Press Release

Come celebrate soybeans and connect with the farmers who grow them during Dakotafest 2018 in the South Dakota Research & Promotion Council (SDSRPC) tent, located on Seed Row on 1st Street in Lot 6. Dakotafest is held in Mitchell, August 21-23 (2300 East Spruce Street). The SDSRPC tent opens each day at 9 a.m. Free SDSU ice cream is served August 22 and soybean growers who stop by the SDSRPC tent and sign up for SD Soybean updates will receive a free, 16-can cooler (while supplies last).

“Dakotafest is a great opportunity to connect with soybean growers from across the state and learn about the many SDSRPC research programs and educational opportunities,” said Craig Converse, a soybean farmer from Brookings and SDSRPC chair. “The markets are creating many challenges for South Dakota’s soybean growers. SDSRPC remains focused on our mission to wisely invest and leverage checkoff dollars to research new production techniques, markets and uses for soybeans on behalf of South Dakota soybean farmers.”

The 2018 Yield Contest and S.D. Soybean On-Farm Research Program are two SDSRPC programs Converse and other SDSRPC board members will encourage growers to sign up for during Dakotafest.

Sponsored by SDSRPC and managed by the South Dakota Soybean Association (SDSA), the annual Yield Contest encourages soybean growers to push yield limits and share best management practices. Data collected from the South Dakota Soybean Yield Contest winners gives soybean producers a good idea of what is working in soybean fields across South Dakota. Contest winners receive cash awards up to $2,000.

The entry deadline is August 31, 2018. For more details and to enter the 2018 Yield Contest, visit www.sdsoybean.org/yieldcontest or simply stop by the SDSRPC tent at Dakotafest.

Like the Yield Contest, the On-Farm Research Program was developed to increase yields through knowledge. A collaborative effort between SDSRPC, SDSU Extension and the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station at SDSU, the On-Farm Research Program is designed so farmers can easily participate in on-farm research of their choosing, have professionals evaluate the data and share the results with other farmers through the program’s website.

“Farmers are inundated with product information that will allegedly boost yields. To understand if something will work for us or not, most of us try a few different practices or products out in our fields each season anyway,” explained Converse. “We urge South Dakota soybean farmers to participate so we can all learn from each other. The more on-farm data we have for a particular management practice or product, the more likely our professional team will be able to assign an accurate probability to how those products or practices are going to perform.”

Interested farmers are free to choose the research topic they want to investigate on their farms. SDSU researchers work with the farmers to help properly set up the trials, so the experiment and results are valid.

Researchers conduct site visits during the growing season and help analyze the results once crops are harvested. To learn more about this program, stop in during Dakotafest and visit with an SDSRPC staff member or visit https://onfarmresearch.sdsoybean.org.

SDSRPC Dakotafest schedule

August 21
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tent hours

August 22
9 a.m. Tent Opens
9:30 a.m. until gone: Free donuts made with soy oil
Noon until gone: Free SDSU ice cream
5 p.m. Tent closes

August 23
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tent Hours