Since the Louisiana Soybean Research and Verification Program began in 1994, soybean farmers have been increasing yields and profits by following the recommended practices of the LSU AgCenter.
During the 14 years of the program, more than 120 producers in 20 parishes have participated in helping to verify the LSU AgCenter’s research results and recommendations in their fields. In turn, the fields in the program have averaged yields of 43.5 bushels of soybeans per acre while the state average is 30.8 – meaning the program has helped increase yields an average of 13.1 bushels per acre.
Economic analysis conducted as part of the verification program also indicates that from 2000 to 2006 fields enrolled in the verification program generated returns above direct cost of more than $60 per acre higher than returns based on state average yields and costs.
"With higher commodity prices, increased input costs and the disease and insect pressure they face, producers have certainly come to understand that managing soybeans like they have traditionally managed higher-value crops on their farms like cotton and rice will pay dividends," said LSU AgCenter economist Dr. Kurt Guidry. "The soybean verification program has undoubtedly helped to prove this point."
To be considered for the program, a farmer must agree to follow the recommended practices suggested by a team of specialists who carefully study the field before selecting it for the program.
Coordinators look for a soybean field on the farm being considered that has some potential for improvement. It usually is not the poorest or most productive field on the farm – just an average field that has some potential for improvement. The fields currently in the program range in size from 20 to 60 acres.
Once the soybeans are planted on a field that’s involved in the verification program, LSU AgCenter experts check the field on a weekly basis, maintain written records of every visit and communicate with the farmer as additional production practices are needed during the growing season. In addition, an LSU AgCenter economist maintains records that are used to calculate the cost of production and obtain the net gain or loss in the field.
"The Louisiana Soybean Research and Verification Program, other similar programs and favorable growing conditions have helped farmers in the state increase yields and tie or break yield records the past three years," said Robert Ferguson, extension associate and interim coordinator of the Louisiana Soybean Research and Verification program.
By verifying research results in their production fields, farmers also can see – and demonstrate to neighbors – the differences such practices can make toward increasing yields and profits.
"Many times, producers extend the management techniques of the verification fields to other fields on their farms that are not in the program – thus extending the impact of the program," Ferguson said.–John Chaney
(This article was published in the 2008 edition of the Louisiana Soybean & Grain Research & Promotion Board Report.)