Jeff Steinhoff of C & J Steinhoff Farms, St. Charles, MO., has placed first in the Missouri Soybean Association Soybean Yield Contest’s Non-Irrigated Division with Stine 3602-4 Brand soybeans.
The Steinhoffs planted their winning plot on May 29, 2007, at a population of 180,000 seeds per acre. The crop was harvested on Oct. 8, 2007, at a moisture content of 12.0 percent. Their final yield of 83.605 bushels per acre was good enough for first place in the “Conventional Tillage” category, and first place among all non-irrigated entries.
To Jeff and his father, Clarence, winning is nothing new. In 1998, the Steinhoffs had the top non-irrigated yield in the state with a yield of 88.83 bushels per acre. The soybean that delivered for them that year was Stine 3870. Since that time, they have placed a couple of entries in the no-till division, as well.
Steinhoff says he was impressed with the performance of Stine 3602-4 despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions they experienced. “Most of Missouri was dry this year,” Steinhoff says, “but since this plot was located just a few miles from the Missouri River, its heavier soils helped. Steinhoff adds, “Heavy rains upriver early in the spring kept the river high, which contributed some much-needed ground moisture.
Although they are not strangers to the contest, Steinhoff says that they approach their contest efforts not as micromanaged plots, but rather from a whole-field perspective. Because of this, he says, their winning results can easily be replicated by other soybean growers. As it has always been, Steinhoff says, the keys to success are choosing the right genetics for the acre, good preparation, and, of course, a little bit of help from Mother Nature.
In the end, Steinhoff says that Stine 3602-4 Brand was “a pleasure to harvest — easy cutting and lots and lots of pods.” He added that in a side-by-side elsewhere in the field, Stine 3602-4 Brand out-yielded a competitive soybean by more than 10 bushels per acre. In the contest, the next closest non-irrigated yield was five bushels per acre less.
“We would like to congratulate Jeff and Clarence on their accomplishment,” says Harry H. Stine, founder of Stine Seed Company. “Stine’s 3602-4 Brand, as well as the other quality seed varieties we produce for growers, is a power bean that has proven performance – that, among other reasons, is why it was one of our best-selling soybeans in 2007.”
Stine 3602-4 Brand is a mid-group 3 Roundup Ready® soybean offering excellent emergence for fast starts, strong soybean cyst nematode resistance for yield assurance and good performance against yield-robbing diseases such as Phytophthora root rot and Sudden Death Syndrome.
Visit the Stine Web site, www.stineseed.com, to compare all our products using our interactive online catalog. For more information about which Stine Brand soybean is right for your growing situation, contact your local Stine Dealer.