Michigan soybean producers can improve soybean yields and profitability by utilizing the information contained in the Michigan Soybean Performance Report.
Selecting the best adapted soybean varieties for your
farm is one of the most profitable decisions you will make. To ensure that you
are selecting the best adapted and highest yielding varieties for your farm,
you should utilize three sources of information:
1. Michigan Soybean Performance Report.
2. Seed suppliers.
3. Your own on-farm variety trials and comparisons.
If you are not utilizing any one of these sources, you
are reducing the probability of selecting the best-adapted and highest-yielding
varieties.
Most soybean agronomists agree that evaluating variety
performance data from as many different environments as possible is essential
to selecting top performing varieties. The Michigan Soybean Performance
Report is an excellent resource for comparing the yield and lodging of
soybean varieties across multiple locations and years. The report is updated
annually and the 2014 report is available now at the Michigan State
University Variety Trials website. The information contained in the report will
also be published in the Dec. 1, 2014, edition of the Michigan Farm News.
The 2014 report will not be mailed directly to Michigan soybean producers as
done so in the past.
The Sanilac County site was heavily infested with
white mold in 2014 and was not included in the central zone average. However,
the yield and disease severity index for each variety planted at this site are
reported in a special 2014 Michigan White Mold Soybean Performance Report. This
report is included in the 2014 Michigan Soybean Performance Report and provides
extremely valuable information as variety selection is the most important
tactic in a comprehensive white mold management plan.
A searchable database for the Michigan Soybean
Performance Report is available online at the MSU Variety Trials
website. The searchable database enables soybean producers to input specific
search criteria such as soybean cyst nematode resistance, phytopthora
resistance and maturity. The highest-yielding varieties having the selected
characteristics will be identified and listed from top to bottom by yield. The
2014 data will be added to the searchable database in early December.
Remember that gathering and evaluating information
from a variety of sources is essential to selecting high-yielding soybean varieties
and the 2014 Michigan Soybean Performance Report should be one of
these sources.