There were several standouts when it came to variety selection in 2024 that are relevant for the coming crop.

1. DISEASE TOLERANCE AND DEFENSIVE CHARACTERISTICS

You must play the long game here. If you occasionally have brown stem rot, phytophthora root rot, sudden death syndrome, or other harmful diseases show up on your farm, you can greatly improve performance by carefully selecting varieties that can better tolerate them. Foliar treatments can help supplement protection but won’t make up for what you’ve already lost.

2. COLD GERMINATION PERCENTAGE

While it won’t show up on the seed tags for various reasons, the cold germination percentage is still very important to your success. As planting dates have moved earlier, just like in corn, the cold germination percentage is a great predictor of your final stand and early vigor. All the Hefty and Zinesto Soybean varieties must meet industry-leading high standards to ensure your success whether you plant them early or late in the season.

3. SEED TREATMENT

This goes hand-in-hand with early planting. Seed treatment is a must for disease protection and better early growth! In 2024, farmers also saw more soybean aphids than they’d seen in years. Seed treatment insecticide use led to less aphid pressure later in the season.

4. NO SINGLE BREEDER HAS ALL THE BEST

That’s why we license genetics from the Top 5 soybean breeding companies to put together what may be the most genetically diverse soybean lineup in the business. Rather than looking for varieties that are average to above across broad geographies, our goal is to find the absolute best beans for your particular farm.

With many areas suffering from drought this past season, some cultural practices really stood out.

• NARROW ROWS – Filled in faster, conserving moisture and choking out weeds.

• HIGHER POPULATIONS – Choked out weeds and grew taller in the lighter/poorer areas of fields.

• EARLY PLANTING – Often led to higher yields by flowering earlier to give more time to catch sunlight. Also, this helps to reach canopy faster to choke out weeds.

• LOWER POPULATIONS – In rich soils or areas with higher disease pressure, this has let more air and sunlight through the canopy to lessen lodging and conditions that favor white mold.

Lots of discussion is being had with XtendFlex users about weed control for 2025. Enlist users are also struggling with weed control issues. Here’s the strategy for each.

• 3 PRE’S AND LAYERING RESIDUALS – Regardless of trait, using Valor or Authority along with metribuzin and one of the yellows (Trifluralin or Prowl) has been the cheapest and best way to control weeds long-term (usually for one to two months) in soybeans. Pair that program with a burndown (Liberty, Gramoxone, Roundup, etc.) if needed. Then, follow up by layering another residual (such as Warrant Ultra, Perpetuo, or Anthem Maxx) with your first post-emerge spray. It’s proven to be a good investment in terms of yield and weed control.

• ASSUME DICAMBA PRODUCTS WILL NOT BE LABELED FOR IN-CROP USE IN XTENDFLEX FOR THIS SEASON. Plan to use a program featuring Liberty in-crop and tankmix products like Cobra, Resource, Flexstar, etc. with it. I like using Liberty at the full 43-ounce use rate on days where the humidity and temperature add up to be 150 or more for best results. For example, on a sunny day with the temperature at 80 degrees and the humidity at 70% or above, it’s a great day to spray Liberty!

• IN ENLIST SOYBEANS – The post-emerge “go-to” program for bigger weeds or heavier weed pressure is 32 to 43 ounces of Liberty plus 16 to 32 ounces of Enlist One.
• POST-EMERGE IN ANY CROP – The real key is to spray weeds in the 2- to 4-inch range. Err on the side of spraying too early rather than getting there too late.

Browning of the pith caused by brown stem rot (top) compared to a healthy pith (bottom). When it comes to picking a good soybean variety, one of the things to consider is the defense you need against existing disease pressure in your fields.

FINALLY, THE BIGGEST LESSON IN SOYBEANS WAS IN FULL EFFECT THIS PAST SEASON: DON’T GIVE UP TOO EARLY ON YOUR BEANS!

They looked behind early in the season. They didn’t look like they had tremendous potential mid-season. Then, what do you know? They had a ton of potential in the end. The farmers that stuck with it saw a nice return on investment. The ones who gave up and let insects, weeds, and diseases impact the crop often lost 10 bushels, 15 bushels, or more. Don’t ever give up on soybeans too early. They are a resilient crop.