Roundup Ready Varieties Used in 1997: January 1998 Soybeans Today

Soybeans Today January 1998

Roundup Ready Varieties Used in 1997

By Mary Freeman

Arkansas farmers are producing 50-plus bushel yields of soybeans through the use of irrigation.

One of the biggest changes in Arkansas soybean production in 1997 was the wide use of Roundup-resistant varieties.

For Arkansas growers, the new varieties promised convenient weed control and a chance to test the new varieties in real life conditions. Soybean growers had a wet spring and lots of moisture going into July. That's when the rain quit.

"We'll have a much better feel for how they'll respond under drought stress and also in the high yielding irrigated environments," says Lanny Ashlock, soybean specialist for the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. Growers also will see if the beans are high yielding under irrigation and if they live up to each grower's expectations.

In some cases, farmers may be willing to risk a hopefully slight yield loss for the convenience of one-herbicide weed control.

"Many are willing to give up a little bit, but they don't know how little the bit is," Ashlock says. "If there's a real obvious dropoff, they may get somewhat concerned."

If that happens many farmers may be thinking, "I've ended up paying a whole lot for a pretty field," Ashlock says.

Brian Fratesi and his father, Robert, grow 1,800 acres of soybeans near Pine Bluff.

"They're not shaping up good at all," Brian Fratesi says. "Where we watered the soybeans, they are going pretty good."

He predicted that 25 bushels an acre would be an excellent yield where the dry weather hit hard.

He also grew about 800 acres of a Roundup-resistant variety.

"Roundup did pretty good. Just Roundup alone doesn't have real good control of some species of morningglory," he said, adding the Roundup-resistant varieties did offer a wider window of opportunity to attack weeds.

In 1997, Arkansans planted 3.6 million acres of soybeans, compared to 3.5 million in 1996.

One factor "worthy of noting is the increased flexibility that producers have under the current farm legislation," says Ewell Welch, secretary of the Soybean Promotion Board. They can change their "crop mix based on market signals. That's why we saw a slight increase in acreage this year."

As far as yields are concerned, Ashlock wasn't expecting any records.

"We went into the first of July in pretty good shape moisture-wise," he said. "Many spots in Arkansas didn't see any significant rain through July and August and were still dry in mid-September.

"That's a critical period of time to produce our summer crops. So the dryland producers every place except extreme northeast, southwest and extreme southeast have really suffered," Ashlock says.

The dry weather will keep down seed size.

On the other hand, "those people who irrigate will have some outstanding yields. It started dry and there were not a lot of diseases," he said.

"Temperature was kind of a friend this year. We haven't had a lot of 100-degree-plus days. August was a little cooler than normal and September a little bit warmer," he said.

What growers get paid for their crop won't be bad.

"It's still over $6. It's not quite as good as the last two or three years, but better than the 80s," he said. And some growers captured some of the good prices before a slip in July and August.

Demand is up too.

"We're seeing increased growth in domestic demand of soybeans resulting from the soybean checkoff," Welch said.

"Probably the biggest growth is in non-food uses, such things as new adhesives in the wood products industry. Soy crayons are another example of good work being done in that area."

Soybeans Today January 1998
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For additional information about any board-related activity contact:

Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
ATTN: Brandy Carroll
P.O. Box 31
Little Rock, AR 72203-0031
Phone: 501-228-1268

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