August Rains Bring Up Virginia Soybean Yields

While much of the southeast baked under record-high temperatures and no rain in 2011, most Virginia farmers had adequate moisture and average temperatures during last year’s growing season. 2012 was a different story according to Brian Jones, Dupont-Pioneer Product Agronomist in Virginia:

“Yields were all over the place. With the tough season we had, north of the James River, northeast Virginia and some parts of Northern Virginia, there was a lot of disappointment for those folks. But south of the river and in western Virginia, we had a better than average year for yields.”
 

While corn didn’t fare well due to the state’s warm, dry summer, the soybean crop got a boost from August rains, and yielded well according to Jones:
 

“Soybean yields seemed to be up across the state for the most part. A lot of the plots that we visited, the farmers told us this was one of their better years for beans. Most of that was the result of the late season rains we had in August, it was a good rainfall during the pod filling stage. We had a good harvest in terms of bean size and yield.”
 

As far as winter wheat plantings, Jones explains the weather has cooperated and the crop is going in the ground fast:
 

“We still have wheat to be planted. We are estimating about 70% of the wheat is in the ground now across the state and 75% of the beans are harvested. With the weather being cooperative we still have some time, so we are moving right along. I think everyone is moving as fast as they can.”
 

For more of Southern Farm Network’s “In the Field” reports from Dupont Pioneer product agronomist in North and South Carolina as well as Virginia, click here to see our Pioneer Page.
 

Brian Jones, product agronomist with Dupont Pioneer on Inside Agriculture.