This regular feature provides an update of crop growing conditions from several farmers, along with happenings across the farm to ensure overall quality of their product.
It’s the dawn of harvest for soybean growers in the Upper Midwest.
“Monday, it’s going to be a whirlwind in our area,” said Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) Vice Chair David Struck, who farms in South Dakota. “Nobody in our immediate area is really doing anything. People have poked in here and there but that’s about it.”
With myriad factors determining the quality of a crop, growers have been sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what harvest 2024 will bring, especially considering the tumultuous growing season.
“I think we’re going to have pretty good quality with average or a little above average yield,” Struck said.
According to the Sept. 24 USDA Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, 64 percent of the nation’s soybean acreage was rated in good to excellent condition, with soybean harvest across the nation 13 percent complete. In South Dakota, the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report reported that soybean harvest was sitting at three percent complete, eight percent behind last year. The report went on to state that soybean condition across the state was rated 58 percent good and 10 percent excellent, aligning with Struck’s prediction.
“It’s not going to be a runaway crop but it’s going to be a good crop,” Struck said.
In Minnesota, soybean crop condition is 66 percent good to excellent and harvest is seven percent complete. NSM Chair Glen Groth, who farms near Ridgeway, Minn., is over halfway done with soybean harvest.
“It’s going really good,” he said. “The yields are far exceeding my expectations. I thought it’d be a good bean yield this year, but I didn’t think it’d be this good.”
So far, Groth’s harvest experience hasn’t had any hiccups.
“The beans have been nice and dry, and we’ve been combining in good weather,” Groth said. “Everything is threshing nice and clean and are really good quality.”
As the soybeans come off the field, Groth is keeping his eyes peeled for anything that may help or hinder him next growing season.
“We’re spreading the residue evenly across the field and taking note of different things going on in the field,” Groth said. “I’m observing how the crop is as I’m harvesting to be able to compare to fertility and yield maps later.”
Beyond Minnesota and South Dakota, it’s been an uneven growing year across the Upper Midwest, with portions of the region receiving record amounts of rainfall and others thirsty for a few more drops. This led to many farmers needing to replant fields that they’d already planted or pushing back their planting schedule several weeks. Now that harvest is ramping up, fields are ripening sporadically in areas.
“We were in Nebraska and in a few areas, they were combining and right across the road there would be a pivot watering beans that hadn’t even started to turn yet,” Struck said. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Harvest is exciting, stressful, invigorating and exhausting all at the same time – but Upper Midwest soybean growers wouldn’t change it for the world. As the season progresses, NSM member states look forward to providing quality soy to international purchasers.
