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2014 might be the year that growers in Illinois break 100 bushels per acre.

If you think some of your soybeans will break 100 bushels this season, there is still time to sign up for the 100-bushel challenge at the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) Yield Challenge website. The entry due date is September 1.

This could be the year that an average soybean producer who pays attention to detail and manages their crop well could hit the 100-bushel mark. The three Arkansas producers who broke 100 bushels in 2013 did so with good management practices, irrigation and a stroke of very good weather with mild temperatures. None of them went out of their way to spray multiple products at multiple times during the season to feed the crop and protect it against the threats of nature. They just practiced good agronomy appropriate to their state.

ISA sponsors the Yield Challenge, which is an opportunity for producers to try new ideas and products to improve yield, compete for awards and acknowledgement and share their findings with other producers in the state. ISA also sponsors the 100-bushel challenge where the grower who gets the highest yield over 100 bushels (if there are multiple individuals who break 100 bushels) will win $5,000.

We all know it is hard to predict soybean yield to know if you are above 90 bushels. However, pod count is a good indicator. Average soybean plants have 40 to 60 pods and produce about 40 to 60 bushels per acre. While pod counts aren’t a reliable way to estimate yield, as a general rule of thumb I have found that pod count does seem to correlate roughly with yield range. When I visited Kip Cullers’ plots in 2006 and 2007 when he produced 139 and 156 bushels, respectively, I counted pods per plant and had counts of 140 to 160 pods, fairly close to his contest yields.

To see if particular fields or areas in a specific field could break 100 bushels, go out and count the number of pods on average-looking plants in a number of locations in the field. If you feel you have average plants with 100 or more pods and with three beans per pod, you are looking at potentially breaking 100 bushels if the season remains cool and moist through September 10.

If you grow record-setting soybeans, we encourage you to consider entering the 100-Bushel Challenge. Remember, registration closes September 1. Learn more about the Yield Challenge in these videos:

• Take the ISA Yield Challenge
• Breaking the Yield Barrier with Dan Arkels

Agronomist Dr. Daniel Davidson posts blogs on agronomy-related topics. Feel free to contact him at djdavidson@agrwrite.com