While soybean breeders have focused on boosting top-end yield, they’ve also made the crop more resilient in situations with thin plant stands. Speaking at the CropConnect Conference in Winnipeg last month, Shaun Conley of the University of Wisconsin discussed the “phenotypic plasticity” of soybeans, or the crop’s ability to compensate for lower plant populations. “It’s… Read More
You’re looking at yield data from last year trying to figure out which soybean varieties to grow in 2015 — how do you know when the yield difference between two varieties is meaningful? “That’s a question we get all the time when it comes to picking varieties and looking at single-year site data,” says Dennis… Read More
Want to know what buyers look for in a soybean sample? Or what you don’t want to see in your soybeans? This episode of the Soybean School takes us to the Canadian Grain Commission grading lab in Winnipeg. Thanks to Daryl Beswitherick, program manager for quality assurance and re-inspection at the CGC, for taking some time… Read More
Can deep-tilling soybean residue be justified? A researcher from the University of Manitoba is looking at whether tillage practices need to change as farmers in Western Canada grow more soybeans. Despite leaving less plant matter behind than most crops, it’s not uncommon to see soybean ground cultivated to leave a dark surface that warms up and dries out… Read More
Soybean growers in Western Canada and the Northern U.S. have been up early over the last few mornings checking how low temperatures dropped overnight. The thermometer has dipped below the freezing mark in some areas, with damage to soybeans depending on a number of factors, including maturity. As part of this Soybean School West episode, Kristen Podolsky,… Read More
So you’re thinking of switching to a wider row spacing for next year’s soybeans. Have you taken your hula hoop around this year’s crop first? Though there isn’t necessarily an “ideal” row spacing suggested for western Canadian soybean growers, the importance of knowing a target plant population and assessing stand establishment is still essential. Related: Soybean… Read More
Soybean growers in Manitoba are — so far — rather lucky. While there are diseases in the province that infect soybeans, like downy mildew, white mold (sclerotinia) and brown spot, overall pressure is relatively low. That will change over time, however, as Vikram Bisht, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, points out,… Read More
Chlorosis, or yellowing of leaf tissue in plants, can be an indicator of a great number of issues from nutrient deficient soils to poor root systems or saturated soils. Manitoba farmers especially are dealing with excess moisture this year, even outside of the flood zones along the Assiniboine River, and while soybeans do take standing… Read More
What’s the toughest part of trying out a new crop? Once you get the equipment set up sorted out at seeding and harvest, it’s on to crop diagnostics. Mother Nature tends to give farmers a bit of a break when it comes to disease and insect pressure in the first years of growing a crop,… Read More
How close did you get to achieving the soybean plant density you were aiming for? What’s the yield potential of the stand you have? The only way to get a bead on those answers is to get out and scout the soybean stand early in the season — at about the first trifoliate stage. How… Read More
In a perfect world, the soybean plant would pop up out of the ground, grow some leaves and then really stretch a bit before setting where that first pod will form. The reality for many western Canadian farmers, however, is that even in a decent year, our Prairie springs are quite cool — first pod… Read More
Soybeans are a relatively new crop for many farmers in Western Canada. For many farmers, this brings a second RoundUp Ready crop (or possibly third) into rotation. Because of this, controlling volunteer canola ahead of the soybean crop is crucial, as high canola populations can have a significant yield impact, and more costly, as a… Read More
Phosphorus management is and must be a long term proposition. Phosphorus behaves very differently than nitrogen in the soil, as it binds tightly to soil particles and releases slowly over time. This is good and bad — it’s not subject to the same loss risk that N is, but it also means that sometimes the… Read More
Is the soybean setting on the combine really where you should start when setting up the combine for harvest? And is a flex header really necessary or just a nice-to-have sort of piece of equipment? The answers are yes and yes, and in this video, Harvey Chorney, of the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute and a… Read More
Hear that? If you shake soybean plants and hear the rattle of seeds in the pods, the plant has reached physiological maturity. Does that mean the crop is ready to harvest or past being damaged by frost? Not so fast. In this Soybean School video, Kristen Podolsky, production specialist with the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association,… Read More