South Dakota Soybean Farmers/Leaders Look Forward to a Good Harvest

It’s a pleasure to talk to South Dakota soybean farmers about the crop currently nearing harvest. Normally considered the ultimate small-talk, the state’s soybean producers report much better weather than in recent years, resulting in a crop that looks much better than it has in recent seasons. With notable exceptions, a few of them at Dakotafest said it’s one of the better crops they’ve grown.

In many cases, the season had an ideal beginning, but later in the spring, near Sisseton, that changed.

“We started getting rain here up in northeast South Dakota, and it just hasn’t quit,” said Dan Nigg, taking a break from visiting with people in the South Dakota Soybean tent in the central part of the Dakotafest grounds. “And right where I farm, I’m pretty good, but around me, there’s areas where it is really wet, and it’s going to be a challenge if it doesn’t stop.”

On the other hand, in the southern part of South Dakota, Tanner Hento at Avon witnessed a tough, dry beginning to the season. He told the South Dakota Soybean Network he is grateful to have made up the precipitation deficit since earlier in the growing season.

“I think we’re still looking at a top-three crop, I would say. It has the potential to do really well,” said Hento. “The fault spots are there, so I don’t know if it could be the best ever, but it’s hard to complain.”

The heat and humidity during Dakotafest resulted in discomfort among those attending, but Bruce Haines at Mitchell said he thinks it contributed to crops like he’s never seen…or heard.

“I think maybe it’s the best I’ve ever raised in my life,” declared Haines. “Last night I sat out on my deck, and I thought I could hear the soybeans growing.”

Jeff Thompson, who farms northwest of Sioux Falls, agreed, saying it’s difficult to remember a year where the weather has been as conducive to corn and soybean production.

“The crops are excellent this year; I’ve never seen them as good as they’ve been,” he said. “The low spots didn’t get drowned out, the hilltops didn’t dry out, so it’s a uniform crop. We’ve been pretty fortunate by missing the bad stuff.”

Blake Foxley of Platte is a South Dakota Corteva Young Leader for 2025, which includes being a representative on the South Dakota Soybean Association board. Judging from what he’s scouted so far, Foxley looks forward to getting his crop out of the field when it’s ready.

“Yeah, this year we’ve been pretty fortunate on getting some pretty timely rains, we’re definitely not too wet, always sitting right there on the edge of needing some more moisture, but we’ve been fortunate enough to get it,” said Foxley, a popular individual at the South Dakota Soybean tent at Dakotafest, serving as one of the wranglers at the soybean oil donut fryer. “The corn crop looks really good; the soybean crop looks great. I think everything’s going to turn out to be looking real well for harvest this fall.”