Secrets from a Top Soybean Grower
New York state isn’t known for being a soybean production powerhouse, but it boasts some award-winning soybean growers. Among them is John Zittel, who has won the New York Soybean Association’s yield contest for two years in a row.
His latest win came in at 87.99 bushels per acre—almost 6 bushels higher than the second-place entry. “Our passion for farming has been handed down through six generations,” said Zittel, who farms with his family near Hamburg, New York. “We believe in hard work and family values.”
The Zittel family’s farming heritage dates back to 1881. John Zittel, a fourth-generation farmer, began his career as a dairy farmer in 1977. He helped expand the farm’s dairy herd and now operates a diversified farm with beef cattle, other livestock and crops including soybeans.
More flowers, nodes and pods = more profit
Speaking of soybean nodes, did you know that most soybeans contain 17 nodes? What if you could add one more pod with three beans per pod? How much would this boost your yield and profit?
“If you got an extra 35 bushels per acre, you grow them on 100 acres, and you estimate $10-per-bushel beans, that’s an extra $35,000,” said Dr. Jim Ladlie, Owner of ProfitProAG.
Also, did you know that soybean plants normally abort about 75% of their flowers? “If you use a foliar feeding program, you’ll take a big step to keep the plants as healthy as possible,” said Dennis Klockenga, a crops specialist with ProfitProAG. “That helps soybean plants hang onto more flowers, which ultimately means more yield.”
All this fits into the “Recipe for Success” that defines ProfitProAG’s system of Farming the Controllables—and enhances Zittel’s winning soybean yields. “Our mission is to raise high-quality crops and livestock,” Zittel said. “ProfitProAG helps us reach this goal.”
The soybean "Recipe for Success" results in more pods per plant & enhances yield!
