The educational materials listed on this page are about Soybeans.
Agronomic crops are field crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and other grains. Soybeans are an important crop for both livestock feed and human consumption. Growing soybeans involves understanding soybean growth stages, the soybean market and production factors such as soybean yield per acre. Soybean farming can be a very profitable enterprise when a producer has enough acreage, the ability to increase soil fertility and a strong understanding of what it takes to increase the average soybean yield per acre. Although a producer has little control over the average soybean price per bushel that the market sets, a number of marketing strategies can be used to increase profit margins, while many production practices and overall soil management can improve the soybean crop in most soybean production systems. Key practices include agronomic, soybeans, cropping systems, cover crops, crop rotation, fertilizers, crop improvement and selection, physical control, soil management.
SARE’s Crop Rotation on Organic Farms A Planning Manual is a resource for farmers looking to integrate crop rotation into their operation to enhance organic matter and boost production. The Cover Crop Topic Room is a good starting point to learn about the benefits that cover crops can have on soil fertility to improve yield. A key resource to understanding the critical relationship between soil and crop is SARE’s widely used book, Building Soils for Better Crops. This book lays the foundation for understanding soil structure, soil fertility, and overall soil management.
Showing 1-9 of 9 results
Iowa Farmers Seek Sustainability with Cover Crops and No-Till
In 2002, a $6,500 SARE grant funded an idea for a new tool at the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The tool was a roller-crimper, a steel drum with blades that was mounted to a tractor and used to roll down cover crops. The idea was that the mat of dead cover crops would act as mulch, which researchers hoped no-till farmers […]
Evaluating the Roller-Crimper for Cover Crops in Corn and Soybean Terraced Ground
The beauty of the rolling hills in Northwestern Missouri can be downright dazzling. But these rolling hills, which captivate with their natural grace, also present a unique set of challenges for the producers who live and work there. Many farmers utilize a practice known as terracing to prevent erosion and surface runoff in their fields. […]
Integrating Host Plant Resistance and Insecticides for Soybean Aphid Management
Soybean aphids (Aphis glycines Matsumura), are a major pest of soybean in the Midwest. Insecticides, such as pyrethroids and organophosphates, are used to suppress soybean aphid outbreaks to prevent yield loss. Another management tactic is host-plant resistance. In 2013, University of Minnesota graduate student Anthony Hanson, received a $9,938 Graduate Student grant to determine if […]
Adapting Cover Crops to Northern Climate Conventional Cropping Systems
Northeast Minnesota is home to a large beef cow-calf sector, several dairy farms, and an increasing amount of cash grain farming. In each of these types of operations, annual cultivation of corn, soybeans, oats, and barley is common. Annual cultivation of these crops can lead to high rates of nutrient leaching and soil erosion, decreased […]
Evaluating the Roller-Crimper for Cover Crops in Corn and Soybean Terraced Ground
In northwest Missouri, a practice known as terracing is used to prevent ditches. Michael Willis, a beginning farmer in northwest Missouri, says that cover crops can reduce the need for terraces, but terraces still prove to be important to prevent ditch formation during the transitional phase from traditional no-till to no-till with cover crops. Willis […]
On-Farm Soybean Trials
Organic soybeans are commonly used for food grade products, yet these seed systems have struggled historically. According to the US Department of Agriculture, organic soybeans account for less than one percent of soybeans produced in the United States (agcensus.usda.gov, 2007). Michigan has significant organic food grade soybean production, but non-GMO soybean varieties are becoming less […]
SARE Cover Crops Webinars
As part of the Missouri SARE State Program, Debi Kelly hosted two webinars on Cover Crops in fall 2012. Presenters included Charles Ellis, a Natural Resource Engineer with the Lincoln County University of Missouri Extension Center, and Rich Hoormann, an Agronomy Specialist with Montgomery County University of Missouri Extension Center.
Dakota Farmer's Success Catches On
Dan Forgey has always had an abiding respect for the land that he has farmed for more than 40 years, which is why, as manager of the 8,500-acre Cronin Farms in Gettysburg, S.D., he strives to build soil health—and yields—sustainably. First, he shifted the farm to 100 percent no-till in 1993, around the time that […]
Adapting Crop Share Agreements for Sustainable and Organic Agriculture
When the farming system deviates from a conventional corn-soybean rotation, the usual division of costs and returns in a 50-50 crop share lease may no longer fairly reflect the inputs of each party. This sheet demonstrates how crop share agreements can be adapted for sustainable and organic agriculture.