Charles Hall, CEO, North Carolina Soybean Producers Association says that the planting intentions report for soybeans in the state really came as no surprise this year:
“We have gained back a few acres. They have come out of cotton. It looks as though peanuts are not surprisingly picking up acres as well.”
Hall says that he sees soybean production continuing to be a viable crop for farmers for years to come:
“I think the supply and demand situation nationwide is going to make every bean we can grow this year much appreciated by the buyers. The prices that we are seeing right now are putting soybeans in a good position to be profitable for farmers. Here in the Carolina’s our soybeans are highly in demand and we have a home for every bean we can grow here.”
The research into varieties of soybeans that are capable of being double-cropped behind wheat have also benefited soy production, according to Hall:
“We do a lot of double crop beans in North Carolina. We have so many acres of wheat, when that comes off in June there will be a lot of beans planted back on those acres. With the research we have some good data on varieties that perform really well in the double crop environment. In fact, those double crop beans can perform just as well as full season beans. We should be looking at some good yields if we don’t have the weather related risk that we all have to worry about.”
 And farming soybeans isn’t just for the big producer any more, according to Hall. This year the Association is sponsoring a 2-acre test plot of edamame soybeans:
“We have a demonstration project on a type of bean called an edamame bean which is basically a vegetable. We have a very small acreage this year and our intention is pilot this project from the farm through the processing all the way to the food manufacturing used for that product. We’ll take it all the way through the process and hopefully gain some knowledge that we can share on how that process works for farmers who are looking to get into that product.”
CEO North Carolina Soybean Producers Association, Charles Hall
image courtesy of worldcommunitycookbook.org
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