INVESTING CHECKOFF DOLLARS
HOW TO MANAGE SOYBEAN ROI IN A CROP YEAR IMPACTED BY DROUGHT
E
verything was looking just fine for most soybean producers in South Dakota during the spring 2021 planting season. Bean markets were strong, riding a wave of optimism. A relatively mild, low-moisture winter and early spring made it easy to get into the fields. The actual growing season, however, has largely not been so kind. Much of the state endured hotter-than-normal temperatures in June and drought-like conditions throughout the summer, which has in turn impacted soybean crop development and will depress yield come harvest. In extreme cases, some growers are fearing as much as a 50 percent decrease in soybean yield year over year. And this, of course, will put additional pressure on an operation’s bottom line. How, then, should producers respond to weather the storm as best they can? START BY EVALUATING ANY AND ALL INPUT COSTS. “This is a business, and you have to operate it as such,” says Lori Tonak, a seasoned ag educator from Kimball, S.D. who works with growers across the state through the South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management (SDCFRM) at Mitchell Technical College. Tonak notes that there are certain input costs— fertilizer as well as herbicide and fungicide applications—that deserve careful consideration from producers in a drought-stricken year such as this. “‘Is it really worth putting on more chemicals? What will this do to my bottom line?’” says Tonak. “Those are the hard questions that growers have to ask themselves.”
Photo courtesy of United Soybean Board 12
Fall Issue 2021
SDSL
