2015 Michigan Soybean Performance Report is available

Mike Staton<staton@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - November 25, 2015

Michigan soybean producers can improve soybean yields and profitability by utilizing the information contained in the Michigan Soybean Performance Report.

The 2015 Michigan Soybean Performance Report is now available online.

Selecting the best adapted soybean varieties for your farm is one of the most profitable decisions you will make. To ensure you are selecting the best adapted and highest yielding varieties for your farm, you should utilize three sources of information: the Michigan Soybean Performance Report, seed suppliers and your own on-farm variety trials/comparisons. If you are not utilizing any one of these sources, you are reducing the probability of selecting the best-adapted and highest-yielding varieties.

Most soybean agronomists agree that evaluating variety performance data from as many different environments as possible is essential to selecting top performing varieties. The Michigan Soybean Performance Report is an excellent resource for comparing the yield and lodging of soybean varieties across multiple locations and years. The Michigan Soybean Performance Report is updated annually and the 2015 report is available now online at the Michigan State University Variety Trials website. The information contained in the report will also be published in the Dec. 1 edition of the Michigan Farm News. The 2015 report will be mailed directly to Michigan soybean producers as has been done in the past.

A Michigan Soybean Performance Report searchable database is also available online. The searchable database enables soybean producers to input specific search criteria such as soybean cyst nematode resistance, phytopthora resistance and maturity. The highest-yielding varieties having the selected characteristics will be identified and listed from top to bottom by yield. The 2015 data will be added to the searchable database in mid-December.

Remember that gathering and evaluating information from a variety of sources is essential to selecting high-yielding soybean varieties and the 2015 Michigan Soybean Performance Report should be one of these sources.

This article was produced by the SMaRT project (Soybean Management and Research Technology). The SMaRT project was developed to help Michigan producers increase soybean yields and farm profitability. The SMaRT project is a partnership between Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan Soybean Checkoff program.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).