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Better Farming
January 2017
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33
DOUBLE
CROPPING
SOYBEANS
chaff, volunteer barley grows and
chokes out the beans,” says Mathe-
son. “We have (tried) no till, but
we’ve learned to go light with tillage
for the chaff to try and get a more
uniform stand.”
The straw should be chopped and
spread evenly, or baled, leaving eight
to 10 inches of cereal stubble, says
Michael Staton, senior soybean
educator at Michigan State Universi-
ty. “This forces the soybean plants to
set pods higher.”
Staton has worked with soybeans
since the late 1980s and has been
working on double crop recommen-
dations for over a decade.
In Staton’s opinion, lack of mois-
ture when planting is the number one
factor that will cause a double crop
soybean wreck.
“If June is too dry, do not try,” is a
maxim that Staton likes to remember.
When planting in July, the farmer
may have missed the wet weather that
the spring brings. To reduce the
higher risk of dry summer condi-
tions, a little rain is needed around
the planting window.
“There needs to be enough mois-
ture for germination and emergence.
Last spring was very dry for some
farmers,” says Bohner. “Getting a
good initial emergence was difficult
for some” in 2016.
Crop inputs
When growing double crop beans,
farmers should create crop input
budgets wisely.
“You’re dealing with the risk of
even getting a crop. You have to keep
your costs in check,” says Bohner.
Fertilizer, for example, should be used
sparingly, if at all, he says.
Although nitrogen may help close
canopies in poor stand conditions,
Bohner believes you are better off,
value-wise, increasing your planting
populations than your nitrogen.
“We’re not chasing 60 to 70
bushels; we’re chasing 30 to 40
bushels. Nutrients are not your main
factor for yield loss in a 30-bushel
soybean crop,” says Bohner.
Some growers, however, say
they’ve seen some benefits from a
fertilizer application.
Denotter, for example, has found
through trial and error that putting
some MAP down with the seed has
worked best for his operation.
Whether or not farmers decide to
use a fertilizer application, they
should reserve double crop beans for
the best soil. If the soil has less than 3
Horst Bohner