Michigan Soybeans Dominating Yields in 2021

“You can’t have a good corn crop and soybean crop in the same year” is an adage many farmers know, and it’s holding true this year.

Ben Hoyt, a dealer for Specialty Hybrids, says this year it’s the soybeans that are standing out.

“Beans are really good, and the ones we did some fungicide testing on were five to 15 [bushels] better. I have noticed that seed size is huge, which I think is where a lot of the yield is coming from,” he says.

As many growers have reported, tar spot has been the biggest yield destroyer on corn. Hoyt says that he’s had the worst yields ever in some fields, but some have come in right as expected.

“I was far enough along because I got planted early that it was recommended to me that I was too far along that fungicide wouldn’t help me,” he says. “It later came out that fungicide would have helped even in death, though I think some of it is variety-specific and [planted on] good ground.”

He’s already hearing about how some growers will have to adjust their crop rotations based on input availability. As a result, he believes Michigan soybean acres could be up an additional 20 percent next year.

“Right now, it’s almost $600 pay now and take now for UAN28, and last year it was around $160 to $200—so it’s sticker shock,” says Hoyt.

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