Yield Contest
It’s about more than bragging rights. It’s about discovering varieties and management choices that work for soybean growers in Delaware.
Insights after Five Years
A closer look at the production methods, as viewed by Phillip Sylvester, UD Cooperative Extension agent, Kent County.
There were 67 entries in the Delaware soybean yield contest from 2012-2016. Forty-three were entered as full season soybeans while the remaining 24 were double-cropped after a small grain crop.
- Over 93% of the full season soybean entries were irrigated with an average yield of 67.4 bu/A compared to the non-irrigated average yield of 65.4 bu/A.
- Eighty-three percent of the double crop entries were irrigated with an average yield of 62.9 bu/A compared to the non-irrigated entries, which yielded 47 bu/A.
- All the contestants used the herbicide Roundup (active ingredient: glyphosate).
- The majority (72%) used a cover crop in the full season entries, with rye being the most popular followed by wheat, barley, triticale, and hairy vetch.
- 30” row spacing was the most common (49%) in the full season entries with an average yield of 66.8 bu/A followed by 15” (40%) at 67.6 bu/A, and drilled (row spacing less than 8”) (11%) at 68.3 bu/A. The 15” row spacing was most common in the double crop entries (67%) with an average yield of 60.9 bu/A followed by 30” (29%) at 57.7 bu/A while only one contestant used a row spacing less than 8” with a yield of 66.8 bu/A.
- Over the past five years, 100% of the winners in the full season category planted in May while 75% of the winners planted double crop beans in June.
- In 2016, the winning full season soybeans were (80.74 bu/A) planted at 140,000 seeds per acre compared to 148,000 seeds per acre in the double-cropped soybeans (73.64 bu/A).
Enter to win CASH Prizes for your non-irrigated, double drop and full season soybeans in the 2021 Delaware Soybean Board Yield Contest.
Entrants of the Delaware Soybean Yield Contest no longer have to wait in long lines at the elevator to complete their yield checks. The Delaware Soybean Board is pleased to announce that they have simplified the process this harvest season with the purchase of a weigh wagon. Read more!
2023 Contest Rules
Questions may be directed to DSB Executive Director, Danielle Farace, danielle@desoybeans.org