By STACY CAMPBELL
Cottonwood Extension District
I fully understand that drought covered a vast majority of Kansas, including Barton County and the surrounding area. But I figured it never hurts to inform farmers of this opportunity. Irrigated soybeans are always an option and sometimes certain areas get an extra rain or two during the growing season that might have made for an above average soybean crop.
The Kansas Soybean Association is calling all soybean farmers in Kansas to enter their competitive soybean crop into the Kansas Soybean Yield Contest by December 1.
New to the 2022 Yield and Value Contests, the Kansas Soybean Association will sponsor three participants to attend Commodity Classic in March 2023. First place in both contests, as well as one randomly drawn participant who entered both contests, earn the trip.
The Kansas Soybean Commission sponsors a monetary prize for the top three finishers in each district, as well as an additional $1,000 for the overall dryland and irrigated winners and any who top the 114.3 bushel-per-acre record. The amounts per district are that first place receives $300, second receives $200, and third receives $100. All participants receive a T-shirt for entering.
Districts are determined by region, tillage method, and irrigation status, with a total of 18 districts in consideration. No-till on the Plains supplies additional awards in the no-till categories. Farmers may enter multiple categories, but only one entry per field.
Eligible fields must consist of at least five contiguous acres as verified by the Farm Service Agency, GPS printout or manual measurement. A non-relative witness, either Kansas State Research and Extension personnel or a specified designee, must be present at harvest and should ensure that the combine grain hopper is empty prior to harvest. Official elevator-scale tickets with moisture percentage and foreign matter included must accompany entries to be considered.
The statewide Kansas Soybean Value Contest that analyzes protein, oil and other soybean qualities is also open for entries. Entrants submit 20-ounce samples, which are evaluated by Ag Processing, Inc. to determine the value. Monetary awards are also given to the three highest-value entries. Farmers may enter both the yield and value contests.
Results of the contests are to be shared January 11, 2023, at the Kansas Soybean Expo in Topeka.
A full guide of contest rules and regulations, as well as the digital entry form, are available at kansassoybeans.org/association/contests/. Questions may be directed to the Kansas Soybean office by phone at 877-KS-SOYBEAN (877-577-6923) or to local KSRE offices.
Stacy Campbell is a Crop Production Extension agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 785-628-9430.