I have been wanting to attend the Ag PhD Field Day for a long time, so I took the opportunity this year to attend with some growers. This event is billed as the “world’s biggest field day,” boasting on average 10,000 attendees from across the U.S. and around globe. Based on the size of the parking lot and number of cars, I would guess there was probably less than that, but still thousands of attendees. Two decades ago AgriGrowth™, a southern Minnesota company, sponsored Challenge Days at four sites across the Corn Belt for 4 or 5 years. I [...]

ISA Names First CCA Soybean Master Adviser New Checkoff-Funded Award Recognizes Dedication to Better Soybean Management BLOOMINGTON, ILL.—February 17, 2017—Kristofer Ehler, Thomasboro, Ill., is the first honoree in a new Illinois soybean checkoff-funded program to recognize Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) who excel in helping farmers improve soybean production. Ehler received the CCA Soybean Master Adviser award in Peoria Feb. 16 as part of the ILSoyAdvisor.com Soybean Summit, sponsored in part by the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA). “Among the many talented crop advisers in Illinois, Kristofer Ehler is clearly one of the most dedicated when it comes to soybean management,” [...]

If you know a good CCA who has helped you increase your soybean knowledge and production, nominate him/her for the Master Soybean Adviser award. Illinois has a lot of qualified CCAs—there are nearly 1300 of them across the state. These CCAs are either farmers, work directly with farmers and advise them on their practices, or work for a product manufacturer, seed company or distributor. The CCAs in Illinois are all well-trained, certified and have to continue their education to remain certified. Last December the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) announced its first Soybean Master Adviser Award. ISA wants to recognize [...]

On December 9, the USDA released the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report for December. Despite strong U.S. soybean export numbers in the early part of the marketing year driven by Chinese imports, the USDA maintained the forecast of 2016-17 marketing year exports of U.S. soybeans at 2.05 billion bushels. The lack of change in the soybean export forecast surprised some soybean market observers. The potential for strong South American soybean export competition in the second half of the marketing year is the limiting factor in expanded U.S. soybean exports. The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service World Production Report [...]

Soybean prices during the last five months of the 2015-16 marketing year averaged much higher than during the first seven months of the year. For example, the average daily bid price at central Illinois locations was $8.67 during the first seven months and $10.28 during the last five months of the year. Those daily prices ranged from $8.40 on March 1, 2016 to $11.58 on June 30, 2016. Through the first half of the 2015-16 marketing year, the soybean market traded on the basis of prospective year ending stocks of U.S soybeans of 450 to 460 million bushels. The [...]

Join us on Thursday, August 18th for Agronomy Day! Discover the latest research, technology, and industry data from University of Illinois faculty and staff in the College of ACES. The event will be hosted in a new location: 4202 South First Street in Savoy, Illinois. In addition to a new location, we’ve made many improvements for participants including: disabled parking, shorter walking distances between tours, new faculty speakers, and a tour of SoyFACE.  Field tours begin at 7 a.m. with presentations from researchers covering: nutrient management, drone demonstrations, farm economics, weed management, plant diseases, and more! Don’t miss new Illinois Athletic Director, Josh [...]

If you grow soybeans, then you can’t miss out. The Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program has one goal—to help our state’s soybean farmers be the most knowledgeable and profitable soybean producers in the world. That’s why we launched the checkoff-funded ILSoyAdvisor.com platform—to help you become better soybean managers, increase your yields and make more money from every acre. For the second year in a row, we’re hosting a series of regional field days throughout the state—and we want to see you there. Come hear about the technology and practices that are increasing yields and profits at one of three regional [...]

The U.S and world soybean situation continues to be one of surplus. The USDA's WASDE report of March 9 projected 2015-16 marketing year ending stocks of U.S. soybeans at 460 million bushels, 10 million bushels above the February projection. The projection of world ending stocks, with stocks for Argentina and Brazil adjusted to an October-September marketing year, was lowered by 57 million bushels, but those stocks are still expected to be record large. At the projected level, U.S. stocks would represent 12.5 percent of projected use for the year. Stocks as a percent of use have been larger on numerous occasions, [...]