Texas Agriculture Daily

Many weather factors caused problems for soybean farmers across Texas this year, according to AgriLife Today.

Arid conditions and rain caused yield losses and prevented farmers from accessing their fields, according to Dr. Clark Neely, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service small grains and oilseed specialist.

Neely said timing was everything for soybean farmers.

He said early on during the season the soybean fields in the Southeast looked good, but the hot, dry mid-summer conditions caused problems for the crop. He said the arid summer conditions inhibited plant production and many pods did not fill.

The August rains came too late to benefit the plants, and prevented many farmers from accessing their fields that were ready to harvest. The rain delayed harvest and caused the beans to rot in their pods.

“The timing of the rains couldn’t have been worse,” Neely said. “They were ready for harvest and had to sit in the fields for two weeks or more.”

Planting time played a large role in how the crop performed in the northern part of the state, according to Russell Sutton, Texas A&M AgriLife Research assistant research scientist.

Sutton said some fields performed well, while others failed to meet expectations. Early planted fields took advantage of the spring rains and had time to establish before the dry summer conditions arrived. He said the late-planted fields didn’t fare so well.

Early planted fields yielded up to 40 bushels per acre, while some late-planted fields struggled to make 20 bushels per acre, according to Sutton.

“A lot of producers had high hopes for soybeans this year,” Sutton said. “But it was a challenging year for some.”

The Oct.12 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised soybean average yields to a record high 51.4 bushels per acre from 50.6 bushels per acre.

Soybean production estimates were raised again to a record 4.269 billion bushels, from 4.201 billion bushels from last month, which is a 2 percent increase from September and 9 percent from last year.