MSU Extension Soybeans

Priority Areas

Due to low commodity prices and high land rents, soybean producers need to reduce production costs while maximizing production to minimize financial losses or produce modest profits. Unprofitable products and management practices need to be identified and eliminated while profitable products and practices need to be continued or adopted. Soybean producers and agronomists rely on on-farm and small plot research trials as a source of information on which to base their crop input and management decisions. To provide this important research and the educational programs for disseminating the results, Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee have formed a strong and productive partnership.

47 on-farm trials evaluated new products and management practices.

9 educational programs focusing on soybean production were conducted in 2019.

723 producers and agronomists participated.

IMPACTS

Nine educational programs focusing on soybean production were planned, promoted, conducted and evaluated in 2019. Follow-up evaluations were mailed out to program participants at the end of the 2019 harvest season to measure and document the actual educational and financial impacts of the programs. A summary of the survey results follows,

136 producers earned additional income by implementing the new information they learned  in 2019.

$9.50 per acre in additional earnings was generated on 62,278 acres.

$594,282 is the reported actual total financial impact of the programs in 2019 alone.

"I wanted to send you some positive feedback on the soybean harvest day you put together. Really learned a lot and set us up with some great lessons learned going into harvest." - Soybean harvest equipment field day participant

91% of the respondents gained new knowledge by participating in the program.

76% said that they utilized the information they learned in the programs on their farms in 2019.

MANAGING WHITE MOLD

White mold is a major disease in soybeans and dry beans in Michigan. In fact, The Michigan Bean Commission
has identified white mold as the most important pest
in dry beans. Because of this, MSU Extension invited Michael Wunsch, plant pathologist at North Dakota State University, to share the results of his extensive white mold research at two educational meetings. The first meeting took place in Shipshewana, Indiana, on March 5, 2019, and the second program took place the next day at the Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center, near Richville, Michigan. In Shipshewana, Wunsch focused on managing white mold in irrigated soybeans. In Richville, he shared his research on soybeans and dry beans. The programs were well attended with 121 participants at Shipshewana and 195 participants in Richville. A follow-up evaluation to program participants measured and documented the actual financial and educational impact of the programs. Forty-four of the respondents earned additional money by implementing the new information. The average amount of additional income was $16.04 per acre applied to 20,840 acres, producing an actual financial impact of $334,472 in 2019 alone. These programs would not have been possible without the financial contributions provided by the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee and the Michigan Bean Commission.

SOYBEAN ON-FARM RESEARCH PROGRAM

MSU Extension and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee cooperated to plan, conduct and summarize 47 on-farm trials in 2019. Ten projects, based on input from more than 340 producers and agronomists, were evaluated in the trials. The research results were summarized in a 32-page research report and mailed directly to more than 11,000 soybean producers. We also planned, promoted, conducted and evaluated six educational meetings around the state reaching 342 producers and agronomists. The goals of the meetings were to 1) present the previous year’s research results and answer questions, 2) gather input regarding future research projects and 3) recruit new trial cooperators. A follow-up evaluation mailed to program participants measured and documented the actual financial and educational impact of the programs. Forty-seven of the respondents earned additional money by implementing the new information. The average amount of additional income was $11.80 per acre applied to 14,170 acres, producing an actual financial impact of $167,320 in 2019 alone.

"Keep up the good work on the report. It is the most credible data I think I study  all year long." - Soybean On-Farm Research Program participant