Using Data to Increase On-Farm Productivity and Profitability Matt Carroll ISA RCFI Analytics and Insights Lead mcarroll@iasoybeans.com
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for Profitable Soybean Management Systems” in 2019. Researchers used an online survey to ask farmers across the Midwest about their management practices for soybean fields, and the corresponding yields for each field. The management data received from this survey work was inputted into a machine learning algorithm to make region-specific management recommendations. The researchers found that the two most important variables that predicted yield were planting date and latitude. As a grower, you can change your planting date, but unless you plan to move your farm, latitude is something we cannot control. Other important variables were soybean maturity groups and applying a foliar fungicide and insecticide. The
algorithm recommendations varied by state, but all scenarios recommended planting soybeans earlier. In Iowa, the additional recommendations were to plant a later maturity group, preferably 3.6 or greater, apply a foliar fungicide and insecticide and have a planting population of 130,000 seeds per acre.
On-farm trials In 2021, ISA put the algorithm to the test with farmer-cooperators in nine locations throughout the state. We tested fields with four treatments: early maturity and early planting, early maturity and late planting, late maturity and early planting, and late maturity and late planting. Across all sites, late maturity with an early planting date was a
Yield
ecember is a great time to reflect on what went well the past year, and what can be improved in the year ahead. As you think about making your game plan for 2024, I encourage you to consider soybean planting dates and relative maturities that are right for your farm. Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) invests checkoff dollars each year to help fund the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) to help increase collaborative research across the north central soybean growing states. ISA’s Research Center for Farming Innovation (RCFI) also collaborates with many of these researchers to help validate on-farm trials. University of Wisconsin researchers started working on the project “Using Data-Driven Knowledge
EarlyRM_EarlyPlant
LateRM_EarlyPlant
EarlyRM_LatePlant
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Trials with different letters were statistically different nine out of 10 times. The grouping letter “a” represents the top-performing yield treatment at each location. Using a later maturing variety and earlier planting dates showed no yield loss and yield gain in many locations compared to other treatment combinations. 22 | DECEMBER 2023 | IASOYBEANS.COM
