Soybean Farming Script
It’s pretty amazing that one little bean has risen so quickly to such importance as an agricultural crop.
Just a few hundred years ago, American farmers weren’t even sure what to do with the odd little bean that came from China.
But all of that changed when industry began to discover the many ways that this protein-packed legume could be used as food sources and in making industrial products.
Today, the soybean has grown into the second most important crop in the country, and Wisconsin soybean farmers help in the U.S. supplying almost half of the world’s soybean needs.
So it’s little surprise that Wisconsin soybean farmers take pride in helping grow such an important crop for the world. And many of those soybean farms are family operations handed down from one generation to the next, where everyone pitches in to help on the farm.
Being a soybean farmer is a lot like playing a game of chess – you have to plan ahead and make important moves. But you aren’t sure what will happen when Mother Nature makes her moves with weather, insects and weeds.
The first thing farmers need to do before planting their crops is to test the soil. Even though soybeans help produce their own nitrogen, farmers still need to analyze the soil for acidity and nutrient needs.
Next, the farmer needs to choose the right kind of soybean seed. Just like there are lots of varieties of potatoes, there are different varieties of soybeans. And it’s important to pick the right variety of seed to match the soil, moisture, and temperature conditions on the farm. Farmers can also choose genetically modified or GM soybean varieties that offer various advantages.
Here in Wisconsin, farmers usually begin planting their soybeans in April- so that April showers can bring many soy sprouts. In planting the soybean seeds, the farmer uses a planter that deposits the seeds about 1 1/2 inches deep into the soil, in rows about 30 inches apart.
About a week later, the soybean sprouts begin to show. They are tender and tasty to a number of threats and the farmer needs to be on guard. Besides birds and animals eating them, insects might threaten to damage the crop. If bug and worms are eating too much of the crop, the farmer may need to spray insecticide on the plants to protect them.
As the young soybeans continue to grow, another thing may threaten them – weeds. Depending on soil, moisture and weather, some fast growing weeds my crowd out the soybeans and take all the moisture and nutrients. Again, the farmer may be faced with using herbicide to help control the weeds.
Finally, if they can survive the insects and weeds, soybean plants bloom during the summer with small purple flowers. These flowers will grow into the small pods that will hold the soybeans inside.
Farming is also about understanding the math of growing your crop. For instance, each soybean seed can grow one soybean plant. In turn, each soybean plant grows 60 to 80 pods containing two to three beans each. Do the math and you’ll see that one soybean seed could produce 150 to 200 beans per plant! So what does that mean to the farmer?
By understanding the science of soybean farming, farmers have learned how to increase the amount of soybeans, or “yield” that they can harvest from an acre of land. An acre of land is 208 feet by 208 feet. And here in Wisconsin, farmers can raise a “yield” of 50 bushels per acre. That’s almost double what they could produce 40 years ago. Soy growing savvy has really helped our farmers.
By October, the soybeans have matured inside the pods and the leaves have turned from yellow to brown. Finally, the soybeans are ready to be harvested using large machines called combines. During the process, the combine cuts and collects the soybean plants, then separates the soybeans from their pods and stems. The soybeans are then trucked to market where they are processed, then used to feed livestock and fuel American industries that harness the properties of this amazing little bean.