Show-Me a World Record
Missouri farmer Kip Cullers' 154.7-bushel soybean yield record is official.
Jerilyn Johnson
Published: Nov 13, 2007
It's in the books. The Governor of Missouri and the Missouri Soybean Association proclaimed today that Kip Cullers is once again the world record holder for soybean yield.
Cullers won the MSA Yield Contest for the second year in a row. He outdid himself by growing 154.7 bushels per acre on a soybean contest plot, beating his own world record established last year with 139.39 bushels. The record-setting yield was harvested on Oct. 6, 2007 and verified by MSA officials.
"We are here today to honor a Missouri farmer who has learned to make the most of his land," said Gov. Matt Blunt at a press conference in Jefferson City. "Producing a 154.7-bushel yield is an incredible feat. Success like that is not an accident. Kip Cullers is setting records because he knows his business and works diligently to get these yields. He's the Babe Ruth of soybean growers."
The farmer from Purdy accomplished his record-breaking production by planting Pioneer 94M80 soybeans on an irrigated and conventionally tilled field near Stark City. Cullers attributes an intensive plant management program to his success. "I treat soybeans as a valuable commodity and scout my fields at least once a day," Cullers says. "Paying close attention to detail is important to farmers looking to increase yields. It all starts with selecting the right seed and keeping your plants healthy."
Cullers says planting seed with a high yield potential and protecting his plants with Headline fungicide applications were the two biggest reasons for his success last year. Cullers decided to take his proven method and improve upon it with two new ideas for 2007.
"I used Optimize, a soybean growth promoter, to dramatically improve the size of my roots and a new twin-row planter manufactured by Monosem," Cullers says. "The planter enabled me to be more precise with seed placement than drilling."
Always looking for a better way to grow crops, Cullers says he will continue to push the yield level. "I believe we can someday produce 200+ bushel beans," he adds. "In our current system, we are getting our beans too tall and rank. So, next we are going to have to figure out ways to shorten our plant structure. But we are not scared to try new things."
For more information, visit www.mosoy.org and www.pioneer.com
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Tagged: soybean, soybeans, Bushel, planter, soybean association
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