When the calendar says it’s still a little early for soybeans but field conditions are just right, growers face this increasingly common dilemma: plant and risk the outcome in cold, tough soils—or wait and risk missing the best window.
More farmers are deciding to go early. As they do, seed treatments and inoculants are playing a bigger role in helping growers manage the risks, reports Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, based in south-central Michigan.
The Case For Inoculant Use
While soybeans naturally fix nitrogen through root nodules, the process depends on the presence of Bradyrhizobium bacteria. Inoculants introduce these essential microbes to maximize nitrogen fixation and crop performance.
Inoculants are most often useful, the Crop Protection Network (CPN) reports, when fields have no history of soybean production, or when the field has gone four or more years without being planted to soybeans.
Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer says her field research in south-central Michigan indicates inoculant use can also be a net positive in “ultra early” soybean planting. She has spent the past three years evaluating Preside Ultra, a “super-concentrated” soybean inoculant.
“The results are pretty positive,” says Bauer. “We’ve seen good early growth all three years that we looked at this product.”
Her data shows the product has added about 2.4 bushels per acre on average, delivering roughly $25 per acre in return for about $1.10 per acre more cost than a “standard” inoculant.
“I’ve been pretty happy with what we’ve seen with the enhanced early growth,” Bauer says. “I think the product pairs well with when I plant early, what we can do to get these beans going better knowing that they’re in a tough, cold environment.”
Seed Treatments Continue To Play A Valuable Role
When it comes to protecting early-planted soybeans, Bauer says seed treatments like Ilevo and Saltro still earn a place in growers’ plans as important production tools.
“While we aren’t continuing to research the Ilevo, we have that good history of Ilevo seed treatment and still recommend growers use it or Saltro,” she says.
For Bauer, that “good history” matters. Even without continuous new trials every season, a solid base of multi-year data gives her confidence to keep recommending both products, particularly when growers want to push soybeans into colder soils ahead of the traditional planting window.
Her message to farmers is that early planting doesn’t have to mean planting unprotected. With a strong track record and comparable performance in her trials, she views Ilevo and Saltro as dependable options when the goal is to capture the yield upside of early soybeans while managing the risk that cold, challenging environments can bring.
The CPN says the benefit of a seed treatment is most evident when reduced soybean seeding rates (140,000 seeds per acre or less) are used. In many regions, the minimum plant stand for highly productive soils is 100,000 plants per acre. Because farmers want to minimize input costs while maximizing yield, they may reduce their seeding rates and use seed treatments to help protect the stand, CPN reports.
Next Steps For Your System
For most soybean growers, adopting a different inoculant or seed treatment won’t require a major overhaul. In many cases, it’s a conversation with a seed dealer or custom treater, Bauer says.
Four next steps she recommends:
- Talk to your seed dealer about the inoculant and seed treatment options they offer and the potential benefits.
- Review local data from plots in your area, especially where beans were planted early.
- Match products to your planting plans — early planting into cold soils typically justifies a more robust treatment package.
- Consider a strip trial for evaluation purposes. Compare your standard package against an upgraded inoculant or seed treatment.
For farmers looking to protect their early-planted soybeans — and squeeze a few more bushels out of every acre — upgrading the inoculant and revisiting their seed treatment package may be one of the simpler, higher-return changes they can make, Bauer says.
