Making Soybeans More Profitable

Making Soybeans More Profitable 4

Jim Mintert-CC14The soybean market looks to have a bit more upside potential than the corn market, as production problems in South America may reduce the estimated soybean ending stocks number. Our final April Better Farming segment looks at what Indiana farmers can do to make growing soybeans a more profitable crop.

The video reports that aired in March and April focused on what growers can do to increase soybean production and profitability.  According to the research by Purdue’s Shawn Casteel, lowering plant population and planting earlier can significantly increase production while lowering costs. Economist Jim Mintert, with the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture, says what is needed is for growers to think about soybean production the way they think about corn production, “By that I mean better and more deliberate management. It is about seeding rate, using a planter rather than a drill, calibrating your planter correctly, assessing your field conditions; that is how we can lower our per bushel cost of producing soybeans.”

Mintert says soybean yields have been steadily increasing and, with better management soybean production in Indiana, can continue to grow, “We have a lot more technology imbedded in those seeds today vs.2002. Our challenge is to find ways to reduce our cost per unit of output.”  Both Mintert and Casteel believe that better management is the key to reducing production costs while increasing soybean yields.

In the May Better Farming reports, HAT will focus on what producers can do to maximize corn and soybean yields after the crop emerges.  Weed control is a major cost of production, and the failure to control weeks can reduce yields by as much as 30%.  In the May programs, the focus will be on how producers can control weeds and control costs.

Be watching for our next Better Farming video report online at Hoosier Ag Today.com. The Better Farming reports are sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Checkoff and produced in cooperation with the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture.

The soybean market looks to have a bit more upside potential than the corn market, as production problems in South America may reduce the estimated soybean ending stocks number. Our final April Better Farming segment looks at what Indiana farmers can do to make growing soybeans a more profitable crop.

The video reports that aired in March and April focused on what growers can do to increase soybean production and profitability.  According to the research by Purdue’s Shawn Casteel, lowering plant population and planting earlier can significantly increase production while lowering costs. Economist Jim Mintert, with the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture, says what is needed is for growers to think about soybean production the way they think about corn production, “By that I mean better and more deliberate management. It is about seeding rate, using a planter rather than a drill, calibrating your planter correctly, assessing your field conditions; that is how we can lower our per bushel cost of producing soybeans.”

Mintert says soybean yields have been steadily increasing and, with better management soybean production in Indiana, can continue to grow, “We have a lot more technology imbedded in those seeds today vs.2002. Our challenge is to find ways to reduce our cost per unit of output.”  Both Mintert and Casteel believe that better management is the key to reducing production costs while increasing soybean yields.

In the May Better Farming reports, HAT will focus on what producers can do to maximize corn and soybean yields after the crop emerges.  Weed control is a major cost of production, and the failure to control weeks can reduce yields by as much as 30%.  In the May programs, the focus will be on how producers can control weeds and control costs.

Be watching for our next Better Farming video report online at Hoosier Ag Today.com. The Better Farming reports are sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Checkoff and produced in cooperation with the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture.

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