Soybean and Corn Impact in Mississippi
When the high prices received in the last two years are factored into the equation, the economic impact has been even more pronounced. In fact, in 2012, the farm gate value for these two crops in Mississippi was over 1.25 billion dollars from soybeans and over 900 million dollars from corn.
| Mississippi soybean and corn production, 1994-2013. | |||||
| Soybeans–Average | Corn–Average | ||||
| Period/Year | Acres harvested | Yield–bu/A | Acres harvested | Yield–bu/A | |
| 1994-1998 | 1,898,000 | 29.5 | 414,000 | 98.0 | |
| 1999-2003 | 1,480,000 | 29.2 | 424,000 | 121.2 | |
| 2004-2008 | 1,656,000 | 36.1 | 548,000 | 139.8 | |
| 2009-2013 | 1,932,000 | 40.5 | 760,000 | 145.5 | |
| 2012 | 1,950,000 | 45.0 | 795,000 | 165.0 | |
| 2013 | 1,900,000 | 42.0* | 900,000 | 165.0* | |
| *Projected. Source: NASS | |||||
The yield and acreage trends for these two crops shown in the above table have brought about new issues for the production of both crops.
● A significant acreage of soybeans will now be rotated with corn.
The nitrogen (N) fertility dynamics for corn will be affected. Soybean residue, especially that resulting from a high-yielding crop, will contribute some amount of N to a following corn crop. See the article on this website.
Residue management dynamics for rotated soybeans will be different from that of soybeans following soybeans. See the MSSOY Managing Crop Residues White Paper.
● A significant acreage of both crops is now and will continue to be irrigated.
This will make irrigation efficiency increasingly more important. The MSPB is funding projects that will address this, as well as funding education efforts to increase awareness of the need for efficiency and to promote tools that can be used to conserve the irrigation water supply. See the Sept. 11 Delta Farm Press article.
● Seed of essentially all of the soybean varieties and corn hybrids planted in the US carry the glyphosate-resistant (GR) trait (USDA-ERS).
This will make managing volunteer plants of each species more problematic when they appear in the rotated crop. See the article from the LSU AgCenter for strategies to control GR crops when they become weeds in other crops.
● Both crops can be planted early, with corn likely being planted before soybeans.
Preplant and early-season weed control will be more important. The advantages of starting weed management in the fall should be considered. See the MSSOY article.
● More attention should be paid to potential herbicide carryover and the pests that are hosted by both crops.
Example: Some herbicides used on corn have the risk of carryover in an amount that can injure the following year’s soybean crop. See the atrazine label, the Corn & Soybean Digest article, and the Iowa State University article.
Example: Rotating corn with soybeans is part of an effective strategy for managing soybean cyst and reniform nematodes. However, rotating soybeans and corn is not an effective management option for root knot nematode since both crops serve as a host. See the MSSOY White Paper.
● Early-planted, early-maturing soybeans and corn should be grown in rows that are no more than 30 inches wide.
A wide-bed system and twin rows has become an efficient way of accomplishing this with both crops. See the Row Spacing White Paper on this website.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Sept. 2013, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net