MSPB's Soybean Management Practices Survey
2,200 surveys were distributed by mail to Mississippi soybean producers, and 238 completed surveys were returned. This 10.8% participation rate is in the normal range for an external survey.
Average tilled acres and total soybean acres of each respondent is 1,725 and 1,199, respectively.
Some of the pertinent results from that survey are presented by category.
General Crop Production
Producers who do and do not rotate soybean with another crop are about evenly split (48% do and 52% do not).
Over half (56%) of the respondents recognize that the optimum planting date for soybean in Mississippi is early to late April, and that mid-April to early May is the optimum end date for planting. 54% of the participants almost always or always plant soybeans as early as soil conditions allow.
62% of the respondents plant in rows that are no wider than 20 in.
Yield of a variety is the trait rated most important when selecting a variety, while seed oil/protein content is rated the least important.
Variety selection one of the most-mentioned ways of increasing soybean yields.
The top three soybean issues listed by producer respondents are weed resistance, adequate moisture, and cost of production.
Soil Factors
70% of the respondents test soil for fertility every 1 to 3 years, and 80% take soil samples in the fall.
Slightly less than half (47%) of the respondents know the amounts of nutrients removed from the soil each year.
Two-thirds of the respondents ensure adequate fertility on every soybean acre almost every year.
44% of the respondents who are aware of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) presence in their fields never test for SCN, and another 44% only sometimes test for SCN presence. 59% do not know if SCN is present in their fields.
56% of the producers who don’t have SCN infestations in their fields do not test for SCN. Only 33% of these producers sometimes test soil for SCN.
40% of the respondents irrigate soybeans, but a very small percentage of those producers use soil moisture sensors and surge valves. PHAUCET/Pipe Planner is the most-used irrigation management tool.
A low percentage of irrigated producers know the amount of water they are using to irrigate soybean as indicated by the low percentage who use water or flow meters. However, irrigators consider amount of water used for irrigation as important.
Insect and Disease Factors
70% of producer respondents scout or have their fields scouted for pests and weeds on a weekly basis, and almost 60% of the scouting protocol used involves always walking the fields.
40% of the respondents almost always or always use scouting results from the current crop to plan for next year’s crop.
56% of the respondents check fields for presence of major diseases on a weekly basis.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the respondents almost always or always use practices or make decisions that will manage diseases that are present.
53% of responding producers use a sweep net or drop cloth to make weekly checks for insect presence.
84% of producers almost always or always immediately treat for insects when their numbers reach economic thresholds.
Weed Factors
95% of respondents use 2 or more modes of action when applying herbicides for weed control.
55% of producers almost always or always use pre-plant herbicides to enhance weed management and reduce the risk of selection for herbicide resistance in weed species.
More than 90% of responding producers use the full labeled rate of pesticides most or all of the time.
Production Recommendations
85% of producers who responded are comfortable or very comfortable with recommendations made by agricultural retailers.
Mississippi State University received the top mention as a source of important information for making production decisions.
44% of producers use a crop consultant/adviser at least most of the time, while 41% never one.
General Conclusions
High adoption of early planting and narrow rows and the selection of high-yielding varieties by a majority of producers, as indicated by the survey results, are likely the reasons for increasing soybean yields in Mississippi over the last two decades.
These survey results indicate that increased education about the need to sample soil for SCN is needed. This is especially true since the disease surveys over the last four years indicate that SCN is the soybean pest responsible for the greatest yield loss in Midsouth soybean production systems.
The survey results indicate that increased education about using all irrigation management tools to increase irrigation efficiency and water meters to accurately determine water use by irrigated soybean is needed.
The majority of producers use timely and accurate scouting and timely treatment to manage disease and insect pests in soybean.
The vast majority or respondents use economic thresholds to determine if and when to treat for insect infestations. This indicates that continued research is needed to ensure that threshold numbers are adequate and accurate for the various soybean production systems in Mississippi.
Producers have obviously taken heed about the importance of weeds developing resistance to herbicides as indicated by the large majority of respondents who use more than one herbicide mode of action, preplant herbicides, and the full labeled rate of herbicides. All of these factors are recommendations to prevent or delay herbicide resistance in weeds.
It is obvious that Mississippi soybean producers have a high regard for the information provided and recommendations made by agricultural retailers in the state. Crop consultants/advisers also provide a valuable service to a large percentage of surveyed producers.
As with all surveys, this survey provides only a sampling of production practices and information sources used by Mississippi soybean producers. However, these results do provide a glimpse into what is being done to produce soybeans in the state, and can provide agricultural practitioners with a clue as to what needs more attention and increased education.
I personally thank each of you 238 respondents who took the time to complete and return the survey. Hopefully, through this blog and other summaries that will come from the survey results, you can see the value of the information you provided and how it can be used to provide insight into what Mississippi soybean producers are now doing or maybe should be doing to continue the trend of increasing soybean yields in the state.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Mar. 2015, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net