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Seven Arkansas growers break 100-bushel mark in soybeans

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Oct. 13, 2017

Fast Facts:

  • Four of seven 100-plus bushel growers are returning high-yield growers
  • Arkansas soybeans hitting record yields across the state 
  • See the Arkansas Soybean Association release with varieties listed

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LITTLE ROCK – Seven Arkansas soybean growers have broken the 100-bushel-per-acre mark this season so far, with others possibly to come.

The growers, four of whom have surpassed the benchmark yield in previous seasons, are all taking part in the Arkansas Soybean Association’s “Grow for the Green Soybean Yield Challenge.”

8-14 Soybeans-In front of the combine

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the certifications have come unusually late in the year. But as any grower in the state will tell you, 2017 has been anything but usual.

“In a typical year, we’d have quit looking at fields in competition two to three weeks ago,” Ross said. “But it’s the second week of October, and there are still a few potential fields out there.” 

100-bushel growers

  • Growers Matt Miles and Layne Miles, both of Desha County, returned to the winners’ circle with 105.020 and 108.052 bu/ac, respectively.
  • James Elton Wray and James E. Wray, Jr., both previous 100-plus bu/ac growers of Poinsett County, harvested 105.918 and 103.830 bu/ac, respectively. 
  • Newcomers to the 100 Bushel Club include John Newkirk of Stuttgart with 103.974 bu/ac, Billy Wayne Tripp of Searcy with 100.511 bu/ac and Jason Berry of DeWitt with 102.894 bu/ac. 

“We’ve had a spectacular year for soybeans in Arkansas,” Ross said. He noted that the original U.S. Department of Agriculture soybean acreage estimate of 3.5 million acres for 2017 actually rose slightly — by about 50,000 acres — after severe flooding in the late spring and early summer led some growers to plant beans where they’d lost rice and corn to the weather. 

Unseasonable cool temperatures and frequent rains also led to excellent yields, even if the overall average doesn’t put most fields anywhere near the 100-bushel mark. Data released this week from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates the average soybean yield in the state at 51 bushels per acre — four bushels above 2016’s average, and a new state record. Arkansas rice, while losing between 100,000 and 200,000 acres to flood damage in May, is also seeing an improved yield over 2016, rising from 6,920 lbs/ac to 7,350 lbs/ac in 2017.

Winners of the 2017 Grow for the Green contest will be recognized at the Arkansas Soybean Association’s annual meeting in January 2018. 

To learn about soybeans in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu

 

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.  

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.   

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. 

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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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