Have Your Quality And Yield It, Too

Sep 21, 2016

High-protein, strong-yielding seed is available to meet end-user demand

High protein or high yielding – which should a soybean farmer choose when selecting seeds? Who says you can’t have it all?

Many soybean farmers think that you can’t grow soybeans with high levels of protein and oil without sacrificing yield. What they don’t realize is that there are many varieties out there that will produce high yields and provide the high levels of protein that end-users desire.

In fact, oftentimes the yield among soybean varieties is relatively consistent, while the levels of protein they produce varies greatly.

“Since we always try to select the highest-yielding soybean varieties, we don’t see a large range in yield in our soybeans,” says Trek Murray, quality traits market manager at Beck’s. “The protein levels in our varieties vary quite a bit, however. They range anywhere from 36 percent protein to some that are pushing 43 percent.”

"We don't see a large range in yield in our soybeans. The protein levels in our varieties vary quite a bit, however." – Trek Murray, quality traits market manager at Beck's

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.