Soybean Harvest Results 2009 - A great crop for southern Alberta!

Well the results are starting to come in for the soybean harvest in southern Alberta, and it looks like the numbers are what farmers wanted to see.  We are seeing yields in the 40-55 bu range so far, despite the fact we were still significantly cooler than average in 2009 (Over 100 CHU’s lower than average as of Sept. 12) . From what farmers are saying after this growing season, it looks like soybeans are here to stay. Producers who raised them this year are not only happy with their crop, but feel that there are a few things that they can do to bump their yields higher next year. Bear in mind that this crop being new to the southern Alberta region has little production data that we can use that is specific for our area. We are learning as we go- reminiscent of the first years of growing rapeseed. But the future for the crop around here looks bright. These are a few reasons why producers are starting to include soybeans in their 2010 cropping plans:

• Input costs: Soybeans have by far the lowest input costs compared to other oilseed crops
• Rotational advantages: Our soybeans are Round-Up Ready, meaning weed control isn’t an issue
• No specialized equipment required- regular  solid-seeded equipment works fine
• Better equipment and labour utilization- soybeans are seeded later and harvested later than conventional crops meaning work load is more evenly distributed
• Nitrogen fixation- When double inoculated, soybeans produce 40-50 lb/ ac of N
• Flexible marketing- sell them when you want to who you want; you are not locked into a contract or forced to sell through a marketing board- next to corn they are the most liquid traded commodity in North America
• Soybeans can be forward priced up to 3 years in advance for marketing strategies
• Soybeans can be used as a preparatory “clean-up crop” to get the field ready for next year