Press Release

Soybean Groups Award Winners of the 2014 South Dakota Soybean Yield & Quality Contest

The South Dakota Soybean Association (SDSA) and South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council are excited to announce the first person to break 100-bushels in the South Dakota Soybean Yield Contest. Scott McKee, a farmer from Union County, took home Overall First Place with his record-breaking soybean yield of 103.7 bushels per acre. McKee planted DuPont Pioneer variety 92Y70.

“This year, everything just worked for us. The Yield Contest allows us to push the seed and try new things to see what works and what doesn’t,” McKee said. “I really look forward to the soybean yield contest every year. It’s an opportunity to meet with other farmers across the state and see what they’re doing on their best ground, and share what I’m doing on mine.”

Over 300 farmers submitted Soybean Yield Contest entries in ten different categories. Several of the top entries resulted in record yields ranging from 41 to 103 bushels per acre.

“We’ve been challenging farmers to push for 100-bushel soybeans for the last few years of the contest, and this year, Scott McKee stepped up to meet that challenge proving that 100-bushel yields are possible in South Dakota,” said John Horter, SDSA President. “We would like to congratulate Scott and all of the winners of the South Dakota Soybean Yield Contest. In addition to the well-deserved recognition, the yield contest gives us the opportunity to analyze trends and data from the entries so we can share this information with farmers throughout the state.”

Entries for the yield contest were categorized by soybean maturity and sub-divided into three groups: Irrigated, Non-irrigated and No-till. Each first-place winner received a $2,000 cash prize and up to $2,000 for a non-transferable trip for two to the 2015 Commodity Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. The second place winner in each category received a $1,500 cash prize, and the third place winner in each category received a $1,000 cash prize.

For a complete list of winners, see the “2014 Yield Contest Results.” First place winners of the annual yield contest were:

• Rodd Beyer- 74.9 bushels/acre, Roberts County, Group 0 Non-Irrigated Category
• Kent Mettler- 73.2 bushels/acre, Yankton County, Group 0 No-Till Category
• Joe and Grant Locken- 69.3 bushels/acre, Brown County, Group 0 or 1 Irrigated Category
• Randy Kienow- 77.3 bushels/acre, Brown County, Group 1 Non-Irrigated Category
• Kent Mettler-79.8 bushels/acre, Yankton County, Group 1 No-Till Category
• Scott McKee- 103.7 bushels/acre, Union County, Group 2 Non-Irrigated Category
• Brent Leiferman- 82.2 bushels/acre, Brule County, Group 2 No-Till Category
• Kory Standy- 87.2 bushels/acre, Charles Mix County, Group 2 or 3 Irrigated Category
• Scott McKee- 99.4 bushels/acre, Union County, Group 3 Non-Irrigated Category
• Jerrod Rolston- 68.5 bushels/acre, Charles Mix County, Group 3 No-Till Category

The Soybean Yield Contest also featured a quality contest. The top two highest quality entries in each maturity group (Groups 0, 1, 2 and 3) received $500 cash for first place and $300 cash for second place. Soybean quality is determined by the Estimated Processed Value (EPV) from the oil and protein content of soybeans, and is expressed as a value of converting the protein and oil in the soybean into soybean meal, oil and hulls. View the 2014 Quality Contest Results.

South Dakota Soybean has scheduled a series of Soybean Success Seminars to share big bushel secrets for farmers in January. The Soybean Success Seminars will feature a presentation from Seth Naeve, soybean agronomist from the University of Minnesota. Naeve will share novel strategies for efficient soybean production. The Soybean Success Seminars will also feature recommendations and discussions with agronomists.

Soybean Success Seminars:

Aberdeen Dakota Events Center January 27 10 a.m. to noon

Watertown Events Center January 27 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Mitchell Highland Conference Center January 28 10 a.m. to noon

Sioux Falls Best Western Ramkota January 29 10 a.m. to noon

Yankton Best Western Kelly Inn January 29 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Photo Caption: Scott McKee (left) accepts his 2014 South Dakota Soybean Yield Contest award from SDSA President John Horter at the Soybean Recognition Banquet on Wednesday. McKee is farmer in Union County, and harvested a record-yield of 103.7 bushels per acre for the South Dakota Soybean Yield Contest.