Seeding rate trial opportunity

March 2, 2023 | Kriss Nelson

With high-quality soybean seed, coupled with seed treatments, high germination rates and increased costs, there is value in understanding soybean seeding populations while maintaining yields to maximize profit per acre.

“As genetics have evolved, soybeans respond differently to planting width and density,” says Joe McClure, Iowa Soybean Association’s (ISA) Research Center for Farming Innovation (RCFI) co-director of on-farm research. “This information has to be updated with the latest and greatest seed varieties coming out of our seed companies today. We need to have the right population for max profit.”

ISA invites farmers across all nine cropping regions to participate in seeding rate trial.

McClure says a variable rate seeding prescription treatment will be available if a producer has those capabilities. Otherwise, the only requirement to participate in the trial is a yield monitor and the ability to share yield history and harvest files.

The trials will be a standard replicated strip trial utilizing the entire field length, replicating the determined seed populations throughout the field.

“We invite everyone whether they are practicing no-till, tillage, cover crop, no cover crop; 15-inch or 30-inch rows,” says McClure. “You keep your variety, seed treatments and herbicides the same.”

ISA will set up the trial utilizing farm maps, analyze the data and supply a final analysis for your field.

More information on the soybean seeding rate trials and other current trial opportunities can be found here.

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