Top soybean grower notes challenges of 2019
Farmers throughout the High Plains found 2019 one of the toughest years to grow profitable crops.
Still, their willingness to keep improving their production techniques lends them to enter contests and in the soybean competition, Ben Amerin, Plains, Kansas, was the highest-yielding farmer in the state with 98.3 bushels per acre in the Asgrow National Yield Contest. In a challenging year, Amerin raises the crop in an irrigated circle west of Meade. He planted the AG36X6 (Xtend variety) brand.
Amerin planted the field on April 28 and harvested it around Oct. 1 on the field located west of Meade. The five-month growing season presented unprecedented challenges in southwest Kansas when heavy rains fell in one lengthy stretch. One of Amerin’s fields had about 6 inches of water on top of for four to five days.
“It was a miracle that it came out of it and we were definitely lucky it produced the yield it did,” he said.” “It wasn’t all that good a year. We just worked with it the best we could and still came out with a decent yield.”
Later in the season disease pressure also had an impact on yields. “It was a tough season.”
The Xtend variety was a good choice as it provides a good overall balance and he plans to stay with the Asgrow family. Each year Amerin studies the traits of seeds before he plants his crop.
Amerin was also first in the state’s conventional irrigated class for corn with a yield of 297.828 bushels per acre as part of the National Corn Growers Association contest with his DeKALB DKC70-26RIB hybrid. Amerin said his corn production was also impacted by similar growing season challenges as his soybean crop. He planted corn for that contest on May 1. Bayer is the parent company for both Asgrow and DeKalb products.
Amerin enjoys entering growing contests because he is by nature competitive. Contests also provide him with a way to study what works and where he needs to improve on his production techniques.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
