HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lancaster County farmer A. Dale Herr, Jr. was the commonwealth’s top producer in this year’s Pennsylvania Soybean Yield competition, sponsored annually by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board. His winning yield topped more than 30 other entrants with a contest record-breaking 117.30 bushels per acre.
The Pennsylvania Soybean Yield contest recognizes not only the state-wide grand champion, but also the top growers in each of five production regions in Pennsylvania, based on maturity maps:
- State Overall & South-Central Region: A. Dale Herr Jr, (Lancaster County); 117.30 bu./acre
- Southeastern Region: Brad Keifer (Northampton County); 100.54 bu./acre
- Central Region: Eric Myers, (Franklin County); 88.21 bu./acre
- Northern Region: John Tebbs (Lycoming County); 102.18 bu./acre
- Western Region: Ricky Telesz, (Lawrence County); 86.31 bu./acre
- Irrigated Class: Steve Chapin, (Columbia County); 85.06 bu./acre
Growing Conditions
Timely mid- and late-summer rains, soil water-holding capacity and April planting dates were the keys that helped the 2024 Pennsylvania Soybean contest winners. Due to a dry summer, 33 farms competed in the contest this year, fewer than 2023. Six farms surpassed the 100 bushel-per-acre level: four in the South-Central Region, one in the Southeastern Region and one in the Northern Region.
Like most seasons, the 2024 growing season had ups and downs. Many of the contest entries were planted in late April and early May due to a cool April across the state. Rainfall was generally below average all summer, and temperatures over the growing season were average. Over the course of the year, temperatures averaged five to 15 percent higher, with most of those higher temperatures occurring in early spring and fall. Generally, harvest weather was favorable, but soybean dry down was not as early as previous years due to a wet first half of September. Strong wheat prices prompted many farmers to plant wheat immediately after soybean harvest again this year.
Top Producer
Dale Herr Jr, the statewide and South-Central Regional winner, planted a Pioneer P35Z76E variety after corn with a no-till drill on 15-inch rows on April 27. He used a two-pass herbicide program and applied a fungicide and an insecticide. His crop received around 17 inches of rain from planting to harvest with the average being 27 inches. Spring started out with a surplus of rain but then it turned dry in early summer. From mid-July through mid-August, his area totaled over eight inches of rain and then it turned dry except for some late September rains. His area was slightly above the 10-year Growing Degree Day average with no significant temperature extremes. Herr Jr. harvested his crop on October 12 and then followed up after harvest, planting a cover crop.
As the state’s winner, Herr will receive an educational 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. The regional winners will also receive an educational trip to the Commodity Classic.
The contest was introduced by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board to showcase crop management practices of some of the top soybean producers in the state. A summary of the crop production practices from the 2023 contest entrants is available from Penn State Extension educators and at pasoybean.org.
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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.
For the latest news, events, research updates and more, visit the Pennsylvania Soybean Board’s website www.pasoybean.org and its Facebook, X and YouTube pages.