PA Soybean Yield Contest Winners Announced
HARRISBURG, PA (February 11, 2013) – While soybean producers throughout the U.S. struggled with historic drought conditions, 2012 proved to be a very good year for Pennsylvania growers. This year, five Pennsylvania growers topped the 90-bushel an acre mark in the 2012 Pennsylvania Soybean Yield Contest.
Herman Manbeck of Womelsdorf, Berks County, was the state’s top producer in the annual competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board, with a yield of 97.06 bushels per acre. Ken Mase of Lebanon placed second with 95.72 bu./acre, followed by fellow Lancaster County soybean growers James Hershey of Elizabethtown (94.93 bu./acre), Charles Farms, Inc. of Lancaster (94.88 bu. /acre) and Merle Stoltzfus of Lititz (94.54 bu./acre).
According to contest coordinator and Penn State Senior Extension Agent Del Voight, 22 of the 36 participating growers exceeded 80 bu./acre. The mean yield of the in 2012 was 80.71 bushels per acre.
The contest recognized not only the state-wide grand champion, but also the top growers in each of four regions of Pennsylvania. The state is divided into four regions based on maturity maps to make the competition more equitable for all growers: Northern Tier, Central Tier, West Tier, and Southeast Tier.
In addition to the statewide title, Herman Manbeck was the Southeast Region winner, planting Pioneer 93Y84 in 15” rows following corn. The crop was planted no-till on April 27 at a seed rate of 195,000. The final stand, populated at 174,240 was harvested September 24 at 11.8% moisture. Manbeck did not use a foliar or insectide treatment, but did use Burndown, Envive, Round Up Power Max and Synchrony herbicides.
Lawrence County producer Rick Telesz won top honors in the West Tier with a 77.18 bu./acre yield. He planted FS Hisoy 34A14. Centre County’s Carl Gates won the top yield honors in the Central Tier with 67.93 bu./acre. Gates planted Pioneer 93m11. D. Richard Snyder of Lycoming County was the top entrant in the Northern Tier with 79.23 bu./acre yield with Pioneer 92Y91.
As the top state winner, Herman Manbeck receives a trophy and an all-expense paid trip for two to the Commodity Classic, the annual joint convention of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Grain Sorghum Producers, held in 2013 in Kissimmee, Florida.
The contest was launched by the Pennsylvania Soybean Promotion Board in 1992. A summary of the crop production practices from the 2012 contest entrants is available at www.pasoybean.org .
About the Pennsylvania Soybean Board
The Pennsylvania Soybean Board is a farmer-controlled Board responsible for managing Pennsylvania’s share of funds received from the nationwide Soybean Checkoff program. The funding is available under an assessment program, approved by Congress in 1990, under which soybean farmers contribute 50 cents of every $100 they receive for their beans at the first point of sale. Funds are used to develop markets, educate consumers, and research new ways to utilize and produce soybeans more efficiently.
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