bushels per acre (in eastern Canada, Quebec also saw its highest yield on record, while Ontario had its second highest, according to the StatsCan report released Dec. 5).
Soybeans in Manitoba yielded well despite a very cool start to the growing season that saw some acres flipped to canola due to adverse conditions and delays at planting.
“It was a different season than what we’re used to, with slow CHU or heat build-up early in the season and a lot of heat later in the season to finish up those crops, and quite a bit of moisture throughout,” explains Steph Chabbert, territory manager with Maizex in Manitoba, summarizing the ’24 growing season in this Soybean School episode. “I think most growers are pleased with their soybean crop. We had a great yields and great quality as well.”
The abnormally warm fall, with some areas accumulating more heat units in September than in June, not only threw farmers and agronomists, but also some soybean varieties for a loop.
“We had some late varieties mature early. We had some early maturity varieties come in late. The industry was all over,” notes Chabbert.
Looking ahead, he says the biggest takeaway from 2024 might be a reminder to look at multiple years of data when booking varieties for next spring. “Look at some data from ’23, ’22 wherever possible, and average things out. Don’t get too caught up on one data point from the ’24 season, because it was a bit of a different one.”
Watch/listen to Maizex’s Steph Chabbert discuss what led to big soybean yields in 2024, lessons learned, including how to navigate the arrival of 2-4,D-tolerant soybean varieties, and what all this means when planning for 2025:
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