Soybeans — ‘Race for 100’
Jun 25, 2009 10:07 AM, From the Arkansas Soybean Association
Arkansas soybean producers are urged to enter “The Race for 100” yield contest, with a prize of $50,000 for the first soybean producer in Arkansas to achieve 100 bushels per acre.
The contest is funded by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board (ASPB) and administered by the Arkansas Soybean Association (ARSA) and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Contestants should turn in their entry forms before the Aug. 1, 2009.
The first Arkansas producer or producers (in the event more that one producer exceeds the 100 bushels, the prize will be split evenly among the winners) will receive a $50,000 prize. The harvested area of 5 to 7 acres must have been planted in soybeans in at least one of the last three production years prior to 2009 and the contestant must have paid the appropriate checkoff assessments on soybeans.
“This goal is very achievable,” said Gary Sitzer, Race for 100 committee chairman. “Recent record yields in Arkansas of 94 bushels per acre have shown producers the yields soybeans are capable of producing.”
In addition to seeing if it can be done, the soybean industry leadership wants to know what it takes to accomplish the feat from a management standpoint. Production information will be shared with other producers at grower meetings following the award presentation at the ARSA annual meeting next January.
Jeremy Ross, Extension soybean specialist, said county Extension agents will verify yields for the contest. He believes the contest goal of producing 100 bushels is possible.
“If we have an exceptional summer with some of the ground we have in the state, it’s doable. But everything has to be just right for it to happen,” said Ross. “Contestants have to be exceptional farmers and have good land to get another 15 or 20 bushels out of their crop.”
Producers may also enter the ARSA Yield Challenge — a contest for members of the Arkansas Soybean Association — sponsored by Cullum Seed and BASF.
Entry forms and additional details about the contests can be obtained from local county Extension offices and the Arkansas Soybean Association at (800) 247-8691 or swsoy@aristotle.net. The entry form is also available online at http://www.arspb.org.
Soybean check-off funds will be used in the Race for 100 yield contest.
