2013 Pennsylvania Soybean Yield Contest Winners Announced
HARRISBURG, PA (February 24, 2014) – Lebanon County farmer Jeff Bomgardner was the state’s top producer in the annual Pennsylvania Soybean Yield Contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board, with a yield of 97.38 bushels per acre. Darren Grumbine, also of Lebanon County, placed second with 91.04 bu./acre, followed by Lancaster County soybean grower Merle Stoltsfus with a 90.04 bu./acre yield.
According to contest coordinator and Penn State Senior Extension Agent Del Voight, 17 of the 31 participating growers exceeded 80 bu./acre. The mean yield of the contest entrants in 2013 was 76.82 bushels per acre, down from the 2012 average of 80.71 bushels per acre.
“Growing conditions were all over the board this year for soybean growers throughout Pennsylvania,” says Voight. “An unusually cold spring gave way to near perfect conditions for June and July for much of the state. Some areas saw rather dry weather near harvest, which most likely affected pod-fill for many soybean varieties.”
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, Jeff Bomgardner was the Southeast Region winner, planting Syngenta 36B6 in 7.5” rows following corn. The crop was drilled no-till on May 10 at a seed rate of 140,000. The final stand, populated at 119,877, was harvested October 11 at 14% moisture. Bomgardner used a liquid inoculation, Quilt fungicide, Hero insecticide and Touchdown plus Authority First herbicide.
Richard Snyder of Lycoming County won top honors in the Northern Tier with a 73.34 bu./acre yield. He planted Pioneer 93M11. Centre County’s Carl Gates won the top yield honors in the Central Tier with 56.11 bu./acre. Gates planted Pioneer 93Y91. Mike Reskovac, Fayette County, was the top entrant in the West Tier with 71.39 bu./acre yield with Dairyland Seed 2411.
As the top state winner, Jeff Bomgardner receives a plaque 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 2014 in San Antonio.
The contest was launched by the Pennsylvania Soybean Promotion Board in 1992. A summary of the crop production practices from the 2013 contest entrants is available under the Research Summaries tab 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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