Despite a summer drought and wet harvest conditions, Missouri soybean farmers brought big yields for the Missouri Soybean Association’s annual soybean yield contest
Results from contest are now finalized with the highest yields topping 90 bushels per acre. This compares with Missouri’s average soybean harvest of between 40 and 50 bushels per acre annually.
Top honors go to Wes Willbrand of St. Charles, who roughly doubled Missouri’s statewide soybean average. Willbrand’s 95.61 bushel per acre yield came through conventional tillage practices and without irrigation. He planted Asgrow AG36X6. For irrigated soybeans, Kaley Wilkerson led with 93.88 bushels per acre using Stine 36LE32.
“Raising 70-, 80- and 90-bushel soybeans shows an outstanding combination of management, conditions and innovation, and it’s great to see Missouri farmers consistently doing so well in the association’s annual soybean yield contest,” says Brooks Hurst, a soybean farmer from Tarkio and president of the Missouri Soybean Association. “Stewardship is key to success on the farm, and our winners demonstrate their commitment to reaching these high yields year after year. Congratulations to all our participants in the 2018 soybean yield contest on these great results.”
This year’s contest saw 16 entries with soybean yields of more than 80 bushels per acre, and seven topped 90 bushels per acre.
Winners were recognized at district soybean meetings in early 2019, with the statewide winners honored during the Missouri Soybean Association annual meeting in Jefferson City at the end of January.
Statewide Winners – Irrigated Soybeans
| Entry | Community | County | Variety | Yield (bu/ac) | |
| 1st | Kaley Wilkerson | Montgomery City | Montgomery | Stine 36LE32 | 93.88 |
| 2nd | Charles Hinkebein | Chaffee | Cape Girardeau | Pioneer P47T36R | 90.03 |
Statewide Winners – Non-Irrigated Soybeans
| Entry | Community | County | Variety | Yield (bu/ac) | |
| 1st | Wes Willbrand | St. Charles | St. Charles | Asgrow AG36X6 | 95.61 |
| 2nd | John Brenner | Morrison | Gasconade | Asgrow AG39X7 | 91.29 |
| 3rd | Joseph Landewee | Chaffee | Cape Girardeau | FS HiSoy HS 47L50 | 90.82 |
District Winners
| Entry | Community | County | District | Cultivation | Variety | Yield (bu/ac) |
| Josh Oswald | Fairfax | Atchison | 1 | No-Till (Dryland) | Pioneer P33T19X | 88.56 |
| Josh Oswald | Fairfax | Atchison | 1 | Conventional Till | Pioneer P38T20X | 88.33 |
| Nathan White | Norborne | Carroll | 2 | No-Till | Pioneer P40A47X | 79.97 |
| Christy Nelson | Vandalia | Audrain | 3 | No-Till | MorSoy MS 4197 LL | 74.33 |
| Christy Nelson | Vandalia | Audrain | 3 | Conventional Till | MorSoy MS 4197 LL | 71.22 |
| Tom Ferguson | Adrian | Bates | 4 | No-Till | Pioneer P48A60X | 80.43 |
| John Brenner | Morrison | Osage | 5 | Conventional Till | Asgrow AG39X7 | 90.74 |
| Brian D. Martin | Centralia | Boone | 5 | No-Till | Pioneer P40A47X | 74.52 |
| Wes Willbrand | St. Charles | St. Charles | 6 | Conventional Till | Asgrow AG36X6 | 95.61 |
| Joseph Landewee | Chaffee | Cape Girardeau | 7 | No-Till | FS HiSoy HS 47L50 | 90.82 |
| Jennifer Landewee | Chaffee | Cape Girardeau | 7 | Conventional Till | FS HiSoy HS 47L50 | 90.62 |
Participants in the Missouri Soybean Yield Contest were required to enter their fields into the competition prior to harvest. The 2018 entry deadline was September 1. At harvest, participants were required to have a designated judge verify their yield results for the competition and to submit their verified results no later than the extended deadline of Dec. 1.
The Missouri Soybean Association’s yield contest is made possible by contributions from the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and soybean checkoff, AgriGold, Asgrow, Baker Implement Co., BASF, Beck’s Hybrids, Corteva Agriscience, Missouri Crop Improvement Association, DeltAg, Nutrien Ag Solutions, MFA Oil, ProHarvest, Lewis Hybrids, Merschman Seeds, URSA Farmers Co-Op, Pioneer, FMC, Legacy Equipment, Stratton Seed Co, and Sydenstricker John Deere.
The Missouri Soybean Association contributed this article.