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Wanted- 100-bushel soybean yieldReward: $50,000 Arkansas The top soybean producers in Arkansas now have an incentive to produce the best yields possible. A hefty prize of $50,000 is being offered to the first soybean producer or producers who can raise 100 or more bushels per acre. The one-time contest, billed as "The Race for 100," is funded by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. It will be administered by the Arkansas Soybean Association and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. "The soybean leadership in the state wants to see what the real potential is for yields in Arkansas," said Dr. Lanny Ashlock, a soybean agronomist, ASA vice president and former specialist with the U of A Cooperative Extension Service. "It was stimulated by the extremely high yield last year by a Missouri producer. The yield, 139 bushels an acre, set a new world record," Ashlock said. "The board wanted to challenge our growers to see if we can produce higher yields than we ever have or, if not, discover what's holding us back." The ASA sponsors a similar yield contest. Yields approaching 90 bushels an acre on 5-acre blocks have been documented by those winners. Prizes in that contest include temporary use of new, heavy farm equipment . "I think some growers have seen yields hit near 100 bushels briefly on their yield monitors," Ashlock said. "But to sustain 100 bushels over a block of ground has never been documented." In addition to seeing if it can be done, the soybean industry leadership wants to know what it takes to accomplish the feat from a management standpoint, said Ashlock. That information can help other growers. "This is not pie in the sky," said Gary Sitzer, a farmer and member of the ASA board. Sitzer, who runs the ASA's other soybean yield contest, said winners have told him they do some things extra to achieve high yields, but there's usually more they could do. Sitzer believes weather may be the ultimate determining factor. If the weather cooperates, hitting 100 bushels could happen this year. If it doesn't cooperate, producing 100 bushels may be two or three years down the road. Dr. Jeremy Ross, Extension soybean specialist, said county Extension agents will verify yields for the contest. He believes the contest goal of producing 100 bushels is possible. "If we have an exceptional summer with some of the ground we have in the state, it's doable. But everything has to be just right for it to happen," he said. "Contestants have to be exceptional farmers and have good land to get another 15 or 20 bushels out of their crop." He said the contest will make producers more conscious of scouting for insects and diseases. Ross urged farmers to work with their county agents and use University of Arkansas' recommendations to help make management decisions. For details about the contest rules and an entry form, contact your county Extension agent or the ASA at 800-247-8691 or swsoy@aristotle.net. In the event that more than one producer exceeds 100 bushels, the $50,000 prize will be split evenly among the winners. Soybean check-off funds will be used in the contest. Five-acre plots entered in the contest have to be part of a field that has been inSoybeansin one of the last three years. The entry deadline is Aug. 1. The prize will be presented at the Arkansas Soybean Association's annual meeting in January. For more information about soybean production, go to www.uaex.edu and select Agriculture, then Soybeans. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture. Date: 5/24/07
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