Ross: ‘Could be some Christmas soybeans’
Heavy rain and flooding in April forced some soybean farmers to the sidelines, waiting for fields to drain and dry enough to get their planters out.
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Aug. 21, 2025
Fast facts:
- Soybean harvest could drag
- Ross: growers need mild weather, no tropical systems
(282 words)
(Newsrooms: with Arkansas corn harvest accelerating, rice finding its stride)
UNDATED — Jeremy Ross isn’t expecting Arkansas’ soybean harvest to be a quick affair.
“This soybean harvest is going to be long due to the late-planted soybean fields we have this year,” Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said Thursday. “There could be some Christmas soybeans harvested with how late some of these fields were planted.”
Heavy rain and flooding in April forced some soybean farmers to the sidelines, waiting for fields to drain and dry enough to get their planters out.
The harvest to date hasn’t inspired any big excitement.
“Reports on the fields harvested so far have been average to below-average on yield,” he said. “I’m hoping yields get better once we get away from the March-planted crop that went through the 10-12 inches of rain we had the first of April.”
Ross said soybean growers “just need mild weather for the next few months.
“The last thing we need is a hurricane to blow in and cause some problems,” he said.
In this week’s crop progress report, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said 96 percent of soybeans had set pods, compared to 95 percent last year and the 92 percent five-year average.
On Aug. 12 the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast record soybean yields for the U.S. The forecast of soybean harvested acreage was reduced by 2.4 million acres from the July report to a total of 80.1 million acres. The U.S. average yield is forecast at a record 53.6 bushels, above the average pre-report trade guess of 52.9 bushels.
For Arkansas, USDA was projecting a potential new record yield of 56 bushels per acre vs. 55 bushels per acre last year.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
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 three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu