Maximize Soybean Yields — Harvesting This Week Could Be Key

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:45:21 GMT

If you’re wondering whether you need to harvest soybeans soon, the answer is yes – maybe even this week – according to Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer.

The weather pattern that has set in across much of the Midwest is resulting in a rapid drydown of soybean crops, advancing moisture losses in the beans (seeds) faster than what many farmers might be anticipating.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released last Thursday, Sept. 11, reports nearly one-fourth (22%) of all soybean acres are experiencing some level of extreme dryness or drought.

Many of the top soybean producing states are experiencing abnormally dry conditions to severe drought this week. The result with soybeans is rapid drydown is underway, putting yield results at risk of moving lower.

(CPC/NOAA)

Because drydown is going quickly, Ferrie and Bauer are concerned growers are going to wind up harvesting soybeans with less moisture than desired, and that could be a huge negative for yield outcomes.

“I know a lot of guys are calling around, asking neighbors if they’re cutting beans and what the moisture level is, but I wouldn’t wait,” Ferrie says. “This is the year when cutting 12%, 13% soybeans is a lot better than the 8% beans I think we’re going to potentially deal with.”

Want to know why it’s so dry? Check out this video with U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan — Drought Conditions Intensify: What is Causing This Problem?

Understand The Factors That Contribute To Yield
There are three components to soybean yield: pods per acre, beans per pod and the size of the beans (seed). At this point in the growing season, final soybean yield is being driven by the seed size and weight.

Weather can play a huge role in the development process late-season. If you have favorable late-season temperatures and rainfall, that can create larger seed weights by extending the seed-fill duration.

Conversely, late-season disease or drought – like what is underway now in many areas – can terminate the seed-fill period prematurely and reduce seed size, explain Ryan Van Roekel, former Pioneer field agronomist, and Larry Purcell, University of Arkansas professor emeritus of crop physiology.

The goal with harvesting the crop at a higher moisture level now is to preserve bean seed size (weight).

With Heavier Soybeans, Fewer Are Needed Per Bushel

A standard bushel of soybeans weighs 60 pounds at 13% moisture content. You typically need between 2,500 to 3,500 soybeans to make a pound. Bauer is concerned the number of beans required per pound will be on the higher end this season.

“It’s so dry here (in southern Michigan), the longer we wait the more the seed size is going to suffer,” she says. “We’re going to have a lot of 3,000 or more seeds per pound coming in. It’s going to feel like we’re harvesting BBs.”

Granted, you can err on the other side – harvested soybeans can contain too much moisture, resulting in discounts by buyers. But that’s unlikely to be the case this season.

“With this heat, these beans are going to dry really fast, and we don’t want that to result in us giving up a chunk of yield,” Bauer says.

Ferrie’s advice is to combine soybeans now, even if you don’t think you should be combining them, and that likely means you need to go through fields at slower speeds.

“You’re going to have to deal with a little bit of noise and thumping, and it’s probably going to be easier on the guys with the belted head, versus the auger heads. But push this bean harvest,” Ferrie advises. “Don’t wait for the field to look like it’s right to harvest. The beans might be tough cutting, but keep cutting.”

Your next read: Six Sources of Soybean Loss and How to Address Them

U.S. Ag Trade Deficit Hits Record High In First Four Months Of 2025

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:02:20 GMT

Three years and counting – that’s how long U.S. agriculture has been in an agricultural trade deficit – reports Faith Parum, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economist.

“From January through April, the United States imported $78.2 billion in agricultural products while exporting just $58.5 billion. This $19.7 billion deficit is the largest ever recorded for the first four months of a year and signals that the 2025 deficit could surpass previous records,” Parum says in a new AFBF report .

(AFBF Calculations; USDA FAS)

In early June, the USDA raised its forecast of the U.S. agriculture trade deficit for fiscal-year 2025 to $49.5 billion, from the $49 billion it previously forecast in February.

Imports of high-value food items, such as fruits and vegetables, have driven the growing deficit, according to Parum, who says they represent the largest trade deficit category.

Have The Deficit Numbers Already Peaked?

While the forecast is concerning, Stephen Nicholson, Rabo AgriFinance global sector strategist for grains and oilseeds, says he is hopeful the agricultural trade deficit for 2025 has already reached its peak.

“My expectation is that we should see that trade deficit in agriculture come back a little because we have all this product, food, in our warehouses now, ready for consumers,” Nicholson told Farm Journal.

(USDA FAS GATS, USDA ERS Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade: May 2025)

Essentially, Nicholson says, many buyers made and imported larger food purchases than usual this spring to get those products into the U.S. ahead of potential trade tariffs the Trump administration announced would be imposed on Liberation Day, April 2.

“You know, when we saw that chart (from President Trump on the planned tariffs), I think a lot of us were pretty taken back by some of the eye-popping numbers we saw there. And then, of course, we came back a week later and they were cut in half.”

No One Knows ‘The Rules Of The Road’

Nicholson says the lack of certainty on tariffs, and other factors – ranging from conflict in the Middle East to high input costs and interest rates – has created challenges for all agricultural industries and farmers, including livestock producers.

“No one knows the rules of the road today,” he says. “Right now, no one wants to plan or invest or expend capital for plants, for expansion, because we don’t know what the economic environment is going to look like as we go six months to a year down the road.”

At the core of the problem is a rapidly evolving global marketplace that the U.S. appears increasingly ill-equipped to navigate, according to an article by Pro Farmer editors .

From shifting supply chains to aggressive trade strategies by key competitors like Brazil, Australia, and the EU, the landscape for ag exports is changing fast — and the U.S. is falling behind, they contend.

“We have no plan — none — to deal with this growing trade gap,” one senior industry executive says. “It’s not just bad policy; it’s no policy at all.”

Trade Deals Could Help The Situation

Farm groups continue to urge the White House to prioritize new trade deals that open markets for ag products.

But some industry insiders say the administration is too focused on broad tariff threats and “reciprocal tariffs,” while neglecting granular trade promotion and technical access issues that matter most for ag commodities, Pro Farmer reports.

At the grassroots level, Nicholson encourages corn and soybean to stay focused on market opportunities that could come up in the next week, given the weather conditions across the U.S.

“We’re in this very hot weather across the Corn Belt right now. If this forecast doesn’t quite pan out for the rest of the week, and more hot weather, and more rain or no rain, the market may react. Be prepared for those rallies in the market, and reward those rallies,” he encourages.

Your next read: Lift the Fog: 4 Drivers of Farm Profitability To Watch in 2025

Pro Farmer Analysis

Maximize Soybean Yields — Harvesting This Week Could Be Key

U.S. Ag Trade Deficit Hits Record High In First Four Months Of 2025