The Balancing Act Of Seed Selection

 

 

For generations, farmers have lived by the philosophy that you don’t inherit the land from your ancestors, you borrow it from your children. As a farmer, that foundation helps guide the decisions you make for your farm every day. You constantly challenge yourself to balance the needs of today with those that will help protect and build your farm for the future.

 

While you focus on driving higher yields to make your farm profitable each growing season, you also work to protect soil quality and the sustainability and long-term productivity of your land. You study your crops and make connections to determine why you had the results you did. Then you carefully and meticulously tweak your practices, always looking for ways to improve and build for the future.

 

The U.S. soybean industry has a track record of achieving higher yields, creating and expanding markets and ultimately driving profitability. As a next step, the checkoff is encouraging soybean farmers to use the same balanced approach you take to your farm and your land to anticipate and meet market needs. Yield will always be important, but balancing your focus between the number of bushels you produce and how well those bushels meet end-user demands will help ensure there is a strong market for your crops when you return the farm to your children.

 

 

While data and technology advancements can help you manage your fields down to the square inch, it can be difficult to balance your focus and attention between the needs of your individual fields and the broader soybean marketplace. How do you maximize your yield potential while also meeting the protein, oil and sustainability demands of your customers? It starts with seed selection.

 

“Variety selection is far and away the No. 1 decision a grower has to make,” says Shawn Conley, Ph.D., state soybean and small grains specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The results of your remaining management decisions are predicated on the variety and the traits you select.”

 

Seed selection not only has a direct impact on yield, it also influences value and demand. Animal agriculture remains the top customer for U.S. soybean farmers, using 97 percent of your soybean meal. The food industry, the next-largest customer, uses nearly 70 percent of U.S. soybean oil. Meeting these customer needs is key to long-term profitability. 

 

“When we buy American soy, we are looking for better oil or protein content,” says Arslan Sinno, chairman and president of ZM Vegetable Oils Industries, based in Lebanon.

 

Exports account for nearly 60 percent of U.S. soy demand. Protein, oil and sustainability are equally important to maintaining international trade relationships as they are to maintaining domestic demand. One way you can help improve the competitiveness of the U.S. soy industry is by also considering protein and oil quality ratings when selecting the right varieties for your soybean acres.

 

“While you may not see a premium for high protein or oil content on your scale ticket from the local elevator, it’s built into the demand for your product,” says Conley.

 

University of Wisconsin variety trials have shown a 3 percent difference in protein content and a 2 percent difference in oil content among top soybean varieties. Michigan State University trials have shown protein content can vary by as much as 7 percent from one variety to another. That level of variability presents challenges to feed millers and other end users.

 

“We formulate diets to contain a certain amount of energy and a certain amount of digestible amino acids,” says Hans Stein, Ph.D., professor of animal nutrition at the University of Illinois. “Variability is very difficult to handle in the feed-mixing business. If we have less variability, we increase our ability to predict what we will have in the final diet, which is what we all want to do.”

 

There are many high-yielding varieties that also have high protein and oil content. Protein and oil content ratings are available from seed companies and are published by most land-grant universities online.

 

In addition, high oleic soybean varieties with proven genetics and strong agronomic packages are available in a growing number of geographies. From more food customers to new industrial users, high oleic soybeans can offer you additional market and profit opportunities. Talk with your local seed supplier or visit soyinnovation.com to see if high oleic soybeans are available in your area.

 

 

 

The volume of data available from your acres has grown exponentially in recent years. Making use of that data can help you select the right seed for your soybean acres.

 

“You need to start with good seed if you expect to make a good crop,” says Tim Clements, Greenville, Mississippi, farmer and Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board chairman. “We look closely at as much data as we can to find varieties that fit our grand and conditions.”

 

Ty Witten, Ph.D., Monsanto soybean, cotton and specialty crop lead, says that from yield monitors and performance data to information about disease and weed pressure, there’s a wealth of information to be gleaned from your fields every season. Fortunately, balancing data with recommendations from your local seed supplier can help you select the right varieties for your acres.

 

With new genetics introduced every year, it can be challenging to identify the right varieties that balance performance in the field with customer needs. Conley says a decade ago, a leading soybean variety may have been on the market for five year. Today, most soybean varieties turn over every two years.

 

“Have a good relationship and trust with your seed dealer is important,” says Witten. “Together, you can look at data available for new varieties and the ones on your farm to decide whether to try a new technology or stick with something you’re used to.”

 

High-performing, diverse varieties are available now, and even more are in the pipeline. However, no variety will reach its full potential if it doesn’t have the right agronomic characteristics and is not matched with the right management practices.

 

Clements researches varieties and selects those that fit his production system of particular planting dates, soil types, location and tolerance to certain herbicides and pests. This type of planning can also help you manage inputs and boost the sustainability of your soybean acres, meeting yet another customer need.

 

 

DuPont Pioneer field agronomist Jonathan Propheter says that when selecting varieties with top-end yield potential, it’s also important to consider agronomic strengths and weaknesses.

 

“You can’t get optimum yields if a variety is susceptible to an agronomic challenge for your area,” he says. “It’s important to work with your local seed supplier to determine disease-tolerance characteristics and how well varieties are adapted to the local area and your individual fields.”

 

Seed treatments can also complement the strengths and weaknesses of a soybean variety. For example, some very high-yielding varieties may not have a natural tolerance or resistance to key diseases.

 

“Seed treatment advancements in the last three to five years can make a big difference to help maximize yield potential and limit agronomic sensitivity,” says Propheter.

 

With the growing issue of herbicide-resistant weeds, many farmers are also looking for new ways to manage weeds and maximize yield potential in a sustainable way.

 

As new herbicide tolerant traits become available in more genetics across more maturity zones for the 2017 growing season, Conley stresses the importance of evaluating the weed pressure in hour fields this season and working with your seed supplier to determine the right traits and weed-management program for your acres in 2017. It’s also important to keep track of where you plant each herbicide-tolerant variety so you don’t accidentally apply the wrong herbicide.

 

 

Conley says that while you may be tempted to trim input costs in light of current commodity prices, investing in the right variety for each acre that meets customer needs should remain a top priority.

 

“In order to get high yield, you need to invest in superior genetics,” he says. “If it’s a cheap variety without a lot of supporting data, you’re taking a risk and are likely going to get what you pay for."